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Goal 1: Safety & Well-Being
Over the past several years, Albemarle County has been successful in receiving federal grant funding through FEMA to hire firefighters, to address challenges with volunteer availability and an increase in calls for service in the urban ring. That grant funding has allowed us to meet those needs – but this year, the first round of those grant funds begins to expire, and this budget recommends funding those positions using local funds.
The budget continues to support the Human Services Alternative Response Team (HART), which deploys a cross-functional team to individuals experiencing crisis whose needs are better served by an alternative public safety response – allowing our front-line public safety personnel to focus on remaining available for other calls for service. It continues the planning and field exercise work that the Office of Emergency Management piloted last year so that local and regional partners are well-trained on active threat response tactics and procedures – to save lives when it matters most. This budget continues to support Police, Fire, and Social Services staff in focusing not only on meeting service standards but on ensuring the full needs of those experiencing hardship are met and addressed.
Goal 2: Resilient, Equitable, & Engaged Community
While the County has made progress towards its carbon reduction goals (reducing the carbon footprint of building operations by 10%), the County continues to focus on resilience planning. This budget funds efforts to build a community-driven resilience plan in FY 25. Our organization continues to connect with residents and create meaningful opportunities to get involved in important County programs.
Goal 3: Infrastructure & Placemaking
FY 25 will mark an incredible milestone for county residents, as public-private partnership efforts will install the final 6,100 passings needed to achieve universal broadband connectivity. This budget funds the County’s share of those efforts while focusing on outreach and support for affordability and digital literacy programs.
Goal 4: Quality of Life
In FY 25, the County will continue the partnership development and site readiness efforts to bring the vision for the Rivanna Futures to reality – to retain and expand the vibrancy of the missions of the federal agencies operating at Rivanna Station.
At the same time, Albemarle is focusing on the transportation infrastructure and network needed to ensure safe and efficient travel – with construction projects planned to begin across the county, along US29 North and in the urban ring, in Crozet, and on 5th Street Extended, representing over $65 million in investments in solutions for all road users, as well as the continuation of the MicroCAT pilot to provide on-demand transit service along Route 29 and at Pantops, and continued support to transit providers CAT and Jaunt.
Affordable housing is another critical component of community vibrancy. This budget supports $2 million to the Housing Fund, which provides funding support for the creation of new affordable housing at deeper levels of affordability and for a longer period of time than would otherwise be possible. It also continues support for programs to provide home repairs and energy efficiency improvements that enable existing affordable housing stock to remain.
In FY 25, Biscuit Run Park, the County’s newest park (1,200 acres), will open with over 4 miles of trails – with future phases of work planned in future years. This budget continues to support the work of critical program areas, including the ongoing Comprehensive Plan update, AC44, the zoning modernization, and programming that began in FY 24 to beautify and maintain corridors in the development area through street sweeping and vegetation management. It will also direct revenues from the disposable plastic bag tax, approved in FY 24, to litter cleanups along roadways.
Goal 5: Education & Learning
This budget funds Albemarle County Public Schools, adding $10.1 million in new revenues to Schools operating by formula and plans for FY 25-29 for a total of $206.8 million in School capital projects. The capital plan will fund the construction of three schools over the next five years and includes $14.3 million in planned renovation projects over the next five years.
Goal 6: Workforce & Customer Service
For several years, the County has undertaken an enterprise focus on technology and software systems to transform the way in which the County serves our customers. In FY 25, the Community Development System, after months of planning and configuring, will launch – enabling permit and plan applicants to view real-time status updates on their application materials. In parallel, this budget funds the new Financial System, which will reduce processing time and provide real-time analytics for financial and budget management.
This budget addresses workforce stabilization so that Albemarle County can maintain quality services for the community by retaining quality public servants by offering competitive salaries and benefits and quality professional development opportunities. In FY 24, the County undertook a comprehensive Compensation & Classification study and the approved budget had included funding for partial implementation. Based on strong revenue growth, the Board approved for January 1, 2024, a midyear salary increase for employees and the final funding necessary to fully implement the Compensation & Classification study, ensuring all employees are compensated at the midpoint of market. This budget continues those salary commitments for the full-year implementation while committing funds for further compensation adjustments on January 1, with a final recommendation for the Board’s consideration this fall. It continues past commitments to workplace upgrades to create a modern work environment to meet the needs of today’s workforce and commitments to professional development and training.
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