County Supervisors Review Staff Recommendations on FY-2025 Budget Requests

At 5 p.m. Thursday, March 7, the Warren County Board of Supervisors received recommendations from Finance and Administrative staff on a path forward in finalizing the Fiscal Year-2024/25 County budget. Finance Director Alisa Scott and Deputy County Administrator Jane Meadows, with backup from County Administrator Ed Daley, presented material on Revenue and Expenditure projections with both outside partner agencies and departmental funding requests related to operations, personnel, and, in some cases, capital improvements.

An opening page agenda summary showed “Operational Revenues” projected at $90,980,000 versus projected total expenditures ranging from $96,365,000 (a $5,385,000 deficit) to expenditures of $109,148,526 versus adjusted revenues of $90,809,909 (an $18,338,617 deficit). On the revenue side several scenarios were presented indicating what various tax hikes to real estate, personal property, or meals taxes would add to County revenues.

So, where are we in trying to balance this FY-2025 County budget in the $109-million to $114-million expenditure range? The board of supervisors and staff get down to business, balancing recommended funding cuts with needed services, and the new fiscal year is less than four months away. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

Questioned about which was the actual deficit by Board Vice-Chairman “Jay” Butler, Daley explained the larger $18-million-plus deficit reflected all departments and partnering agencies getting their full budget requests, the smaller number reflecting suggested cuts to departmental and partnering agency requests. So, it appears at this point that some additional revenue will be necessary, as a reluctance to dip further into County Reserve Fund balances was expressed.

On the personnel side, additions suggested for trimming back, at least for the coming fiscal year, included three Firefighter/Paramedic “Floater” positions and Planning and Zoning Department deputy director, zoning administrator, and office manager positions.

Suggested Capital Improvement cuts included delaying Library flooring carpeting fixes for one year, diverting $85,000 to Fiscal Year-2025/26 for that project, canceling the North Warren Fire Station Remodeling ($100,000 saving), removing $150,000 in “Fire Station Enhancements” to another future fiscal year; reducing a Sheriff’s Office “Records Management and Software and CAD” project cost of $1,100,642 by about two-thirds to $361,065 in the coming fiscal year, with like amounts projected to future fiscal year cycles; and removal of a $50,000 Social Services Department “Front Desk Reconfiguration” project.

County Administrator Daley noted that numbers on the public school system’s local contribution request will be presented during the Board of Supervisors-School Board Joint Budget Committee meeting, kicking off a busy March 12 late afternoon and evening meeting schedule for the supervisors.

Supervisor Vicky Cook ponders the numbers in front of her as County Administrator Ed Daley follows those numbers on his agenda package materials.

EDA variables

The now unilaterally County overseen Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority (EDA, FR-WC EDA) had its own full page of Revenues and Expenditures, including the past two fiscal years for comparisons. County Administrator Daley explained some of the variables involved, including a lost annual revenue of $7,732 in the current and coming fiscal years due to Truc “Curt” Tran ceasing his monthly payments on the ITFederal $10-million loan from the EDA upon his being sued civilly by the EDA for full repayment of that loan, which it contends was received under fraudulent circumstances. Tran, like all other civil case defendants, the EDA has taken to court for liabilities related to the circa 2014-18 EDA “financial scandal” during the executive leadership of Jennifer McDonald, was found liable. However, like some others, Tran has his and his company’s civil court liabilities of about $ 12 million on appeal at the state level. On paper, legally, if not yet in the real world, the EDA has recovered much of the approximate $ 26 million estimated to have been misdirected to the personal use of McDonald and alleged co-conspirators. Of course, that comes with associated legal fees. The EDA revenue expenditure sheet shows a combined total of about $87,000 in legal fees in Fiscal year 2023 ($56,356) and FY 2024 ($30,711). Interestingly, with those civil case liability appeals on the horizon, the initial EDA legal fee budget request for the upcoming FY-2025 is shown at $500,000, which has been recommended down to a suggested total of $50,000. Does somebody know something about EDA legal cases we don’t? Stay tuned as inquiring minds seek answers.

One other FR-WC EDA revenue line item we found interesting was the addition of $16,167 in debt service payments, in this case from the Town of Front Royal, on a share of expenses surrounding the mutually beneficial EDA-overseen Leach Run Parkway project.

After the presentation of numbers and budget proposal variables, the 5 p.m. Board of Supervisors work session adjourned at about 6:35 p.m. with a Town Board of Zoning Appeals meeting looming for the WCGC main meeting room at 7 p.m.

Click here to watch the County work session video for highlights of the full supervisors’ work session budget discussion and question-and-answers with staff.