It’s budget time at the Board of Supervisors.  Last year, the Board approved an increase of 10% in regular operating expenses, plus the money to pay the debt on the schools, and of course , the debt on the landfill, lest we ever forget. 

Did your income increase 10% last year?  Mine didn’t.  In fact, since 2003, the operating budget of Page County has increased dramatically.  In 2003, the “general government expenditures” increased from $36.6M to $58.5M in 2006, and the 2007 budget took it over $62M.   The population of Page County, however, is not growing proportionately.  The Weldon Cooper Center of UVA reports that the population of Page grew from 23,600 in 2003 to 24,134 in 2006.  My calculator says that’s a 2.3% population increase in 3 years, compared to a 59.8% budget increase in the same period.   Understand, this is not counting the schools, and not counting the 10% increase for 2007.   These population numbers come from the Weldon Cooper Center at U Va.  http://www.coopercenter.org

The budget numbers come from the Page County audited financial report, June 2006.

For an even more intriguing insight, Page County has a population of people over 65 that is 19% greater than it’s population of people between 10 and  20. 

Last year, I spoke and said I didn’t understand the budget, that no one could speak up because the budget was presented in such a way that no one could understand it, and I said I believed that included the Supervisors who were approving it.  It was presented in a confusing manner, so that you couldn’t tell what you were looking at it. 

 The Supervisors at the time said, oh, yes, they understood it, because they had these meetings in Jan, Feb, and March, and they went over everything.

Well, now, here it is time for the meetings when everything will be explained for next year.  The first three meetings will be held on Feb 12, 14, and 21. 

Here is the agenda for the meeting on Feb 12

7:00 Commissioner of the Revenue Charlie Campbell

7:15 Treasurer C. R. Suddith

7:30 Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging Helen Cockrell

7:45 Health Department Dave Crabtree

8:00 Lord Fairfax Emergency Medical Services Council Tracey McLaurin

8:15 Apple Valley Mediation Ed Wilkins

8:30 Page Youth Football League Chris Hall

8:45 Chamber of Commerce Nancy Sottosanti

I hope you’ll come to see this.  But if you can’t, I’ll post my notes. 

Alice