After months of work and debate on the fiscal year (FY) 2020 Operating Budget, the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors approved the county’s portion last week with little fanfare.
During their meeting on Thursday, June 13, the supervisors unanimously approved the county portion of the budget, which totaled $36,371,346 net of transfers. The board had already approved the school division’s portion of the budget on May 9, which totaled $49,619,718. That is a combined total budget of $85,956,064 net of transfers.
While county administrator Ted Voorhees had presented the board with a balanced budget on March 4, a presentation a week later sparked debate about whether the county needed to hire more paid fire and rescue staff to provide adequate coverage. That presentation asked for $1.18 million in additional paid staff, which sparked debate and controversy in the weeks that followed.