As tensions continue between Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville about a budget proposal that would transfer $2.8 million annually from city to county schools, Del. David J. Toscano, D-Charlottesville, has created a blog, "Community Voices: Charlottesville and Albemarle Together" in an effort to increase collaboration between the city and the county.
Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle County, proposed the amendment - which the House of Delegates has included in its proposed budget - in response to a perceived error in the state's composite index, which is used to allocate education funds to localities.
"If you look at Albemarle County's revenue, it should get $2.8 million more," said Maury Brown, communication coordinator for Albemarle County Public Schools.
The composite index takes into account the amount of money each locality has for its education funds, Brown said. Currently, however, the county's standing in the index is affected by a sum of $18 million that it transfers to Charlottesville each year under a revenue-sharing agreement that Toscano said was established in 1982. At the time, Charlottesville was considering annexing county property, but Albemarle County did not want to lose the tax revenue from that property. Ultimately, the agreement may have created an inconvenience for the county.
"We ask the state for an additional amount for our locality," Brown said. "The $18 million transferred to Charlottesville is not represented, so Albemarle has to state its income as being $18 million higher than what it actually is."
In light of these issues, Toscano hopes he can use both his blog and a future meeting to encourage cooperation between the two local governments.
This meeting is set to take place April 24 and will include members of the county board of supervisors, city council, and the city and county school boards. County School Board Chairman Ron Price said his board has been discussing more ways to collaborate as school divisions but that Bell has always wanted to talk about the revenue-sharing agreement.
Bell himself said he is not opposed to such discussion but that holding one at the currently scheduled time would make it irrelevant to the current amendment.
"I think any meeting where the localities can come up with mutually beneficial policies is a good thing," Bell said. "However, this meeting will take place long after my budget amendment is passed or rejected, so it will not impact what happens on the amendment. I have said I would withdraw the amendment if the two localities actually reached an agreement settling the issue, but so far that has not happened."
If passed, the current House budget proposal would not impact the revenue sharing agreement itself, Bell said. Because the agreement is going to exist for the foreseeable future, however, the transferred funds should be credited against Charlottesville's ability to pay, not Albemarle's, he said.
Under the terms of the House proposal, the General Assembly would have to intervene to transfer Charlottesville money to the county, Brown said.
Bell's amendment, however, will not necessarily show up in the General Assembly's overall budget proposal. That document will appear after a group of senators and delegates finish merging the two houses' ideas into a final budget proposal, Brown said, adding that the reconciliation committee has to decide on a budget to present to the governor in about seven days.
Even though Bell's amendment is already part of the state government's deliberations, Brown said she is optimistic that the city and county can find something of value in the upcoming meeting.
"Albemarle County is very willing to collaborate with the city," she said. "Hopefully the meeting in April will be the beginning of a renewed partnership between the two localities"
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