Budget

Budget

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fice and perhaps 90 percent of the Treasurer’s salary, Sheriff Woodward said. “Everybody’s office is treated different. This bill is something I wish you would go on record against. It will take everybody fighting this to get it shot down.”

These measures are part of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee process which has already been reflected in increased costs to the county for schools and the Health Department, County Administrator John McCarthy said.

‘There is a political context for this,” he said. “JLARC is moving towards abolishing some of the constitutional officers’ positions, which is another reason the constitutional officers are opposing it, but the main thrust is that the state wants to balance its books at our expense.”

Sheriff Woodward said that for counties with more than 50,000 population it would pay to switch from a sheriff’s department to a county police force. “The larger counties will come out ahead even if this passes if they change their way of operating,” he said.

“The big urban counties want this,” Mr. McCarthy added. “The middle size counties have been supporting it, even though it doesn’t seem to benefit them. It’s the small rural ones that are going to get beat up as usual.”

Sheriff Woodward said another bill that took effect May 1 cut his mileage reimbursement from the state to 16 cents per mile. “I may not be able to pay for my cars in four years. The idea in Richmond is for the localities to pick up more and more.”

The supervisors agreed with Chairman Hubert Gilkey to send letters to Rappahannock’s representatives, Del. Raymond R. “Andy” Guest Jr. (R-31st District) and State Senator Kevin G. Miller (R-26th District) opposing Sen. Andrew’s bill and to send follow-up letters once the General Assembly is back in session next January.

‘This bill may move fast once the legislature is back in session because it is a carryover bill," Mr. McCarthy said.

“Now I’m going to tell you how this would be good for me,” Sheriff Woodward said. “They would say how much manpower is needed in each office, and I would get 10 more people.”

“If they don’t have to pay for it, you need 10 new people, but if they pay for it you don’t,” Mr. Gilkey observed.

Sheriff Woodward said he didn’t know how the figure of 10 people was chosen. He said five would be dispatchers, but he didn’t know about the other five.

“It’s part of the problem of the increase in crime,” Mr. Gilkey said.

Mr. McCarthy noted that the