Accomack Board sets priorities for local legislators

The Accomack County Board of Supervisors adopted a list of 13 legislative priorities to be presented to our state legislators prior to the general assembly when they go into session in January.

The list includes primarily:

A request to continue the special appropriation of $1,750,000 for Accomack and Northampton counties that comes from lottery proceeds and is used for teacher and recruitment and retention.  The appropriations have already granted for FY 25 and 26 but then will have to be renewed thereafter.  The funding is intended to help both counties bridge the gap between Maryland and Virginia schools and is allocated to counties in Northern Virginia as well. The Board would like to make the annual funding more permanent.

To initiate state funding to help develop strategies to address the affordable housing issues on the Eastern Shore,.

To support efforts by the Hampton Roads Sanitation District to provide services at the northern end of the County and to the Town of Parksley, The northern area would encompass the need for wastewater treatment at NASA.

To provide additional resources that would assist local governments in recruitment , retention, support and training of 911 first responders.

And to support Accomack County’s effort to widen Rt 175.

In addition to the above priorities,  the County would like our legislators to pursue policy changes that would require the Health Department  to take a more pro -active role in notifying owners of alternative on-site septic systems of the required maintenance needed to maintain these systems.

To increase Commonwealth funding of the Forest Sustainability Fund.

To eliminate the cap on the number of educational support positions the state will fund.

To oppose any imposition, expansion, or extension of state-mandated exemptions on local property taxes or any new state policy that reduces the county portion of the sales tax or personal property taxes the County will collect without a long and short term  hold harmless provision.

To increase compensation for local jail housing of state responsible inmates.

To modernize the Communications sales and use tax structure to reflect the modern telecommunications landscape  which has evolved since the tax was implemented in 2007. Money from this tax is used the primary  funding source  for the Eastern Shore 911 system.

Not to expand workers compensation presumptive illness eligibilities for public employees without additional state funding.

To provide funding for a barge landing on Wallops Island and associated dredging.

The list was facilitated by the ANPDC and put together with input from both counties and Chincoteague.  It will be presented to Delegate Rob Bloxom and  Senator Bill DeSteph in October in time to develop legislation to address the priorities if possible.