Smyth supervisors unanimously approve several committee recommendations, budget amendment and appointments

During the Feb. 26 meeting the Smyth County Board of Supervisors recorded a sequence of committee recommendations and formal actions that the board approved by voice vote.

Public safety: The public safety committee briefed the board on radio‑system testing (on track for April) and recommended approving a Communications of America invoice covering FCC filing fees for three licenses (reported amount: $395). The committee also recommended accepting a free one‑year trial of Project Bridal’s field iPad subscription (100 licenses included) to test incident and planning access; the board approved the committee recommendations.

Budget committee: The budget committee recommended the board approve a moral‑obligation authorization to support bond funding for a town water project described in the packet as a $6,000,000 project and funded via the Virginia Department of Health loan/grant program (packet language in the transcript varies; see clarifying notes). The board approved the committee recommendation by voice vote.

The board accepted Budget Amendment No. 4 as presented in committee. The amendment was described in the meeting record as an increase of $930,540 that sets the total amended budget at $142,901,101. The budget committee also recommended a $10,000 opioid‑related funding request from the Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society to support court‑appointed attorneys for individuals in recovery; the board approved that recommendation.

Buildings and grounds: The county accepted a Trane Energy and Sustainability agreement to conduct free energy audits on county properties; the committee framed audits as optional and noted potential future costs if implementation follows.

Appointments and policy resolutions: The board approved the nomination of Veil Harmon to the library committee to replace Christian Long. Supervisors also introduced and adopted two policy resolutions by unanimous voice vote: one affirming "the inherent dignity and equal rights of all citizens, including the unborn," and another opposing congressional redistricting plans the board said would dilute rural conservative representation. All resolutions were adopted as read and recorded in the meeting packet.

Closed session: At the meeting’s close a supervisor moved to enter closed session under Virginia Code provisions covering personnel matters and real‑property discussions; the motion was seconded and approved and the board recessed to closed session.

Where the transcript shows inconsistent spellings or garbled text (for example, a town name appears as ‘Chicago,’ ‘Chilliwi’ and phrasing that suggests 'Chilhowie'), this article notes the inconsistency and reports the motion language as it was read into the record; staff follow‑up to confirm packet names and exact dollar figures is expected.