Supervisors flag sheriff vehicles, radio upgrades and other capital requests during FY25 work session

Nelson County supervisors spent the bulk of a March 15 continued budget work session reviewing General Fund expenditures and capital outlay, flagging several high-cost items for follow-up and asking staff to return with more information at a March 18 meeting.

County Administrator Candice W. McGarry and Finance Director Linda K. Staton walked the board through department budgets and one-time capital requests funded from anticipated FY24 carryover. Staff identified a Transfer to Debt Service of $3,935,284 that Vice Chair Ernie Q. Reed flagged as a significant expense in an otherwise tight fiscal year; staff said a pending bill would allow a one-percent local-option sales tax by referendum that, if enacted and approved locally, could generate roughly $1 million for school capital or debt service.

Capital items flagged for further review included:

• Sheriff vehicles: Sheriff Embrey requested seven vehicles at an estimated $448,000; staff recommended funding four vehicles (about $256,000) and the board flagged the item for further discussion, noting high vehicle-mileage and long replacement cycles.

• Emergency Communications Center (ECC) first-response vehicle: John Adkins requested a 2024 Tahoe priced at about $72,500; the board flagged that item for more detail.

• Radio improvements for Wintergreen: an estimated $196,000 request for a radio-system reconfiguration to improve reliability was flagged for additional information.

• Voting machines: Registrar Jackie Britt requested countywide voting-machine replacement with the lowest quote at $151,200; board asked questions about state participation and procurement.

• Transfer Station tipping floor: staff provided a ballpark estimate of $260,000 and said engineers are evaluating the scope; the board noted the existing floor is showing rebar and will require repair.

Staff also reviewed several IT and public-safety capital items—network server replacement ($30,000), penetration testing ($21,000), event logging ($12,000), a proposed meeting streaming/indexing/transcription solution (initial ~$76,000; ~$22,000 annually thereafter), and replacement microwave antennas and batteries—many of which were tied to elections security or emergency communications reliability.

Ms. McGarry said most capital requests would be funded from year-end carryover and that staff had reduced or deferred some requests (for example, trimming the Sheriff’s vehicle request and reducing requested professional-services funding in Animal Control). The board asked that Sheriff Embrey and other department heads attend the March 18 session to discuss vehicle needs and other flagged items.

Outcome and next steps

The board adjourned at 3:14 p.m. and continued the budget work session to March 18, 2024, at 1 p.m. Staff will return with additional detail and vendor information on flagged capital items, debt-capacity scenarios from consultants, and a formal health-insurance resolution.