CULPEPER STAR EXPONENT | Community briefs for May 10, 2020

Town and County Interaction to meet in person

The Culpeper Town & County Interaction Committee will meet in-person at 10 a.m. this Monday, May 11 inside the Economic Development Center, 803 S. Main St.

Social distancing of six-feet separation of all attendees will be required. The CDC recommends wearing a mask when in public.

Members of Town Council and the Board of Supervisors will discuss COVID-19 response, reopening of town and county buildings and strategies support local businesses impacted by mandated public health closures and restrictions.

Culpeper School Board meetings to be held virtually

The Culpeper County Public School Board finance committee will meet virtually at 5:15 p.m. this Monday, May 11 followed at 6 p.m. with the regular School Board

The public can view the meetings at https://www.culpepermedia.org/live-stream, Comcast Public Access Channel 10 or Verizon Fios Public Access Channel 21. Local media has also been granted phone access to the meetings.

Public comment from Culpeper County citizens is a critical part of informed and effective government, according to the School Board. The local governing body encourages readers to submit public comments.

Public comments for Monday’s school board meeting can be sent to Pearl Jamison at [email protected]; (540) 825-3677, ext. 3121; or put in the mail to Culpeper County School Board, Attn: Pearl Jamison, 450 Radio Lane, Culpeper, VA, 22701. All comments must be received no later than 2 p.m. on May 11.

On Thursday, May 13, the school board capital planning meeting will be conducted virtually at 8 a.m.

Culpeper County Board holds special virtual meeting

The Culpeper County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting by teleconference at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 12 to adopt a budget for Fiscal Year 20-21.

Agenda and supporting documents are at www.boarddocs.com/va/ccva/Board.nsf. The public can hear audio from the meeting at https://www.culpepermedia.org/live-stream or on Comcast Public Access Channel 10 or Verizon Fios Public Access Channel 21. The Star-Exponent has also been granted phone access.

All county tax rates for the coming fiscal year, beginning July 1, will remain unchanged. A hiring freeze had been implemented at the county and employee pay raises are not guaranteed this fiscal year due to drastic budget impacts due to COVID-19. The Board will also considering cancelling this year’s Harvest Days Farm Tour.

Virginia 30-Day FUND aims to save jobs

The COVID-19 crisis has put millions of small business jobs at risk impacting millions of families across Virginia. Help is out there.

Virginia technology entrepreneur Pete Snyder and his wife, Burson, have launched the nonprofit Virginia 30 Day Fund. Working with other business leaders, the Fund’s goal is to help save as many Virginia jobs as possible while small businesses await recently approved federal funding, according to the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce.

Virginia businesses that qualify for assistance from the Fund are small businesses that employ three to 30 people, are based in Virginia and have been operating for at least one year and are owned and operated by a Virginia resident.

The funds dispersed to small businesses by the Virginia 30 Day fund do not need to be repaid. If businesses who receive the Fund’s assistance do, at a later date, wish to “pay it forward” to another Virginia small business in need of assistance, they may do so by directing those dollars back to the Fund, which will disburse the funding to another Virginia business in need. For information or to apply, see https://va30dayfund.com/apply/

Kaine bill provides paid leave for government workers

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine wants to help local and state governments provide public employees hit by the COVID-19 crisis with paid leave.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed into law in March, did not extend tax credits to public-sector employers, straining state and local governments when many must shoulder new costs brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Kaine’s office says.

Kaine, with Sens. Dick Durbin and Tina Smith, has introduced the Supporting State and Local Leaders Act to fix the problem by making state, local, and tribal governments eligible for paid leave payroll tax credits.

“Localities across Virginia are struggling to balance their budgets and having to contemplate layoffs because of massive declines in tax revenue due to the coronavirus. State and local governments are stretched thin and should receive tax credits to help cover emergency paid leave, just like private employers received,” Kaine said in a statement. “This bill is critical to supporting state and local employees, including first responders, with the paid leave they need as they continue to work at the forefront of this health crisis.”

The Families First Act requires many public and private employers to provide paid leave for workers affected by the pandemic, and provides tax credits to private employers to cover the costs.

Kaine’s bill, the Supporting State and Local Leaders Act, is backed by the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, and the National School Boards Association.

Spanberger seeks direct relief to localities, states

As state and local governments face COVID-19 budget shortfalls, it’s critical that Congress steps up to ease that strain, U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger says.

In a Friday call with House colleagues, Spanberger underscored the need to support state and local governments fighting the virus and making sure that Central Virginians receive essential services such as electricity, water, health care and emergency response.

“As we’re discussing what lies ahead in the next COVID-19 response package, I’m particularly focused on how we can deliver much-needed relief to our state and local governments,” the 7th District Democrat said during the conversation. “On calls that I’ve had with our local officials–our mayors, Board of Supervisors members, county administrators–it is clear how urgent the need is for relief funding.”

“Virginia’s county governments are not only dealing with this unprecedented uptick in the demand for essential services, but they are doing it during an unprecedented economic downturn,” she added. “During this crisis, we need to ensure additional funding for states, counties, and cities of all sizes—and it needs to be direct, and it needs to be flexible.”

In the same call, Spanberger urged congressional leaders to bridge the “digital divide” exacerbated by COVID-19 by prioritizing major federal investments in high-speed internet infrastructure.