 Legislative Update
VALECO represents the common interests of Virginias five, locally-elected constitutional officers: clerks of the circuit court, Commonwealths attorneys, commissioners of the revenue, sheriffs and treasurers. The Associations 2001 legislative package includes two budget initiatives of enormous importance to all offices, as well as endorsement of individual associations budget requests for funding to address the "position gap" in each of these offices. BUDGET AMENDMENT (Senator Trumbo; Delegate Dickinson) COST-OF-LIVING RAISES FOR CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS & DEPUTIES The Governors Budget as introduced provides compensation adjustments averaging 3.5% to state employees, but provides no raises whatever for the 14,000 constitutional officers and deputies across the state. Constitutional officers seek a cost-of-living increase of 3.5%, effective December 1, 2001. The cost is $8.7 million. BUDGET CONCERN REDUCTION IN STATE SUPPORT FOR SALARIES OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE REVENUE (Item 67.A) VALECO strongly opposes the proposed $3 million reduction, in the Governors Budget as introduced, of state support for the salaries of elected Commissioners of the Revenue. Commissioners salaries are presently paid in an approximately 80-20% split between state and local governments, pursuant to a statutory formula enacted in 1980 and applied consistently since that time. The Governors budget would override the statutory formula to create a 50-50% split in funding for these offices, thus imposing a $3 million additional burden on counties and cities. BUDGET INITIATIVE E-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE IN CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICES (Item 65.C) VALECO strongly endorses the substance of the "e-Government" initiative contained in the Governors Budget as introduced, which would provide important technological resources and improvements in constitutional offices across the Commonwealth. This initiative would be of particular benefit to offices in smaller jurisdictions, in which local technology support for offices is often minimal. VALECO, however, respectfully requests that the initiative not be funded by diverting balances from the Technology Trust Fund, established by the General Assembly in 1996 to support the modernization of land records in clerks offices. ENDORSEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL ASSOCIATION BUDGET REQUESTS VALECO strongly endorses the efforts of four of its constituent organizations clerks, commissioners of the revenue, Commonwealths attorneys and treasurers -- to address the growing "position gap" in constitutional offices. That "gap" is the shortfall between the number of positions that Compensation Board-approved staffing standards indicate are necessary to do the job, on the one hand, and positions that are actually funded in the Appropriations Act, on the other. Statewide, constitutional officers are short 833 positions from deputy court clerks, to DARE (anti-drug education) deputy sheriffs, to Assistant Commonwealths attorneys to prosecute serious crimes. This gap is increasingly threatening constitutional officers ability to perform their legally-mandated tasks, from administering the judicial system, to preserving public safety, to collecting and disbursing local revenues. The hardest-hit offices have staggering staffing shortfalls, operating with as much as 141% less staff support than the Compensation Board staffing standards require.
For more information regarding VALECOs legislative agenda, please contact VALECO Legislative Counsel Alan D. Albert at 697-1368 or by E-mail at alan.albert@troutmansanders.com
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