On the Trail of Albemarle's "Community Aspirations"

County Executive Tom Foley has continually referred this spring to Albemarle residents’/property owners’/renters’/taxpayers’ “community aspirations” as one of the main drivers of school and local government budgets for FY2017 and for many years to come.

However, it’s not easy to uncover:

(a) definitive lists of these aspirations

(b) when they were aspired to

(c) who aspires to them

(d) and how many of these so-called “Whos” did all this aspiring.

Oh, and I nearly forgot. There is also a missing (e): price tags matched to each aspiration.

Frankly, I nearly expired aspiring to find answers to (a) through (e).

My journey began when Tom recommended I start at the following trailhead during this spring’s budget season:

http://www.albemarle.org/department.asp?department=sp&relpage=18993

So, off I went with Tom’s suggested map as a guide.

What follows are some examples of (a) that I found. Unfortunately, I did not find answers to (b) through (e) about any of these:

• "create and implement initiatives that strengthen community leadership capacity"

• "establish and implement a 3-5 year plan for use of the Ivy Material Utilization Center as a waste handling and recycling facility”

• "establish and implement strategic direction . . . for . . . broadband"

• “expand multi-modal transportation options”

• "establish and begin implementation of a Board-approved work plan for the County's newly-created Economic Development Office"

• "possibly increase the current availability of quality pre-school opportunities"

• "establish and begin implementation of priorities for a natural resource program"

• "identify and propose staffing resources needed to meet the Board's transportation priorities"

• "initiate the development of a rural transportation plan”

If you're also into adventure, consider letting Tom and the Board of Supervisors (bos@albemarle.org) know which, if any, of the preceding “community aspirations” sound like things you are aspiring to pay for with your tax dollars.

Meanwhile, after failing to find all that I was looking for from where Tom told me to explore, I laced up my budget boots even tighter and struck out on my own trek — digitally traversing more document trails along the County website. Mile markers and signposts for “community aspirations” proved difficult to spot.

The following two rest areas along the trail, however, may be the most inspiring scenic overlooks I found as I looked over the County’s financial forest: “YOUR TAX DOLLAR FUNDS CRITICAL SERVICES” and “WORD ON THE STREET.” Both of these vistas can be enjoyed at:

http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/Forms_Center/Departments/County_Executive/Forms/Misc/Annual_Report_Final_for-web.pdf

Here are a few markings along these paths that perhaps some might interpret as “community aspirations:”

From “YOUR TAX DOLLAR FUNDS CRITICAL SERVICES:”

Out of every $1.00:

$0.54 is spent on Education (operations, capital, debt)

$0.20 is spent on Public Safety (police, career fire & EMS, operating money to volunteer fire/rescue

$0.09 is spent on Human Services (tax relief program, Bright Stars preschools, eligibility and protective services, 18 agencies)

$0.08 is spent on Operations (technology, facilities management, County leadership & support to the BOS, water resources)

$0.04 is spent on Revenue Sharing to Charlottesville

$0.03 is spent on Parks, Recreation & Culture (parks, boat ramps, river access, trails, athletic programs & classes, festivals, cultural agencies, JMRL, Convention & Visitor’s Bureau)

$0.02 is spent on Community Development (planning, zoning, inspections, rural area protection, neighborhood improvements)

And from “WORD ON THE STREET:”

Results from a 2015 survey of 375 County residents say:

• “Albemarle County residents care about safety.”

• “Mobility is a potential area for improvement.”

• “Education and enrichment is important.”

• “Recreation and wellness is a priority.”

Perspiring as I was after crisscrossing the mountains of “community aspirations” at these two locations, I stopped to rest and reconnoiter. I quickly realized, however, that evidence for (a) from (b) through (e) were once again lost to me.

I decided I had hiked far enough.

And not wanting to waste precious breath charging Albemarle with conspiring to keep (b) through (e) hidden in the budgetary underbrush, I simply stopped exploring and turned my energy and attention back to my assessed real property.

At home, respiring more comfortably now, my current focus is on discovering how to reduce my personal budget. You see I’m searching for a way to write a bigger tax check for my share of Albemarle’s elusive “community aspirations.”