Lynwood Lewis
For Delegate
Blog
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Budget sides line up in the state
Posted Feb 28 at 11 AM
On Sunday, Feb. 21, the House Appropriations Committee met to vote on its version of the budget. By the time you are reading this article, we will be on the verge of voting on passage of the House of Delegates version of the budget. Similarly, the Senate Finance Committee will be constructing its version of the state's budget which will also be voted on by the Senate on Thursday.
Each version of the budget will then be sent to the other body of the Legislature, which will impose as amendments its own version of the budget, and those amendments will then be rejected out of hand by the majority of the other body.
This process results in two conflicting budget bills which will then head to a committee of conference.
The Speaker of the House, Bill Howell, appoints the conferees for the House of Delegates, and the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee appoints the Senate conferees.
The membership of the Conference Committees from either body is based on proportional party affiliation representation. The conferees begin to meet with budget staff from House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance Committee to try and work out the details and agree upon a budget.
It is always an intense negotiation but in this environment even more so. Gov. Bob McDonnell's thoughts on the budget will most likely be represented in the House of Delegates version of the budget since his party is in control of the House.
As you all know from my prior reports and our town hall meetings, this train has been traveling down the track for some time given the extreme economic crisis in which our country finds itself. No matter what the final version, the budget will be austere.
We have been fortunate in Virginia, where our pro-business/ low tax environment, along with our proximity to the growth in the Washington, D.C. suburbs and the military presence in Hampton Roads and a strong port, have led to robust economic growth while maintaining a relatively low tax burden.
The recent shock to the economic system of our country was more than our strong state economy could overcome. Therefore, we have experienced an unparalleled shrinkage in the Virginia economy and in state revenues.
Specific items of contention between the House and Senate are likely to be the continuation of the car tax relief program which was capped a couple of years ago at a cost of $950 million.
In addition, the size and scope of the cuts promoted by Governor McDonnell and likely reflected in the House budget to K-12 public education, some $730 million, are also likely to be a topic of intense discussion. Health care, in particular Medicaid and our Community Services Boards, have suggested cuts of $300 million.
Virginia is 48th in the country in its level of Medicaid reimbursements and has one of the strictest Medicaid qualification requirements in the country. Deeper cuts in the area of public safety are being avoided by an extensive increase in filing fees for lawsuits in District Court and Circuit Court.
Our state's employee retirement system will be under review. One bright spot is the relatively modest reductions in higher education, which includes our community colleges, simply because they have borne the brunt of prior cuts. I further anticipate the suggestion of a series of significant fee increases which some maintain represents a "nickel and dime" means of raising revenue from our citizens.
There are no easy answers and each choice in this budgetary environment is a difficult one. We also need to remember the difference between government spending and investment.
A good deal of what government does is invest so that, as in the private sector, we can reap the benefits of that investment and build for our future, particularly in the area of education. That is why Virginia has heretofore had such a robust economy, a nationally recognized system of public education, and a relatively low tax burden.
We must vote on the final budget by the time we adjourn finally at noon on Saturday, March 13.
As we have all learned in recent years, it will be possible to extend the session or return for a special session.
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Crossover Week Begins
Posted Feb 22 at 2 PM
This begins our cross-over week in the General Assembly and will have lengthy floor sessions and thick calendars. Some of the more controversial measures seem to languish until the final days, and the budget of course continues to occupy center stage as indications begin to emerge from the Governor's office about the types of additional cuts he will be promoting.
Of the approximately $1.5 billion in additional budget reductions, a significant portion appears to be coming from K-12 education through a reduction in state commitment to funding for the Standards of Quality. This is a very serious and significant policy change, which could have ramifications for several years. In the early 1990s during a significant recession, higher education bore the brunt of significant budgetary reductions in place of a tax increase. It took a decade or more for higher education to recover the ground lost. The unfortunate thing about reductions in K-12 funding, is that the effects are not immediate but rather take years to realize.
I continue to be amazed at the issues which generate controversy and concern here. While we always have issues of great importance, such as discussions on the death penalty and issues involving guns, we can become just as wrapped up over issues such as the regulation of the kitchen grease industry. We spent a significant amount of time in an agriculture sub-committee last week debating a bill which sought to bring a self-regulating scheme to the kitchen grease industry and reduce theft. A bill involving cap-and-trade (which is not really a state issue) was disposed of in about a third of the time.
An even larger point in this discussion is that while those "hot-button" issues generate a lot of news reports, at this level of government, it is issues such as overweight trucks, speed on our highways, conservation easements and health insurance mandates which we deal with that have real and immediate impact on people's lives. While most folks seem somewhat unsure about the role of state government, most of what we do involves those everyday issues where divisions and disagreements do not necessarily, and in fact seldom, fall along party lines. I continually receive e-mails about Social Security, Medicare, cap-and-trade and, of course, health care reform because of all the national media attention on those issues. Our 100th district constituents assume we must be dealing with those issues here in Richmond.
Work must be completed by Tuesday midnight on our House bills as we begin to receive bills from the Senate. I will begin presenting my bills to various Senate committees this week.
As always, we welcome and encourage visits to the Capitol and my office will be glad to help coordinate and facilitate visits by any group. Do not hesitate to contact me while I am in Richmond at 804-698-1000 or by e-mail at DelLLewis@ house.virginia.gov or by mail at Delegate Lynwood Lewis, P. O. Box 406, Richmond, Va. 23218.
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General Assembly Approaches Crossover Date
Posted Feb 10 at 11 AM
This week begins the fourth week of the 2010 Virginia General Assembly. The most important task of this session, and given the enormity of our economic crisis the most important one in many sessions, remains the writing of the state's two-year budget.
At present, the only document before us is the outgoing budget presented by former Gov. Tim Kaine. That budget relied on about $2 billion in cuts and about $1.5 billion or so in tax increases through the state income tax to fill the approximately $4 billion budget shortfall.
While no one anticipates that the income tax portion of Kaine's budget will survive, Gov. Bob McDonnell has not indicated as of yet how he would propose to otherwise close that portion of the shortfall and secondly what, if any, changes he would make to the cuts instituted by Kaine.
We have a scheduled adjournment of March 13. Unfortunately, local governments are working on their budgets, which depend heavily upon the state budget so some sense of direction is becoming a real issue. The consequences from cuts, in addition to the substantial cuts made in Kaine's proposed budget, are going to be significant.
We are fast approaching "cross-over," which is the date by which the Senate and the House must dispose of the bills which originated with them and pass those surviving measures on to the other chamber.
So far, of the 14 bills which I personally introduced, that is not joined with another legislator as a co-patron, six have passed through the House and are now on their way to the Senate. They include a bill to facilitate Eastern Shore's sewage treatment facilities participation in Virginia's nutrient trading program and a ban on the sale of commercial fishing licenses to nonresidents from states that do not issue Virginians commercial fishing licenses.
Several other measures have passed the sub-committee stage and are on their way through full committee. Passage at the sub-committee level is a good indication of how the full committee will act on a particular bill. I will give a more detailed report of those bills as they pass the House.
In addition, I have joined with other legislators of both parties to act as co-patron of several bills. Some bills of particular concern to the Eastern Shore which have passed are those which extend the Space Flight Immunity Act which made Virginia a leader in the new field of commercial space flight tourism and also a bill reinstituting and continuing the Governor's Aerospace Advisory Council.
Two other notable bills which had my support are a bill to authorize electric cooperatives to offer prepaid electric utility service and a bill to provide tax credit to businesses that create new jobs.
As always, we welcome and encourage visits to the Capitol and my office will be glad to help coordinate and facilitate visits by any group. Do not hesitate to contact me while I am in Richmond at 804-698-1000 or by e-mail at DelLLewis@ house.virginia.gov or by mail at Delegate Lynwood Lewis, P. O. Box 406, Richmond, Va. 23218.
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Weekly Update 2-3-10
Posted Feb 02 at 3 PM
The second full week of the Virginia General Assembly saw a noticeable increase in the pace of activity which will likely continue until legislative cross-over day on Feb. 16.
This week I took a point of personal privilege on the floor of the House to speak about a column which appeared in the Orlando Sentinel (www.orlandosentinel).
This column, by the President of the Florida Manufacturer’s Association, sounded the alarm for Floridians in regard to the competition for dominance in space flight which Wallops Island is poised to give.
The column reminded Floridians that the space industry in Florida contributed over $4 billion to Florida’s economy, half of which was in salaries alone.
In my remarks before the House, I reminded my colleagues of the efforts that we had made in attracting the Orbital project to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. I thanked them for their support but reminded them that we must keep up the effort as Florida is becoming more and more aware of the threat posed by the Wallops Island flight facility.
Shortly after the column appeared, the Governor of Florida announced a $32 million appropriation to Florida’s Spaceport. Also, we must also be very, very cautious as we tend to unquestioningly embrace offshore oil and natural gas exploration about which both the Navy and NASA are on record as having serious and grave reservations.
I do not know whether or not offshore energy exploration and production can be accomplished in harmony with activities of the Navy and the Spaceport; however, I think at a minimum, we need to show the Navy and the space industry that we are at least sensitive to their concerns as we seek to develop the Commonwealth’s position on that issue.
A great many significant investment decisions are being made based upon the idea that flight paths and operations areas will be free from obstruction.
While the destiny of any money obtained from offshore oil and natural gas production, if it ever occurs five or ten years down the line, is uncertain, I know where the economic benefit from the Navy and commercial space launches will be received, right here on the Eastern Shore and in the Commonwealth.
In addition Dels. Cosgrove, Kilgore and I have legislation that will remove the end-date on the bill we earlier passed for space flight liability immunity and also renewing the governor’s aerospace advisory council.
Some of my legislation has advanced through the House, including a bill to prohibit the VMRC from granting commercial fishing licenses or permits to residents of states that do not grant Virginia the same licenses or permits.
We have also given the Eastern Shore special mention in Virginia’s Nutrient Trading Law so as to allow our towns and the hospital the ability to buy nutrient credits from other basins, which is incredibly important as they struggle in the short term with remediating and improving their sewage disposal facilities.
I will discuss some of my other legislation as it progresses through the process.
Over 2,000 bills have been filed this session and are working their way through the process in both the House and the Senate. The number will be cut down by the subcommittee and the committee process and also by some floor action. All in all, however, this is a tremendous amount of legislation for us to consider in addition to the horrendous task of trying to construct a budget in light of a $4 billion shortfall.
As always, we welcome and encourage visits to the Capitol and my office will be glad to help coordinate and facilitate visits by any group. Please do not hesitate to contact me while I am in Richmond at 804-698-1000 or by e-mail at DelLLewis@house.virginia.gov or by mail at Delegate Lynwood Lewis, P. O. Box 406, Richmond, VA 23218.
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Governor cites spaceport in address
Posted Jan 27 at 11 AM
By Delegate Lynwood Lewis
The first full week of the Virginia General Assembly began with Gov. Bob McDonnell's State of the Commonwealth address on Monday evening. It was a lengthy address, well-delivered and with an optimistic tone.
It followed what was a very good inaugural address the previous Saturday on the portico of the Capitol. His remarks indicated what many of us have been discussing for some weeks now, that this extreme fiscal crisis may well result in a meaningful and useful discussion about the role and function of government in our Commonwealth.
It will force us to think in new ways about how we approach core services of government and also the state's relationship with localities.
The governor, in his State of the Commonwealth address, mentioned the exciting things at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and also reaffirmed his commitment to a $1.3 million budget appropriation for the Spaceport.
Clearly, he recognizes the value of the activity there, not only to the Shore but to the Commonwealth as a whole. I look forward to working with him as we find ways to advance and expand the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's competitiveness to ensure its position as one of the premier points of entry for commercial space flight.
Last Friday marked the deadline for requesting drafts of legislation from Legislative services. Friday, Jan. 22, was the deadline by which all legislation had to be filed. I have filed approximately 15 pieces of legislation and am a co-patron on several others. I will discuss some specific legislation in one of my later reports.
I also signed on to a letter to the United States Attorney General, Eric Holder, regarding the transfer of convicted murderer Jens Soering back to his native Germany under a recommendation to the United States State Department made by then-Governor Kaine in the final days of his administration. Soering was involved in a very brutal murder of an elderly Bedford couple more than twenty years ago. He is serving a life term and his girlfriend, and accomplice, is also serving a lengthy prison term. It is highly unlikely that the German authorities will hold him for any significant time beyond two years after his transfer. This is entirely inappropriate, and I joined several other legislators in sending this letter to Holder.
The work of the Assembly has begun in earnest with the usual round of 7 a.m. sub-committee meetings and lengthening floor sessions. I still look forward to visiting with Eastern Shore folks as they make their way to Richmond to see how their state government works.
The most important thing that the legislature does is construct a budget and in this dire fiscal situation the budget that emerges over the next six weeks will be even more important. There are a host of issues in addition to the budget that will affect the entire Commonwealth and the Eastern Shore. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts or ideas.
As always, we welcome and encourage visits to the Capitol and my office will be glad to help coordinate and facilitate visits by any group.
Do not hesitate to contact me while I am in Richmond at 804-698-1000 or by e-mail at DelLLewis@house.virginia.gov or by mail at Delegate Lynwood Lewis, P.O. Box 406, Richmond, Va. 23218.
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Setting up office and filing bills at General Assembly
Posted Jan 20 at 8 AM
BY: DELEGATE LYNWOOD LEWIS
The 2010 Virginia General Assembly convened on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at noon. We will be in session in Richmond through March 13 for a 60-day session. Session is longer in even numbered years because of the Assembly's budget writing duties.
On Wednesday evening, we heard from outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine in his state of the Commonwealth address. The address reflected upon some of the highlights of his term in office. Saturday marked the inauguration of Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was to address the Assembly and give his opening State of the Commonwealth address on Monday evening.
This week has been spent setting up and organizing my General Assembly office and filing bills that have been drafted and working with Legislative Services on drafting some additional legislation.
In addition, we received our committee assignments on Jan. 13 and I am pleased that my committees have remained the same. I will continue to serve on the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee, Finance Committee, Commerce and Labor and Militia and Police. Four committees is somewhat of a heavy load; however, they are all important to the 100th District.
In addition, I have signed on to two budget amendments, one of which is a bipartisan effort to address problems and inequities in the local composite index which controls state funding to our public schools.
I have already had several Eastern Shore visitors, including a visit from our Eastern Shore Community College students and members of our agriculture community.
As indicated in the media, the budget will dominate this session as we now face what is now an approximately $4 billion shortfall in revenues --this after $7 billion in cuts already has been made to the budget.
Further, the Unemployment Trust Fund is under stress because of the rise in claims from unemployment as well as the Virginia Retirement System.
This is going to be a very difficult session, requiring decisions about where significant cuts need to be made in the state budget in order to bring it into balance as required by the Virginia State Constitution. There will likely be no tax increase this session.
As always, we welcome and encourage visits to the Capitol and my office will be glad to help coordinate and facilitate visits by any group.
Do not hesitate to contact me while I am in Richmond, at 804-698-1000 or by e-mail at DelLLewis@house.virginia.gov or by mail at Delegate Lynwood Lewis, P. O. Box 406, Richmond, Va. 23218.
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Budget takes center-stage in transition to new governor
Posted Jan 10 at 11 AM
By: Delegate Lynwood Lewis
The 2010 session of the General Assembly begins on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at noon. There will be a State of the Commonwealth address by Virginia's outgoing governor, Tim Kaine, as well as an address by Virginia's new governor, Bob McDonnell, after he has been sworn in at his inauguration on Saturday, Jan. 16.
On Friday, Dec. 19, I was present for Gov. Kaine's presentation of his proposed outgoing two-year budget before committees of the Virginia General Assembly. Under Virginia's budgetary framework, Kaine, although an outgoing governor, is required to present a two-year budget to the legislature. The incoming governor will essentially rewrite the outgoing governor's proposed budget. Not a very efficient or common-sense process and Gov.-elect McDonnell has proposed shifting the writing of Virginia's two-year budget from even-numbered years to odd-numbered years to make this process more efficient during transition from one single-term Virginia governor to another. This is a proposal the details of which need to be reviewed but on the surface certainly seems to make good sense.
Kaine's budget was a dramatic way of dealing with Virginia's significant continued shortfall. Never in Virginia's budget history has it faced two back-to-back years of declining revenue. The great recession continues to take its toll on even the most fiscally sound of states such as Virginia.
We face a $3.5 billion shortfall over the next two years, this after Kaine has already trimmed $7 billion from Virginia's last $77 billion two-year budget. Kaine's proposal closes that shortfall (Virginia is constitutionally prohibited from having a budget deficit), and involves additional cuts to the budget including the very controversial cut of the car tax relief program, which is a payment from the state to the localities at $950 million per year to make the localities whole from the car tax cut instituted by Gov. Gilmore several years ago.
Kaine proposes to make the localities now whole by replacing the payment with money from a 1 percent increase in Virginia's income tax. This would restore to the localities all sums that they would lose through cessation of the state's payment of the car tax relief money. As you can imagine, this proposal is extremely controversial and is unlikely to meet with much success, especially in the House of Delegates.
McDonnell has already strongly signaled his opposition to Kaine's budget. McDonnell will certainly be faced with several very hard choices in regards to how he proposes to close this very significant budget shortfall. This session, an even-numbered budget writing year, is referred to as the "long session," and it is very likely that it will be even longer this year.
On Thursday, Jan. 7, I traveled traveling to Annapolis for a one day meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. As you may know, there has been a significant move by the administration in Washington and Congress, through the Environmental Protection Agency, to finally make meaningful progress toward restoring the Chesapeake Bay to health. While all Eastern Shoremen should be concerned about the health of the bay and welcome this new focus and devotion of national resources in a meaningful way, we all should be very aware of what the provisions of legislation now before Congress could mean to agriculture in Virginia.
While we all may have to bear some additional burdens in order to restore the bay to health, burdens which I am sure many of us are willing to shoulder, we need to make sure that those burdens are based upon accurate and fair science and data and are distributed equally. Questionable data and assumptions are the fundamental underlying concern of many people in regards to the information used to determine requirements of the new law, which would be put in place should the legislation before Congress pass.
This is very serious legislation with potentially significant ramifications and all of us, particularly in regions whose economy is built upon agriculture, yet which also depends on a healthy bay, should pay careful attention to the debate at the national level about how we proceed with restoring the bay to health.
The fall prior to the General Assembly session is always busy with a series of preparatory meetings with local governments, school boards, and constituents, as we attempt to prepare for the General Assembly session. This week Senator Northam and I held our series of annual town hall meetings, which I have had since first being elected in 2003, and which Senator Northam joined in after his election in 2007. In addition, we customarily follow up in the spring with another round of town hall meetings throughout our district to let folks know what transpired during the Virginia General Assembly. This of course is in addition to any other groups or organizations which request us to appear before them to discuss the General Assembly.
The session will be running from Jan. 13 through March 13. I hope to continue my practice of regular updates from Richmond during the session.
As always, I can be reached while in Richmond at 804-698-1000, by e-mail at Delllewis@home.state.va.us, and by United States Post Office at Delegate Lynwood W. Lewis, Jr., House of Delegates, P.O. Box 460, Richmond, Va. 23218. In addition, we always welcome visitors from the Shore to Richmond. I have a new office assignment, Room 524 in the Virginia General Assembly Building, and my office will be glad to help with groups to coordinate and facilitate a visit to Richmond.
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Lewis meets supporters
Posted Oct 12 at 8 PM
CHINCOTEAGUE -- Delegate Lynwood Lewis had breakfast Saturday morning with about two dozen supporters at the Waterside Inn.
Lewis thanked the people for coming and informed them of the progress he has witnessed as he campaigns on the island.
"The response we have gotten as we campaign on the island has been encouraging," said Lewis. "People have been friendly and have volunteered to help without being asked."
Lewis said two of the things he is most proud of is his support of the broadband effort and the regional spaceport at Wallops Island. Both, he said, would have a positive impact on Chincoteague and the Eastern Shore.
Lewis talked with the people who attended the meeting, listening to their concerns, before going out to campaign during the afternoon hours.
The breakfast was sponsored by Donna and Tommy Mason, owners of the Waterside Inn.
Lewis has been in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2003 and faces a challenge in the Nov. 3 election from Republican Melody Scalley and Independent John Smith Jr.
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Waste Water Summit was a Success
Posted Sep 13 at 2 PM
ONLEY --In his 30 years with the state Department of Environmental Quality, Frank Daniel said the Eastern Shore continuously has been talking about wastewater issues without resolving them.
"It's time for the Eastern Shore to make some decisions and move forward," Daniel said Wednesday at an all-day wastewater summit organized by Delegate Lynwood Lewis.
Officials say wastewater treatment is the linchpin to everything from affordable housing to economic development. But the local approach has been piecemeal and marred by failed attempts at consensus.
That's what Lewis sought during the program, which drew a crowd of 80 people, including Accomack, Northa-mpton and town officials, engineers, private citizens and out-of-state developers.
"Apparently there is some interest in the topic," Lewis said, looking around the packed meeting room at Shore Bank headquarters in Onley.
But the news wasn't all good. State attendees at the summit said building wastewater systems will become more complicated with tighter environmental restrictions -- making alternatives, including land application systems and systems that reuse treated wastewater for irrigation and aquifer recharge, more attractive.
Representatives of towns with their own systems talked about massive capital expenditures and, in some cases, operation costs that have exceeded projections.
Citing the abundance of talk lately on the Shore about wastewater issues, Lewis said he hoped getting the various parties together would help.
"When you get everyone in one room, occasionally a consensus may develop and new ideas may develop," he said, adding that while decisions about wastewater are up to localities, those decisions will be "formative" for the future economic development of the entire region.
Expensive Systems
Attendees heard from state health and environmental agency representatives, engineering firms and government funders about different sewage treatment options and their costs, along with reports on about six existing local systems --four town systems, NASA and Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital.
Jim Davis of the Eastern Shore Health District said the 21st century will see an increasing use of decentralized treatment over conventional plants, while Daniel, Remediation Program Manager of the DEQ's Tidewater Regional Office, told the audience that because of nutrient limits and other restrictions it will become "very, very difficult" to get a permit for a plant that discharges effluent into local waters, such as Onancock's municipal plant.
Onancock Town Manager Sandy Manter said the town's new $14.5 million, 750,000-gallon-per-day treatment plant is on track to be completed by June 2010 and said the town still plans to include at the plant a facility to receive and treat septic tank pump-out, which will likely be built using town funds.
"It's no secret that our plant is going to have some excess capacity," Manter said, adding that Onancock is open to talking to any parties interested in using the facility.
Onancock spends $520,000 a year to operate and maintain its treatment plant, she said.
Bob Panek of Cape Charles said that town spends $530,000 a year to operate its plant. Bids were opened last week to construct a new town facility with the same capacity --250,000 gallons a day with the possibility of future expansion to 500,000 gallons --as the present plant, which was built in 1983. He said the apparent low bid is $14.7 million.
The town will spend another $1.2 million to reroute a half mile of main and modernize three pump stations, he said.
Panek told the group, "Density is your friend," and said localities should "plan for growth, but don't bank on it."
Cape Charles had to simultaneously address an obsolete treatment system, new state nutrient limits, and projected growth from three approved developments from 1,250 connections to 5,700, he said.
While the town has gotten $12 million in grants and loans, that leaves $6 million to pay, which could mean up to $386,000 a year in debt service and could add $28 to each customer's monthly bill.
"You've got to ask yourself, 'What are you trying to solve?'" Panek said.
Two other towns with smaller decentralized systems, Exmore and Parksley, have found having them is more work than was anticipated.
"We've found they're expensive to operate," Exmore interim Town Manager Artie Miles said of the town's three systems.
"It was done on the cheap and we're paying the price," he said.
He said he has two or three people a week come to his office wanting to hook up to town sewer lines and said Exmore is working with engineers on a design to provide more service.
He cautioned that rates must go up to meet the demand and said, "Once you're in, you've got to be all in. We hope to progress, (but) we've got a long way to go."
Parksley Mayor Rick Chase said the town's new $2.8 million municipal system, which began operating in May, requires more oversight than the town had anticipated.
"For the small towns on the Shore ... it is a considerable undertaking," he said, adding that Parksley ended up paying $70,000 out of pocket for hidden additional costs when it built its system and now faces paying another $7,500 a year in testing fees.
But Chase said Parksley had no choice but to install a municipal system because its downtown businesses' septic systems were failing and were, in many cases, located beneath the buildings themselves.
Moving Forward
Daniel said the summit is only a first step toward resolving the region's wastewater problems and it will take community leaders and commitment of local funds for things like feasibility studies to move forward.
"It's going to cost; there's no way around it," he said, adding, "I applaud Delegate Lewis for bringing this summit together."
Northampton County Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman Spencer Murray said the counties and towns need to work together for greater efficiency. He said he has told Northampton's Board of Supervisors, "It's time for us to either lead, follow or get ... out of the way; the fact that we have no plan doesn't mean there will be no activity."
And Lewis' opponent in the race for the 100th District House of Delegates seat this fall, Melody Scalley, had the last word of the day, saying she is concerned about delegating authority for wastewater treatment to "individuals who have the right to tax or set fees" but who do not answer to the electorate -- an apparent reference to a public service authority.
The question of whether to create a public service authority to oversee wastewater treatment in Accomack County has been at a stalemate for months, with some county supervisors supporting it and others opposed.
To read more comments:
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Water and sewer forum is Sept. 9
Posted Aug 27 at 3 PM
PARKSLEY --A budget forecast from the Public Works Department became the touchstone for yet another extended discussion about water and sewer service options at the Aug. 22 Accomack County Board of Supervisors meeting.
The topic will be explored further at a forum planned for Sept. 9 at the Shore Financial Services headquarters in Onley and sponsored by Delegate Lynwood Lewis. That event, cosponsored by the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission, will feature representatives from several government agencies with expertise in water and sewer service.
Accomack County Administ-rator Steve Miner announced the forum, adding that figures comparing user costs for various options including public-private partnership, operating an independent county-run system or using the town of Onancock's excess capacity would not be ready for several months.
The board asked Miner to confer with Lewis about setting aside time at the Sept. 9 event for Accomack stakeholders to speak about various opinions for providing sewer and water service.
Public Works Director Stewart Hall Wednesday presented a biennial budget forecast for the county's current and projected water and sewer services that requires $80,000 in subsidies from the county's general fund in 2010 and $134,000 in 2011.
The county recently accepted the transfer of the central Accomack water and sewer service from the Accomack County Economic Develop-ment Authority.
Supervisor Wanda Thornton objected to the increase from $5,000 to $50,000 a year for professional services, saying the increase is not needed for 2010.
The budget forecast also adds a full-time position at a salary of $65,000 for a utility manager next year.
In addition, maintenance needs of the system are not yet fully known as there has been no recent inventory of assets, Hall said. But what is known is that the water tower needs painting, at an estimated cost of $75,000, Board Chairman Steve Mallette said.
Supervisor Donald Hart recommended the county look into recouping some of that money by leasing space on the tower for antennas for cellular telephone service and the like.
The lengthy discussion then became diverted to the pros and cons of forming a public service authority versus other means of providing municipal water and sewer service, including using a private provider or having the county continue to operate and perhaps expand its service.
Supervisor Wanda Thornton said Mallette has been "going around to different individual entities and trying to convince them about a PSA."
Thornton spoke in favor of forging a deal with Onancock to use excess capacity of its new sewer treatment plant.
But others disagreed, including Hart, who said the county should develop its own land application system using land at the Industrial Park. "Just go and tell Onancock do your own thing," he said, adding that his option would allow expansion south of the Industrial Park.
But Supervisor Phil McCaleb advocated creating a public service authority, saying, "We have been studying and have had recommended to us a PSA, where those two figures (for subsidies from the county's general fund for 2010 and 2011) would be zero. Before we do anything here we ought to make up our mind what are we going to leave for our grandchildren?" -- adding that the options were having the county provide "a consistent subsidy" to its water and sewer operations each year or the possibility of having a "self-sustaining" and possibly profitable PSA.
Mallette said the proposed budgets account only for maintaining the status quo and not for outreach to prospective businesses wishing to locate in the county.
As an example, he said, the Eastern Shore Seafood Market to be located in Melfa near the farmers market has approached the county about extending water service there.
Without an adequate entity or mechanism in place to oversee such opportunities, he said, "That's one big thing we might be missing."
Hall cited another possible expansion of services, saying a citizens' group at Captain's Cove recently approached the county about partnering to enable more connections in that development.
The board later approved increasing the water and sewer rates for county customers to reflect the town of Onancock's recently announced sewer service rate increase and rates set by NASA Wallops Flight Facility which affect Wallops Research Park. By unanimous vote, the central Accomack sewer service rate was set at $24.02 per 1,000 gallons and the Wallops Research Park sewer service rate was set at $13.61 per 1,000 and its water rate was set at $13.54 per 1,000 gallons.
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Legislative Update
Posted Aug 27 at 3 PM
"State budget news isn't good after finance meeting"
On Monday, Aug. 19, I traveled to Richmond for the 9:30 a.m. meeting of the House Finance, Senate Finance and House Appropriations committees meeting, which takes place each time this year to hear a report from the governor and the secretary of Finance on the state's revenue forecast.
As you might imagine, the news was not good. The drag of the national economy, which officially went into recession in December 2007, continues to affect the commonwealth's budget situation.
While our rate of unemployment, which has increased from 4 to 6.9 percent, remains one of the lowest in the nation, especially for large states, it is still having a significant and negative impact on our commonwealth's economy.
As of July 1 we ended the 2009 fiscal year approximately $300 million below the official revenue forecast. For fiscal year 2009, the state had a negative growth rate of 9.2 percent, which is the largest decline ever in the state's growth.
Projection going into fiscal year 2010 is for a $1.3 billion revenue shortfall. This coupled with the $300 million from fiscal year 2009 results in a $1.5 billion revenue shortfall. The governor has requested from all state agencies reductions at 5, 10, and 15 percent levels and will announce his proposals for the cut-backs to bring the state budget in line with revenues in early September. Virginia must have a balanced budget.
During this national economic crisis, Virginia, unlike most states, has not increased taxes nor delayed paying vendors, nor sold state assets for upfront cash. We have maintained our AAA bond rating from each major rating agency, one of seven states that can make this claim.
In addition over the last four years, we have been named the most business friendly state in America seven times. This has caused Moodys, the bond rating agency, to comment recently that "although Virginia's economy and budget have suffered in the housing downturn in a national recession, it has taken wide ranging action to maintain a sound financial position."
Further, according to Standard and Poors, our "... long history of proactive and conservative financial management and manageable debt burden" reinforced their high rating of our Commonwealth. CNBC, which recently named Virginia its top state for business in 2009, said "Virginia has what it takes to emerge from an economy turned upside down."
The shortfall projected by the governor is worst-case and any change should only be positive. The governor's advisory groups on revenue forecasts will reconvene in October and November to again review the revenue forecast. As Gov. Tim Kaine said in his remarks to the committees, "it is always an honor to serve, but it is particularly important to serve in the tough times when there are no easy choices."
After the governor and secretary of finance's presentations, the entire Assembly convened for a special session to help our Commonwealth attorneys deal with criminal prosecutions in light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts and also to provide compensation for Arthur Whitfield, who was wrongfully convicted of rape 22 years ago and exonerated by DNA evidence.
Locally, we have assembled stake holders on the wastewater issues from the federal, state, and local governments for an informational meeting on Sept. 9 in Onley. The meeting is designed to give local governments all the information relevant to decisions regarding wastewater. My office has worked in conjunction with the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission to bring about this all-day meeting.
Given the panel participants and the interest already shown, I am sure this will be a productive and informative session. Decisions made on wastewater management are extremely important to economic development and therefore it is especially important that adequate and complete information be provided to local government decision makers.
The summer continues to be a busy one. On Monday, I will be in Richmond for the Governor's Aerospace Advisory Committee meeting and on Wednesday and Thursday, I will be in Gloucester for a meeting of the Chesapeake Subcomm-ittee of the Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee. In addition, I have been appointed to a study committee on woodwaste biomass, which will meet in September as well as a meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Commis-sion in Williamsburg.
It continues to be a privilege to represent the 100th District. I am on the Shore in Accomac full time and can be reached by mail at P.O. Box 760, Accomac, Va. 23301, by telephone 757-787-1094, toll-free at 866-787-1094, and by e-mailing me at Delllewis @house.state.va.us.
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"Orbital Sciences Corporation to invest $45 million for assembly and launch infrastructure of new rocket in the Commonwealth"
Posted Aug 02 at 4 PM
"The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Accomack County, Loudoun County, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority and the Virginia Public Building Authority to secure the project for Virginia. Virginia Delegate Lynwood Lewis and Senator Mark Herring were also instrumental in the project. Governor Kaine approved a $1 million performance-based grant from the Virginia Investment Partnership (VIP) program, an incentive available to existing Virginia companies."
Governor Kaine
www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/viewRelease.cfm
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Wallops Spaceport wins $45M project
Posted Aug 02 at 10 AM
“This is terrific news — a real milestone in economic development for the Shore and important not just to us but also to the entire Commonwealth,” said Del. Lynwood Lewis, who represents Accomack County in the Virginia General Assembly.
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Expanding broadband internet to the Eastern Shore
Posted Aug 02 at 9 AM
"I would especially like to thank the hard work of Delegate Lynwood Lewis, Governor Kaine and his predecessor Governor Mark Warner in taking the leadership at the State level in securing funding for this project"
- Senator Jim Webb
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"A busy summer ahead for Virginia officials" By Delegate Lynwood Lewis
Posted Jul 31 at 2 PM
Delegate Lewis' article can be found here.
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At Wallops, 'another era of discovery' is celebrated
Posted Jul 31 at 2 PM
Delegate Lynwood Lewis said the arrival the Taurus II program "is a huge event for the Eastern Shore and I think the largest economic development project in recent memory."
