Legislation will not impact revenue sharing agreement with Albemarle County
This week Governor Ralph Northam signed House Bill 1148, which relates to revenue sharing agreements such as the one that has been in effect between the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County since 1982.
The provisions of the bill do not materially impact this specific revenue sharing agreement and our existing practices related to communications, budgeting, and financial accountability under the agreement will continue.
HB 1148 amends Virginia law to ensure that localities in a revenue sharing agreement report to each other on the amount of funds transferred, the uses of those funds, and that an annual meeting take place to discuss anticipated future plans for economic growth in the localities.
The revenue sharing agreement between the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County has always had a provision for an annual meeting. Each year the City and County jointly determine the annual amount for revenue sharing based upon the formula in the agreement. Further, the City of Charlottesville includes a report on its general investment of those funds as part of its published annual budget.
The new legislation’s call for a discussion of “anticipated future plans for economic growth” is something previously undertaken by the City and the County in a Memorandum of Understanding signed in September 2017. That agreement notes that the “City and County both recognize that a strong, vibrant and stable local economy provides significant benefits to the shared Charlottesville and Albemarle region.”
