By Randy Arrington
LURAY, Dec. 4 — In their final meeting of the year, four members of the Page County Board of Supervisors made some big decisions regarding new EMS staffing, banning electronic skill games, easing restrictions on Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled program, and making two appointments. Chairman Keith Weakley and District 5 supervisor Jeff Vaughan were absent last Monday for the final meeting of 2023.
County Administrator Amity Moler noted at last week’s meeting that “53 times during the last quarter” when someone in Page County called 911, the county had no ambulance available to answer the call. It’s happened 161 times in the last year, according to Moler. While all of those calls were covered by agencies in surrounding jurisdictions, it highlighted the county’s need for additional EMS staff.
By a unanimous, 4-0, vote, the board approved an additional $100,000 to cover three new EMS positions through the remaining seven months of the fiscal year. Two positions will be full-time, day crew slots that Moler said, “we absolutely need now.” A third full-time position will be used to cover for absences in other shifts.
The county is hoping that the state will be kicking in some funding for EMS staffing in the next budget cycle.
In other business at its Dec. 4 meeting, the Page County Board of Supervisors took the following actions:
• Unanimously approved an amendment to Chapter 105 of the County Code dealing with taxation, and more specifically, the Tax Relief for the Elderly and Disabled program. Household income eligibility requirements were raised from $21,000 to $53,000 annually, tied to the county’s median household income. However, the sliding scale of the tax exemption program only allows those who earn 40 percent or less of the median household income to receive 100 percent exemption on their real estate taxes. Those in the 41 to 50 percent range of income can receive a 50-percent exemption, while those in the 51 to 60 percent range for income can receive a 25-percent exemption. Those who earn 61 percent or more of the median household income (about $32,330 annually and up) are not eligible for the program.
• Instructed law enforcement and the commonwealth attorney’s office to immediately begin enforcing a ban on electronic skill games at convenience stores and other locations in the county. The state reversed an earlier decision and imposed a ban on the games on Oct. 14. Previously, the ban was delayed to allow small stores a source of revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, the local plan was to actively start enforcing the ban after Jan. 1, but supervisors felt there was no need to delay. Staff members stated that most stores had already complied and shut the games down, with less than a handful remaining in operation (possibly only one).
• Reappointed Catherine Grech as the District 1 representative to the Page County Planning Commission by a 3-1 vote, with outgoing vice chair Larry Foltz (Dist. 4) dissenting. Grech’s current term expires on Jan. 14, 2024, while her new four-year term extends through Jan. 14, 2028.
• Unanimously approved the appointment of Jim Printz as the District 5 representative on the Social Services Board to fill a vacancy and a term through June 30, 2026.
• Presented plaques to outgoing supervisors Mark Stroupe (Dist. 3) and Larry Foltz (Dist. 4), who will be replaced in January by Ryan Cubbage and Issac Smelser, respectively.
For more information about Page County government,
visit https://www.pagecounty.virginia.gov/
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