An upset for Albemarle County is a victory for Charlottesville City as Delegate Rob Bell’s Budget Amendment Item 132 #4h was not included in the Commonwealth’s 2010-2012 biennial budget at the conclusion of Virginia’s 2010 legislative session.
The proposal would have amended Virginia’s state budget in order to better reflect the annual wealth transfer from Albemarle County to Charlottesville City under the region’s Revenue Sharing Agreement. At stake presently was approximately $2.8 million which Albemarle County Schools could have kept in lieu of transferring it to Charlottesville City Schools.
Delegate David Toscano (publicly) and Senator Creigh Deeds (privately) opposed the bill as did Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Chair Ann Mallek and member Dennis Rooker. At the urging of former Albemarle County Supervisor Sally Thomas, Albemarle County County School Board members Brian Wheeler, Diantha McKeel and Jon Stokes also opposed the measure.
Bell’s proposed amendment handily passed the House but stalled in the Senate where it lacked a patron.
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I hope the voters in Albemarle County remember when Deeds is up for re-election. He put party politics ahead of a large number of his constituents. He feels as though he’s a savvy politician because he never had to take a public stand.