After nearly a month of deliberations, the County Board of Supervisors (www.albemarle.org) voted 4-2 to put $250,000 toward a “jobs development opportunity fund,” which would give County officials some money to help entice companies to settle in the county. In a separate vote at their January 3 meeting, County supervisors also opted 4-2 to pay $1,210 in dues to rejoin the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce (www.cville.chamber.org) after a 28-year official absence from that body.
 January 3 was a big day for Ken Boyd. Not only did he become chairman of the Board of Supervisors, but also two pro-business appropriations he originally championed passed 4-2. |
Supervisors voting for the jobs fund were quick to distinguish themselves as pro-job growth, not pro-population growth, and to point out that the money has not been spent yet. David Slutzky, who voted for the measure, said that his criteria for deserving companies would include that they are nonpolluters that hire local employees.
But also debated was, in essence, whether County supervisors could be trusted to distinguish such companies. Slutzky and Ken Boyd, the newly selected chairman, played down the expenditure by saying the money had not been spent and that the board could be judged when they do spend the money. Supervisor Dennis Rooker, who voted against the measure along with Sally Thomas, said that “in most cases when private companies are thinking about coming to the area, it’s not a public matter.” Boyd acknowledged this was often true, but said that as elected representatives, they had to be trusted to make such decisions.
On the Chamber of Commerce subject, discussion revolved mostly around what would be the downsides—not the benefits—of joining. Thomas said that joining the chamber, which advocates for specific projects such as the North Pointe development, sets up a “level of mistrust.” “We’ll just have to work a little bit harder to convince the community that we’re totally open,” Thomas said. Once again, Thomas and Rooker voted against the measure.
Slutzky pointed out that City Council, UVA and both local public school systems are all members of the chamber. None of those board members who voted “yes” thought that joining the chamber suggested impropriety. “They’ve never influenced me, nor have they ever come to me individually and asked me about some vote they were supporting,” said Boyd, who belongs to the chamber. “It’s not done.”
