The Shadow
COVINGTON, VA (VR) — The Alleghany County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a midyear budget amendment of nearly $2.4 million, backed fee relief for a major housing project in Clifton Forge, and received sobering updates on school funding, health care access, and water system losses. The board met June 2 for its monthly meeting.
Supervisors unanimously adopted amendments to the 2025-26 operating budget totaling $2,394,732.72 after a required public hearing. Finance staff said the change is driven by a 2025 Operational Ceasefire and Analytical Tech grant for the sheriff’s office and rising costs under the Children’s Services Act, which covers foster care and special education placements. The county is currently serving sixty-seven children through CSA and has taken eighteen children into foster care since the fiscal year began July 1, 2025. Officials expect to recoup about 80 percent of the CSA spending, or roughly $1.8 million, from the state. The remaining local share will be covered from contingency funds instead of the county’s general fund balance. The board voted to waive its usual policy to delay action and then approved the amendment on a unanimous roll call.
During public comment, Alleghany Highlands School Board member John Littleton said the consolidated division has already cut about $2.5 million from its budget without reducing direct classroom instruction. Seventy-eight percent of the division’s budget goes to salaries for more than 500 employees, he said. Littleton asked supervisors to consider directing any additional state or grant funds toward schools, citing both operating needs and a long-planned roof replacement at the former Mountain View/Clifton Academy building. He said a recent inspection found the roof in poor
condition and warned that delays could damage the facility. Later, Superintendent Halterman told the board the division’s additional local request is driven by a projected $1.2 million reduction in state aid tied to changes in the state’s Local Composite Index, not by budget growth. Rising health insurance costs and $900,000 in special education service expenses this year have added to the pressure.
Selma resident Julie Brackenridge criticized what she described as a lack of urgency around local health care after only two board members attended a May 21 community forum at the YMCA. Citing a community survey of 118 residents, she said 83 percent reported traveling outside the region for medical care. Brackenridge asked whether the county or other organizations are recruiting doctors, pursuing grants, or working with state and federal representatives to address the issue. She warned that the area’s for-profit hospital could become vulnerable if cuts to Medicaid and Medicare continue. “The answer cannot be just a shrug and say that it’s happening everywhere,” she said, adding that her concern is focused on Alleghany County and its dwindling options.
Supervisors approved a compromise to support renovation of the historic Jefferson School building in Clifton Forge into twenty-eight workforce housing units and a food pantry. At the town’s request, the board voted to waive county building permit fees for the project, estimated at about $4,660 on a $5.7 million rehabilitation.
On solid waste, the county will reduce tipping fees at the transfer station from $85 per ton to $50 per ton for up to 160 tons of construction debris. County Administrator Ken McFayden said the county’s direct costs include about $20 per ton to haul waste to the regional landfill and $30.72 per ton paid in landfill tipping fees. The remaining $35 of the current $85 rate covers operation of the transfer station. Supervisors debated fairness to other customers and future projects but agreed to waive only the “soft” operational portion while covering the county’s hard costs. The project is supported in part by a Virginia Housing grant, and the property is expected to move into private ownership and onto the tax rolls once complete.
John Hull, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, presented the group’s 2025 annual report and highlighted opportunities for Alleghany County. Since 2022, the eight-locality region has seen more than $1 billion in new economic activity, including about $565 million in capital investment and more than 3,000 jobs. Those totals include an expansion at Balchem and the location of Green Thumb Industries in Alleghany County.
Hull said a Google data center project in neighboring Botetourt County, not yet counted in the totals, is expected to generate strong regional demand
for vendors and manufacturers, especially firms that produce cooling systems, transformers, and other electrical equipment. He said Alleghany’s prepared industrial pad site is well-positioned for equipment manufacturing and assembly tied to data centers and to life sciences supply chains. Supervisors questioned whether rural areas will gain better access to high-capacity power as data centers spread beyond Northern Virginia. Hull said utilities’ delivery timelines vary and the issue needs to be monitored. He also noted that state-level work is underway on small modular nuclear reactors and offered to help connect county leaders with experts. Hull outlined ongoing support for the county’s outdoor recreation economy, including sponsorships for events such as the Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon, the Agony in the Alleghenies cycling event and the Lake Moomaw Open Water Swim. He said more than $30,000 in Project Outside grants has gone to local trail and maintenance projects.
In his report, McFayden briefed supervisors on high water loss in the county’s distribution system. Alleghany buys up to 1.6 million gallons per day from Covington and Clifton Forge and averages about 700,000 gallons per day. An audit with the Virginia Rural Water Association estimated systemwide losses at about 36 percent, compared with national averages of 16 to 20 percent.
The Cliftondale subsystem is losing roughly 50 percent of its water and is the top priority, followed by the Selma subsystem. Since July 1, county crews have made more than 100 leak repairs, including forty-three in Cliftondale and twenty-four in Selma.
About 20 percent of the county’s water budget currently pays for water that never reaches customers, McFadden said. “That’s unacceptable,” he told the board. A capital plan by the Lane Group estimates $5.7 million is needed to address Cliftondale and about $18 million to bring all county-operated systems up to standard. McFayden said the county is pursuing a strategy of seeking 75 percent grant funding and financing the remaining 25 percent through other programs working with agencies including the Virginia Department of Health, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of
Housing and Community Development, USDA Rural Development and FEMA. VDH recently awarded a $40,000 grant for preliminary engineering on Cliftondale.
The Virginia Department of Transportation reported recent maintenance work and agreed to review ownership and brush removal at an overgrown scenic overlook on U.S. 220 near Falling Spring. Supervisors adopted resolutions of respect for former County Administrator Kenneth Reid Walters Jr. and longtime Water and Sewer Commission member Donald A. Lugar, renewed a waste tire disposal contract with Emanuel Tire Management LLC, approved a Trane HVAC replacement at the Governmental Complex within existing capital funds, and made multiple appointments and reappointments to regional and local boards.
