Procedures

Regular Meetings

Section 2

Each year at its organizational meeting the Board shall set the regular meeting times and dates for that year provided, however, that the Board shall meet at least once each month. Whenever the regularly scheduled meeting date shall fall on a legal holiday, the regular meeting of the Board shall be held on the following day in accordance with §15.2-1416 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. The chair or, in the absence of the chair, the vice chair, may cancel any meeting because of inclement weather and should reschedule any canceled meeting at the earliest possible date by sending written notice to each member of the Board.

Special Meetings

Section 3

Special meetings of the Board may be called by two members of the Board or the chair in accordance with §§ 15.2-1417 and 15.2-1418 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. Upon making such request, the Clerk shall specify the matters to be considered and shall notify in writing all members of the Board and the County Attorney immediately. The meeting may be held only if waivers are signed by every member of the Board and the County Attorney, or if every member and the County Attorney attend the special meeting. The order of business at a special meeting shall follow that of a regular meeting to the greatest extent possible.

Voting

Section 4

A quorum shall consist of at least three members of the Board. A majority of a quorum shall be sufficient to carry any question except tax issues, incurring of debt and appropriations in excess of $500, all of which shall require a majority of the full Board for adoption. No Board member is required to vote on any question, but an abstention, although not a vote in favor of carrying a question, shall be counted as a vote for the purpose of determining a quorum. A tie vote shall defeat the motion, resolution or issue voted on, provided that all zoning cases must be disposed of by a motion approved by a majority of those voting. An abstention is considered a vote for all purposes and defeats a motion requiring a unanimous vote. The Board shall not designate a tiebreaker pursuant to § 15.2-1421 of the Code of Virginia.

Debate & Reconsideration of Vote

Section 5a

Each Board member may participate in discussion of any issue only after being recognized by the chair. The chair shall not recognize a motion to “call the question” until every member desiring to speak has had a chance to speak. At the conclusion of debate, the question shall be called, and no further debate shall be in order.

Section 5b

Any vote by a Board member is final once cast. Planning Commission decisions are final once made. No ordinance, resolution or motion previously voted upon by the Board shall be brought forward for reconsideration during the same meeting of the Board and shall be final unless changed by the Board at a subsequent meeting in accordance with law.

Motions

Section 6

When a motion is under debate, no additional motions may be made except a motion to withdraw, defer, substitute or to amend. If the maker of a motion and the member seconding the motion agree, a motion may be amended or withdrawn. Such motions shall take precedence in the order listed above. Only one substitute motion shall be in order for a principal motion. All motions to defer shall be to a date certain. Prior to voting on a motion to defer or remand, the Board shall hear public comments on the issue of deferral or remand if the scheduled item requires a public hearing.

Agenda

Section 7a

The County Administrator shall prepare an agenda for each regular or special meeting of the Board on which shall appear the title of each matter on which action is to be taken at that meeting. The agenda for each regular meeting shall (a) be prepared at least five days prior to the meeting, (b) be promptly mailed or delivered to each member of the Board or placed in the repository assigned to such Board member, and (c) be distributed to appropriate officers and employees of the county government and members of the public and media requesting copies.

Section 7b

Upon a majority vote of the Board of Supervisors, any item may be added, removed, or modified when the agenda is voted on, and the chair may allow any agenda item to be called out of sequence.

Section 7c

Any matter not on the scheduled agenda may be heard after the agenda has been approved by the Board only upon the unanimous vote of the Board members present. Any such matter must be of an emergency nature, vital to the continued proper and lawful operation of the county.

Section 7d

No matter on the scheduled agenda shall be considered after 11 p.m. without the unanimous consent of the Board. Any matter not heard shall be automatically continued to the next appropriate scheduled meeting of the Board.

Section 7e

Requests for tax exemptions by eligible non-profit organizations shall only be considered in December of each year, and tax exemptions, if granted, shall be limited to $5,000 per year.

Order of Business

Section 8

Unless changed by the chair, the order of business at a regular meeting of the Board shall be as follows beginning at 2 p.m. or an alternate specified meeting time:

1. Approval of minutes of previous meetings if such minutes have not already been approved. Such minutes shall be included in the agenda package. Reading of the minutes shall be automatically dispensed with.
2. Requests to postpone agenda items and additions, deletions or changes in the order of the presentation.
3. Everyday Excellence
4. Work sessions.
5. Reports.
6. Fifteen-minute citizen comment period on unscheduled matters involving the services, policies and affairs of the county government. Such comments may be received through the Board’s digital meeting portal.
7. Closed Session. 
8. Recess for dinner. Closed session may be conducted during dinner recess.
9. Nonsectarian invocations in accordance with the Clerk’s scheduling policy followed by the pledge of allegiance at 6 p.m.
10. Pledge of Allegiance.
11. County Administration Update.
12. Board Member reports.
13. Special resolutions of recognition not heard at the afternoon session.
14. New business.
15. Fifteen-minute citizen comment period on unscheduled matters involving the services, policies and affairs of the county government. Such comments may be received through the Board’s digital meeting portal.
16. Deferred items.
17. Request for manufactured home permits and rezoning placed on the Consent Agenda.
18. Zoning and mobile home public hearings.
19. Remaining public hearings.
20. Fifteen-minute citizen comment period on unscheduled matters involving the services, policies and affairs of the county government. Such comments may be received through the Board’s digital meeting portal.
21. Adjournment.

The board shall confine their decisions to the matters presented on the agenda.

Consent Agenda & Public Hearings

Section 9a

Any Board member may remove an item from the consent agenda for comment by the Board. Any person may publicly speak to a consent item on that meeting’s “Consent Agenda” for up to three minutes, so long as the Board votes to remove that consent item from the Consent Agenda for public comment. The Board may accept written comments in lieu of oral statements.

Section 9b

Any person may speak at a public hearing for up to three minutes except as provided in Section 1c.. A person who represents an organization may speak once at a public hearing for up to five minutes but only if i) three or more members of the organization are present at the public hearing, and ii) no member of the organization speaks at the public hearing other than the representative. An applicant in a zoning case may give an opening presentation of the zoning case for up to 15 minutes, regardless of the number of speakers the applicant chooses to give the presentation, and may give a rebuttal for up to five minutes after all citizens have spoken, regardless of the number of speakers the applicant chooses to give the rebuttal. Any person may address the Board on a public hearing item by leaving a comment through the Board’s digital meeting portal.

Citizen Comment Period

Section 10

Each citizen comment period shall be limited to a total of 15 minutes for inperson speakers and each in-person speaker may not exceed three minutes. Citizens may only speak once per meeting during the citizen comment periods. Comments must be germane to the services or policies of the county. No citizen shall speak on any matter of business that is a subject on the Board’s agenda for that day. Citizens may not yield time to other speakers. The Clerk shall only accept speaking requests for a Board meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. on the first business day following the prior Board meeting and ending at 12:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting. The Clerk shall first fill available speaking slots with county residents. The Clerk shall make a list of the nonresidents requesting to speak in the order the requests are received. 24 hours before the Board meeting, the Clerk shall fill any available speaking slots with non-residents from the list and shall notify such non-residents that they will be able to speak. At the beginning of the citizen comment period, the Clerk will read the names and comments will be given in the order read by the Clerk. Each citizen comment period will end after 15 minutes, regardless of the number of people who have signed up to speak.

Persons speaking before the board or leaving comments on the Board's digital meeting portal will not be allowed to:

• Campaign for public office
• Promote private business ventures
• Use profanity or vulgar language; or
• Address pending litigation or matters to be addressed at that meeting

Minutes of Meeting

Section 11a

The Clerk of the Board shall prepare and maintain adequate minutes of the proceedings of the Board in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. Each recorded vote shall indicate how each member of the Board voted. Preparation of minutes will not include every aspect of the Board’s meetings relating specifically to discussion and debate, but will include all significant events relating to official action.

Section 11b

The Board may correct its minutes after approval of the minutes only upon a clear showing that a clerical or administrative mistake was made.

Zoning

Section 12a

If a majority of the Board is not re-elected, no appropriation for any capital project or operational program for a magisterial district or zoning case shall be considered by the Board of Supervisors after November 7, 2023, until the organizational meeting in January 2024; unless such delay for the zoning case would exceed 12 months.

Section 12b

Without further action by the Board, rezoning applications (including conditional uses, conditional use planned developments and conditional zoning) are automatically referred to the Planning Commission for its recommendation upon completion of a zoning application with the Planning Department.

Appointments

Section 13

Appointments to committees of the Board and to authorities, boards and commissions shall be made only by resolution adopted by a majority of the full Board. Prior to consideration of the nomination, the nominee shall be notified to determine his willingness to serve and to determine if he meets the minimum qualifications for such appointment.

Committees

Section 14

The chair or the Board may create committees and shall appoint members to such committees in the same fashion in which the committee was created. Committees may hold hearings and perform such other duties as may be prescribed. A committee may be instructed concerning the form of any report it shall be requested to make, and a time may be fixed for submission of any report. The chair may create, and appoint members to, an Audit and Finance Committee, a County-Schools Liaison Committee and other committees as necessary.

Amendment/Suspension of Rules

Section 15a

The rules of procedure of the governing body may be amended at any time during the year by a unanimous vote of the full Board.

Section 15b

The Board of Supervisors may suspend the application of any section of these rules by a unanimous affirmative vote of all Board members present at any time during the agenda.

Sergeant at Arms

A deputy sheriff shall serve as sergeant at arms.