Tag: Jenni Gallagher

The board is considering a referendum in November to eliminate those elected offices, currently held by Democrats — Treasurer Richard Shelton and Commissioner of the Revenue Helen Royal. If the two elected jobs are removed, the county would likely shift those job functions to an appointed director of finance. “It’s notable that he’s [Tuck] not suggesting that we do away with any of the Republican-held constitutional offices.” In recent years, however, county board members and Shelton have clashed over such issues as personal property tax proration, the county’s interest rate on financial reserves and uncollected back taxes. Additionally, both Shelton and Royal — elected for their most recent four-year terms in 2015 — have said they do not plan to run for re-election, which was a factor in the county discussing the option. Royal’s office employs 14 and operates on a budget of $983,307. The county and state — via the State Compensation Board, a Richmond-based state government agency that sets funding based on local population — each fund the commissioner of the revenue’s office, with the county paying the majority of the budget. In Virginia, most localities elect the constitutional office positions — treasurer, commissioner of the revenue, circuit court clerk, commonwealth’s attorney and sheriff. Montgomery County records show that banking services were most recently put out to bid in late 2013. Setting the stage Roanoke County voters during the early 1970s eliminated the two constitutional offices, only to bring them back later in the decade. Another dispute Montgomery County’s treasurer and commissioner of the revenue aren’t the first constitutional officers to have had disputes with the supervisors in recent years.