Unfunded mandates. They have been the bête noire of local governments for decades.

Frustrated county officials have watched as, time and again, lawmakers in Richmond create one-size-fits-all solutions to local problems … and then dropped them in the county supervisors’ laps with little thought for how much these ideas will cost to implement. Needless to say, they rarely come with a check attached.

For the most part, these are good ideas. It’s just that many of them aren’t necessary (or at least not necessary for everyone across the Commonwealth—from the coalfields of the far western part of the state to the urban suburbs of Northern Virginia). All of this puts localities in a difficult position of having to come up with funds for a program they don’t feel is important while, at the same time, having to cut vital services in order to balance a budget.

In a ceremonial signing ceremony held earlier this month at Central Virginia Community...