Mathews County Administrator Mindy Conner recently discussed a number of things the county will be focusing on in the upcoming year.

She said that the budget is the current focus, and that a lot of attention will be paid to compensation for school, constitutional office and county employee salaries. Because Mathews is not in an environment in which revenues are growing, she said, pay levels in the county have fallen behind other localities in the region.

“The board has been dealing with serious economic realities,” she said, “and this is a year when the board might have to entertain a tax increase.”

Maintenance and capital projects will also be high on the agenda in the coming months. Conner said the planning commission is working on developing a capital improvement plan for the county in order to plan better for anticipated capital expenditures, especially in such areas as a proposed public safety radio system and broadband.

In addition, she said, there hav...