The Mathews Planning Commission unanimously voted during a virtual meeting on June 16 to recommend sending a revised Capital Improvement Plan for the 2021 fiscal year to the board of supervisors.

Planners decided to recommend that the meals tax revenue be used to first fund the CIP requests made by the Mathews Volunteer Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office and distribute what is remaining to Mathews County Public Schools for fiscal year 2021.

According to staff documents, the meals tax is the primary capital improvement funding source “so it is worth reexamining projects to be funded with Meals Tax revenue in the upcoming year with the assumption that the fund will not generate the revenues seen in the past.”

The restaurant industry has been significantly impacted since the start of the pandemic, both nationwide and locally. In March and April, the meals tax revenue decreased by more than 20 percent compared to March and April 2019 for the county, county staff reported. In Ma...