State Sen. Lynwood Lewis (D-Accomac) held a town hall in Mathews on May 15 to update local residents about actions taken by the General Assembly during the recent legislative session. A small, friendly group of like-minded constituents attended the town hall, which lasted about an hour.

Lewis said that the biggest issue in any legislative year is the state budget, and he said this was the second year with a significant revenue shortfall, which occurred because of inaccurate revenue predictions. However, he said that the revenue situation improved over the year, the governor made $1 billion in cuts, and the state drew down on its rainy day fund in order to balance the budget. While the mandated rainy day fund can have up to $2 billion in it, he said, it currently has only $300 million.

But the state was able to give raises to its employees, including teachers and sheriff’s office employees, he said. And because the Virginia State Police was losing people, the state gave each tro...