The Mathews County Board of Supervisors was unable to pass the annual county budget on Tuesday, casting a tie vote in the absence of one member. Supervisor Melissa Mason didn’t arrive until the meeting was almost over, saying that her mother was sick. She was late to last month’s meeting for the same reason.

Chairman Mike Rowe and supervisor Amy Dubois voted to approve the balanced budget, which contained no increase from last year and required no tax increase. It was the subject of a brief public hearing earlier this month that drew no objections from the public.

Supervisor Paul Hudgins was the lead dissenter on the budget, asking that the board have a workshop first in order to discuss the funding for a regional public safety radio system that has been requested as an emergency need by the Mathews County Sheriff’s Office, Mathews Volunteer Fire Department, and Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad. Supervisor Jackie Ingram joined him in his dissent.

Research on the radio system began three years ago, and all three agencies concluded that joining the regional system with King and Queen, Richmond, and Essex counties was less expensive and more advantageous to the county than a system being used by York County and other Hampton Roads localities. They said that the recent failure of a repeater had made replacement of the current, outdated system an emergency, since failure of the remaining repeater would leave the county without a communications system.

Hudgins, who is a volunteer with the fire department, objected to the King and Queen system from the beginning, instead favoring the York County system.

Rowe told Hudgins and Ingram that the board had already heard the details of the project from the agencies involved. Sheriff Mark Barrick gave a lengthy presentation on the radio system during the February board meeting, and all three agencies answered questions. But Hudgins said he was concerned that the board didn’t have all of the financial details worked out. Ingram said she wanted to know all about the financing, including what the APR would be on the loan, in order to answer questions she’s getting from the public.

Mathews County Administrator Mindy Conner explained that she had provided board members with all of the documents regarding the lease/purchase agreement for the system, and that there are no other documents. She said that initial funding for the $1.4 million project is included in the budget, but that the county would need to finance the rest. The budget reflects an allocation of $222,000 from the Capital Improvements Fund for the radio system. The next step, said Conner, would be for the board to give her and County Attorney Andrea Erard approval to negotiate the lease/purchase agreement.

Erard explained further that entering into a lease/purchase agreement is “like buying a car.”

“You make a down payment, plus X number of payments,” she said. “We make an upfront payment to get all the equipment, and we have annual payments over time.”

But Hudgins was adamant. “Why not set up a workshop and get it taken care of?” he said. “We haven’t had a discussion as a board.”

Rowe said that the sheriff had explored the subject and had told the board what he needs and that the price had been given. He called for a second to the motion, which had been made by Dubois, but with both Hudgins and Ingram objecting, the budget could not be passed.

Hudgins did agree, however, to pass the tax rates, which Conner explained was necessary in order for the county treasurer to be able to send out tax bills.

“You have a statutory responsibility to adopt a budget,” said Conner. “It’s a balanced budget that accommodates the radio project.”

Hudgins made the motion to approve the tax rates, and it was passed unanimously.

Public radio system

Hudgins and Ingram had also refused to second a motion to approve the purchase of the radio system earlier in the meeting, leaving the issue in limbo after Barrick requested that they move forward on the project. However, when Mason arrived and the issue of the radio system arose again, Erard confirmed that the board could entertain another motion on the matter, since the first motion died for lack of a second. Dubois once again moved to approve the system, and her motion passed 3-2, supported by Rowe, Dubois and Mason, with Hudgins and Ingram against.

No one raised the question about whether a second motion could be considered for the budget, and Conner said approval of the budget would have to go on the May agenda.

At the beginning of the meeting, Hudgins and Ingram also refused to second a motion to approve the agenda, but the meeting was held anyway.