Chesterfield County Government & Voting Districts
Chesterfield County residents vote every four years to elect a representative from their county district. Five districts make up the county. These five representatives appoint the county administrator who directs the bureaucracy which handles the day to day functions of the county government.
The districts are: Bermuda, Dale, Matoaca, Clover Hill, Midlothian
Below is a map of the "Chesterfield Magisterial Districts":
Quoted below is the 1995 "Chapter 559" from the Virginia State Legislature outlining the current government form:
"3.1. Composition and election.
The County of Chesterfield shall be divided into five magisterial districts, which shall comprise the five magisterial districts of the County of Chesterfield as existing immediately preceding the effective date of this charter, and shall be known as the Districts of Bermuda, Clover Hill, Dale, Matoaca and Midlothian. The county board shall consist of five members and shall be elected one from each district. Such board members shall qualify and be elected as provided by general law for members of county boards of supervisors. The board may redistrict or change the number, form of the membership or manner of electing board members in accordance with general law without the necessity of amending the charter."
You can read the entire act of 1995 online at the Virginia State website here.
You may also
see a list of online State documents about the Chesterfield charter here.
The 2010 Chesterfield Virginia County Budget
Big news for the county in March 2010 was the $15 million dollar cut in the county budget. From the NBC Channel 12 new story:
"It was standing room only at Wednesday night's Chesterfield County board meeting just days before board supervisors look to cut $15 million from the budget. Residents are hoping supervisors will reconsider the cuts at hand.
"Right now they're trying to do 100 percent budget cuts towards the park system which is unacceptable. The county motto right now is ‘providing a first choice community through excellence and public service' but if they cut our public services there is no first choice community," said Summer Orcutt. "
The 2010 financial year budget for Chesterfield County was $1.2 billion. The General Fund budget total was $715,193,00. The two largest components of the budget are the county’s general fund and school fund.
The Chesterfield County Board approved a 2007 budget of $1.1 billion. This breaks down into a general fund of $663,296,500 and a school fund of $560,024,800.
County Government Building on ironbridge in Chesterfield County, VIrginia
Chesterfield Officials
The current slate of elected board members for the County are:
Dale District: Kelly E. Miller (also board Chairman)
Matoaca District: Renny Bush Humphrey (board Vice Chairman)
Bermuda District: R.M. "Dickie" King Jr.
Midlothian District: Donald D. Sowder
Clover Hill District: Art Warren
The county administrator has been Lane B. Ramsey since 1987. He is was replaced in August 2007 by James J.L. "Jay" Stegmaier.
From a July 29, 2007 article at the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
"After a national search, Stegmaier was chosen from a pool of 37 candidates in 17 states. On Aug. 14, Stegmaier, who during his 28 years with Chesterfield has served as budget director and deputy county administrator, will replace Ramsey -- who interviewed him for his first job with the county.
...Stegmaier will spend the next few weeks transitioning into the position that will pay him $167,741 annually, plus $10,120 in car allowance and $10,000 in deferred compensation, for a total of $187,861. Ramsey's total compensation is $241,776."
For comparison, the President of the United States receives an annual salary of $400,000.
AMAZON: Old Dominion, New Commonwealth: A History of Virginia, 1607–2007
