Albemarle EDA supports request for higher federal pay

The Albemarle County Economic Development Authority will send a letter to the Federal Salary Council seeking to have the Charlottesville region added to a list of localities across the country where government employees get a pay adjustment due to the cost of living. 

“All general schedule employees working for the federal government are part of a national pay scale but recognizing that the United States has many different labor markets that vary by locations, there’s an overlay on the federal pay scale where employees working in more competitive labor markets receive an additional pay increment so that the federal government can be an attractive employer in that pay market,” said Emily Kilroy, the county interim director of economic development. 

Kilroy said both Richmond and the Washington metropolitan areas do qualify and the letter argues that Charlottesville is less than a hundred miles away from northern Virginia where many defense and intelligence positions are stationed. She said the issue is one that the leaders of the Rivanna Station military base want to resolve. 

The issue also may help Albemarle as it seeks to build support for a defense and intelligence campus to be built around the Rivanna Station on land purchased by the county last year.

“With the county’s acquisition of property around Rivanna Station, locality pay needs to get right-sized not just for current federal employees who work in the MSA but also its an eye to the future and the attractability of the location if and when additional [Department of Defense] type functions would expand,” said Deputy County Executive Trevor Henry. 

The EDA agreed unanimously to send the letter. 

The EDA also approved a performance agreement with the Siller Pollinator Company for a state grant to allow them to purchase a trailer to process honey collected across the community. The appointed body had been briefed on this in closed session at their April meeting. Both Albemarle and Fluvanna will pay $6,500 each toward a local grant giving the business a total of $39,000. 

“I really like this kind of grant where we can reasonably predict that the relatively modest amount of money will give an opportunity for a small business person to really dispositively uplevel their business,” said EDA member Jeffrey Morrill. “We can clearly see that the benefit that this local business is going to enjoy.” 

The Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve their performance agreement at their next meeting. 

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