Housing crisis affects sheriffs
Virginia sheriffs say the housing crisis is making their jobs tougher, just when the state is about to cut their funding.
Charles Jett, sheriff of Stafford County, said the number of evictions in Stafford almost tripled last year. Sheriff's offices must serve eviction notices, he said.
Gabe Morgan, sheriff of Newport News, said in one day last year his office served 100 eviction notices. People are being evicted not only from foreclosed homes but also from apartments when they can't pay their rent, he said.
The sheriffs held a news conference at the General Assembly Building to protest Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's proposed reduction of $34.5 million in state aid to sheriffs' departments. Steve M. Draper of Martinsville, president of the Virginia Sheriffs' Association, said the 7 percent reduction in state aid would force local departments to cut 310 deputy sheriff positions.
"When unemployment goes up, the crime rates tend to go up," Draper added.
On another front, the director of the Virginia Information Technology Agency said the agency is doing much better than its critics contend.
Lemuel C. Stewart Jr., chief information officer, said the agency's security program has been rated No. 1 in the nation and that its Web site also is ranked No. 1. He said VITA's rates are well below those of comparable federal agencies and that its charges to the state virtually have been unchanged.
Some legislators and the legislature's watchdog agency have been critical of VITA's costs. VITA was started in 2005 in cooperation with Northrop Grumman Corp. as an umbrella department to oversee the purchase and upkeep of Virginia's computers, software, Internet access and other informational services.
Stewart acknowledged there have been problems, caused in part by a "cultural resistance to change."
Contact Tyler Whitley at (804) 649-6780 or
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Reader Reactions
Virginia is in dire need to re-think VITA’s organization and ever increasing costs. I understand everyone is focused on the budget and cuts, but there is legislation in the works HB 2539 that will make VITA even more powerful - and frankly make government completely disfunctional
This bill sponsored by Nixon transfers the Virginia Enterprise Application Office (VEAP) to VITA - Currently this small office reports to the Governor and is the only counter-balance to VITA and NG which have repeatedly demonstrated their lack of knowledge or concern about getting the business of government accomplished. By moving VEAP to VITA -executive branch agencies will have key business decisions about how to run their programs and support them through the use of technology transferred out of executive branch control. I understand as a 28 year IT professional in VA state government that technology is a Tool to accomplish the business of government - When government fails is when it lets the technologist decide what business needs to be conducted. This is exactly what HR 2539 does - it moves VEAP to VITA and requires ALL applications development and maintenance budgets to be approved by the ITIB. It is an example of when an agency has proven it is a complete failure - give it more responsibilities.
Remember this is the same ITIB that did not renew Lem Stewards contract and then agreed to pay him a full years salary to stay on in a month to month capacity. It is also the organization that negotiated a contract with NG that assumed there would be no changes to the infrastructure for the first 5 years of the contract - ie Government programs would remain static - no relocations, no expansion-no contraction, no new programs or systems - etc. until NG had moved everything to the new platforms - If
this bill passes say good but to the best managed state and all the other awards Virginia has received
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