Stafford Supervisor Crystal Vanuch wasn’t pleased. Vanuch arrived at the county Government Center on Tuesday night for a work session having noticed that three items she expected to be on the agenda weren’t there. Vanuch, who represents the Rock Hill District, said soon after the meeting started that she wanted to add those items to the agenda. … “So I don’t know at what point it turned into board members can’t get things on an agenda,” Vanuch said. “And that’s how I feel. Every single thing I have requested, per our bylaws, that has been told and agreed upon by the board, is not on today’s agenda, and it was agreed to be on today’s agenda, and I just find that unfathomable, that it happens in public, and it only happens when I ask for things to be added to the agenda. Nothing else fell off.” Some of her peers disputed this notion, but eventually the board decided along with county staff that the data center items would be discussed in the Nov. 17 supervisors’ meeting, and that the audit would be taken up in a special meeting earlier that day.

Suffolk Public Schools says it’s tightening financial controls after a forensic audit identified weaknesses in spending oversight but found no specific evidence of misappropriation in the transactions examined. The findings have fueled a debate over whether the division’s planned changes go far enough to protect taxpayer money. … Some of the most immediate changes involve purchasing cards used by school employees, with new requirements for advance approval, documentation and enforcement. Employees must obtain documented approval before making purchases, including a requisition identifying the vendor, estimated cost and employee making the purchase. A supervisor must authorize the transaction, and the division must retain supporting documentation, including itemized receipts, and upload it into the division’s banking system. LeBron said his office also plans monthly reviews to identify transactions lacking adequate documentation. Employees who lose receipts must obtain replacements from vendors or sign statements explaining the purchases and their business purposes.

Audience members inside the packed board meeting room clapped and cheered at 8 p.m. on Wednesday after the Frederick County Board of Supervisors voted against a conditional-use permit for a data center. Many of those same onlookers were yelling “shame” at those board members just over two hours later. That turn in emotion was due to the board voting to approve a rezoning for a 244-acre unspecified industrial development in the Shawnee District called Gibson Property, a project which developers have claimed will be one of the largest industrial developments of its kind in the mid-Atlantic region. … In their presentation to the board on Wednesday, Peterson Senior Managing Director Taylor Chess claimed that the project would bring in $3.13 million a year in real estate taxes and result in over 2,000 direct jobs in the county. However, citizens asked how they were able to provide these numbers without specifying a use for the project, and without having a fiscal impact study.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers chose not to hold a public hearing on Google’s Botetourt County data center project even though it received almost 300 requests for one amid new developments with the application process. Federal policy includes language that a hearing be held unless “the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served” by one. The chief of public affairs at the Corps’ Norfolk District office, Mark Haviland, said by email to Cardinal News on Tuesday that the district commander decided a hearing would “not provide additional relevant information within the Corps’ regulatory authority,” even after 282 submissions came in requesting one during a public notice period in the spring. Google application documents posted to the Corps’ website include more letters seeking a hearing that were sent in September. And after the spring public notice period ended, Google continued to send multiple application materials at the state Department of Environmental Quality’s request — even after the head of the DEQ said to disregard incomplete applications without approved exceptions.

Fairfax County supervisors are encouraging homeowners to sign up for a new property alert system administered by the Fairfax Circuit Court Office. The free service for Fairfax County and Fairfax City residents sends an email alert if any documents are filed on their real estate record with the court. The system, similar to others rolled out across the region, is designed to reduce the potential for title fraud. The clerk’s office partnered with the county’s Department of Tax Administration and Department of Information Technology in the effort. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed staff at its Oct. 27 meeting to help publicize the initiative, which rolled out in early October.