CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors approved its 2026 legislative program, primarily carrying over support for the same requests it to the General Assembly in 2025.

“Whether it’s transportation funding across the state, education funding, we want to keep those as parts of our principles to present to the legislators,” Jim Andrews, chairman of the board, said during an appearance on Cville Right Now Live this week.

The board also takes the opportunity to recommend items that could help other localities by zeroing in on issues the county has encountered. Andrews said, “when we meet with them, we want to focus on those things that we know that wouldn’t get attention but for our focus.”

One of those items on the 2026 program was expanding Albemarle County’s ability to use photo speed monitoring devices.

“We have miles and miles of roads throughout the county that just cannot be controlled on a regular basis, yet we receive regular reports of excessive speeding on some of these roads,” Andrews said.

Fellow Board of Supervisors member Mike Pruitt noted not everyone wants the camera usage to increase, but concurred it’s the best way to keep the roads safe.

“I know it’s something people have mixed feelings about,” Pruitt said during an appearance on WINA Morning News. “It always kind of feels unjust when a speed camera bops you. And you’re like, I didn’t even see a guy. It feels fundamentally unjust. It’s really important for a county like ours and for us to frankly be able to make sure our roads are safe throughout the county when we have thousands of miles of rural roads. We can’t afford to have police monitor speeds on all those roads.”

Pruitt pointed to sections of Route 20 in his district.

“We don’t have the ability to realistically have police patrolling that,” Pruitt said. “What would keep people being slower on 20, frankly, is photo speed monitoring.”

The county has recently implemented speed cameras at school zones around Albemarle and Western Albemarle High Schools that were effective in reducing speeding. Albemarle County Police reported a 49% drop in speeding on the northbound side of Hydraulic Road and Lambs Lane through the school zones near AHS, and a 42% drop southbound since installing the cameras.

Another item in the legislative plan would allow the county to hold a public referendum on a one-cent sales tax that would be put toward capital projects at Albemarle County Schools.

“We want it to be something where the community has buy-in,” said Andrews. “People recognize the overcrowding in our schools and the need for these capital projects.” An increased sales tax would also help the county’s ability to raise tax revenue from more than just real property taxes.

The last item on the 2026 program was state funding for a connector trail in the newly opened Biscuit Run Park.

Andrews explained the funding passed through the General Assembly initially last year but did not make it through the veto process.