The VACo Bylaws provide for reapportionment every ten years beginning in 1991. The VACo President named a reapportionment committee in 2021 and the committee began the process when the census data was available. The committee presented its recommendations to the VACo Board of Directors at its meeting on June 4, 2022. The Board of Directors accepted the recommendation of the committee, which would add three seats to the VACo Board of Directors consisting of one rural, one suburban and one urban area seat. The specific proposed changes to the existing VACo regions are as follows. New Kent County and Charles City County would be moved from Region 3 to Region 1. Montgomery County would be moved from Region 10 to Region 11. Region 11 would receive an additional seat. Region 8 would gain an additional seat based on population increases. The Board also endorsed a proposed Bylaw amendment, which would remove the 24-seat cap on Regional Director positions and would allow the additional seats to be added to the VACo Board of Directors.
The Membership of the association will vote on the Bylaw amendment at its Annual meeting on November 15, 2022. The proposed reapportioned map of regions and the Bylaw proposal are below.
Article IX entitled Board of Directors, shall be amended in Section 2 by adding the words Regional Directors and deleting the words twenty-four members as indicated below.
ARTICLE IX
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Section 1. Authority and Responsibility. The governing body of this Association shall be the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall have supervision, control, and direction of the affairs of the Association, its committees, and its publications; shall determine its policies or changes therein; and shall actively prosecute its objectives.
Section 2. Composition and Election. The Board of Directors shall consist of the President, The President-Elect, the First Vice-President, the Second Vice-President, the Secretary-Treasurer, the Immediate Past-President, the three next most recent Virginia Association of Counties past-presidents who currently hold office as elected Virginia county supervisors who may serve only for 3 more years after their term as immediate past president, and Regional Directors twenty-four members elected on a “one person – one vote” basis from compact and contiguous Regions into which the State shall be divided for purposes of representation. Such regional directors shall be selected at the annual meeting by the member counties located within the region which the director will represent. The Board of Directors shall designate at least one member of the Board to represent the Association on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counties. Any county supervisor who serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counties shall also serve as an ex-officio member of the VACo Board of Directors.
Section 3. Qualification. Only elected county supervisors representing Virginia counties in good standing shall be eligible to stand for election to the Board of Directors.
Section 4. Term. Regional Directors shall be elected for two-year staggered terms with approximately fifty percent of its members elected and installed at each Annual Business Meeting. No Regional Directors shall serve more than four full consecutive terms. Any tenure as an officer of the Association shall not be included as any part of the tenure of the aforementioned four consecutive terms. The Regional Directors elected and installed at the Annual Business Meeting shall assume office immediately after the close of such meeting. Such Directors shall hold office until their successors are elected and installed. No Director shall continue to hold office after formally leaving office as an elected Virginia county supervisor. Past presidents may serve in that capacity for only three more years after their service as Immediate Past President.
Section 5. Reapportionment. Beginning in 1991, and every ten years thereafter, regional representation on the Board of Directors shall be reapportioned.
Section 6. Meetings. The Board of Directors shall hold quarterly regular meetings at such time and such place as the Board may prescribe. Notice of all such meetings shall be given to the members not less than thirty days before the meeting is held. Special meetings of the Board may be called by the President or at the request of any three Directors elected from separate Regions of the Association. Meetings of the Board of Directors may be held by conference call or other electronic means and votes may be taken.
Section 7. Quorum. At any meeting of the Board of Directors, the members present, and voting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the business of the Association. Any such business thus transacted shall be valid providing it is affirmatively passed by upon by a majority of those members present and voting.
Section 8. Vacancies. Any vacancy occurring on the Board of Directors between Annual Business Meetings shall be filled by the Board. A Director so elected to fill a vacancy shall serve the unexpired term of the predecessor.