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The Buckingham Board of Supervisors has approved a request from the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office to fund bonuses for non-Comp Board department employees.

The vote came during a Monday, Sept. 13, board meeting.

According to the board meeting packet, Buckingham County Sheriff Bill Kidd submitted a letter to the Board Sept. 7. In the letter, Kidd told supervisors that during the Special Session II of the 2021 General Assembly, a one-time $3,000 bonus payment for Compensation Board-funded, sworn positions in sheriff’s offices was approved.

According to Kidd, nine sheriff’s office employees in Buckingham do not fall under this definition and would therefore not receive a bonus.

In order to be fair, Kidd asked that supervisors allocate $27,000, or $3,000 per non-funded position, in order to cover the cost of one-time bonuses for these additional employees.

During a discussion at Monday night’s board meeting, supervisors and County Administrator Karl Carter noted the sheriff’s office had a large surplus of funds at the end of the last fiscal year, approximately $41,000.

District 6 Supervisor Joe Chambers made a motion to approve the funds for the one-time bonuses. The motion was seconded by District 5 Supervisor Harry Bryant and passed unanimously, save for District 7 Supervisor Danny Allen who was not present and therefore did not participate in the vote.

Tuesday, Sept. 28, Carter noted the funds for the bonuses will come from the county’s ending year balance.

Other sheriff’s offices in Virginia have made similar requests to public bodies to provide bonuses for employees whose positions are not funded by the Compensation Board.

Earlier this month, the Charlotte County Board of Supervisors agreed to use $33,000 in CARES Act funds to provide a one-time bonus to 11 Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office employees.

“We appreciate the General Assembly authorizing this one-time bonus but more importantly our Board of Supervisors that have and continue to support our local efforts at the sheriff’s office,” Kidd stated Tuesday. “Their unyielding support is a direct reflection to their commitment to public safety in our community. We highly value our mutual relationship.”