Frequently Asked Questions
F.A.Q. about the County's Budget & Budget Process

What time period does the County’s operating budget fund?
The County’s operating budget is a budget for one fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30 of each year.

How can I review the County’s budget?
The County’s Proposed and Approved Budgets are available for review on the County’s website at www.montva.com. The budget can also be reviewed at the following locations: the County Government Center, 755 Roanoke Street in Christiansburg, at the Lobby Information Desk and in the County Administrator's Office (2nd floor); the Blacksburg Library, 200 Miller St.,  in Blacksburg;  the Christiansburg Library, 125 Sheltman St., Christiansburg; the Meadowbrook Library, 267 Alleghany Springs Road, Shawsville; the Blacksburg Community Center, 725 Patrick Henry Dr., in Blacksburg; the Christiansburg Recreation Center, 1600 N. Franklin St., in Christiansburg; the Blacksburg Municipal Building, in the Town Manager's Office, 300 S. Main St., in Blacksburg; and the Christiansburg Town Hall, in the Town Manager's Office, 100 E. Main St., in Christiansburg.

Is there a detailed calendar of the County’s Budget Process?
The County’s budget document contains a budget calendar of activities and dates related to the development of the County’s budget.  It also contains information on times when citizens can come and address the board directly about budgetary issues.  The calendar can be found on page 1 of the section of the budget document entitled “Understanding Montgomery County’s Budget Process.”
 
If I want to make a budget request, who should I contact and when should I contact them?
You should contact Susan Dickerson at dickersonss@montgomerycountyva.gov or at 540-382-6960 in the Finance Department to get budget forms for the next fiscal year budget.

New budget forms for the development of the next fiscal year’s budget are developed and provided to departments/agencies in the fall of each calendar year (forms are generally sent to agencies in November and are due back to finance in December).  Requests for funding that are submitted in the fall of each calendar year are reviewed for consideration for the budget developed for July 1 of the next year. 

For example, if you want to make a request for the Fiscal Year 09 Budget, forms will be available in the fall (November) of 2007.  The request will be reviewed, and if approved, the funding would be included in the budget for FY 09, which would begin July 1, 2008 and run through June 30, 2009.

I’m an external agency.  Which forms do I use to request funds from Montgomery County and how do I know if I belong in the Joint Budget Review Process?
External agencies that are funded by Montgomery County fall into two categories – regular external agencies and joint external agencies.  Regular external agencies are those agencies that request funds from and receive funds from Montgomery County only.  Joint external agencies are those agencies that request and/or receive funding from any combination of the following jurisdictions: Montgomery County, Floyd County, Giles County, Pulaski County, and the City of Radford.

Since many external agencies request funding from some, if not all, of the five surrounding jurisdictions, all five jurisdictions developed a joint budget review process in which all five jurisdictions use one uniform budget submission packet.

Therefore, if you only request and/or receive funding from Montgomery County, you should follow the instructions designed for regular external agencies.  If you request and/or receive funding from Montgomery County and any of the other jurisdictions listed above, you should follow the instructions for the Joint Budget Review Process.

For more information, please contact Susan Dickerson at dickersonss@montgomerycountyva.gov or at 540-382-6960.

I’m an external agency.  When is the Joint Budget Review Meeting and should I attend?
The Joint Budget Review meeting is generally held in late January of each year during the development of the budget for the next fiscal year.  Locations of the meeting change each year depending on the hosting government locality.  You should attend the meeting if you are requesting funding from more than one of the participating localities in the Joint Budget Review Process.  The hosting locality will contact you with the date and time of the Joint Budget Review Meeting.

I’m an external agency.  How will I know if my budget request was/is funded?
The Proposed Budget will be posted on the County’s website in early March of each year.  The Approved Budget will be posted on the County’s website in early July of each year.  Both can be accessed at www.montva.com.  All funded external agency requests are listed in the budget document in the section entitled 910 Other Agencies.  If funded, your request will appear in the budget document.  If your request is not listed in the budget, it was not funded.  Montgomery County will also send out an e-mail notification with information after the budget is presented and adopted. 

I have other budget questions not listed, who should I contact?
For more information about the County’s Budget or the County’s budget process, please contact Susan Dickerson at dickersonss@montgomerycountyva.gov or at 540-382-6960.