District 5 Report and Crime Watch Updates by Supervisor Tom Shepperd

Thomas "Tom" G. Shepperd, Jr. York County Supervisor, District 5 Hm: (757) 858-8591 Mb: (757) 903-1875 Email address: Shepperd@yorkcounty.gov District 5 Report and Crime Watch Update October 2025 Subscribe for District 5 Report and Crime Watch Updates Dear Neighbors,   The District 5 Report is designed to keep you up to date on activities in and around our area. Residents and homeowner associations are encouraged to share the information with others in their communities. Please click on the "Subscribe" to receive the report or send an email request to shepperd@yorkcounty.gov. Comments and questions are always welcome.*   Regards,   Tom   Thomas G. Shepperd, Jr. District 5 Representative York County Board of Supervisors   (C) 757-903-1875 (H) 757-868-8591   shepperd@yorkcounty.gov   ------------October 2025 District 5 Report and Crime Watch Update----------- Topics York County Recycling Transportation Crime Watch Wildlife Safety Elections 2023 Real Estate Assessments and the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Page 1

York County Recycling By now most of you know the Virginia Peninsula Public Service Authority (VPPSA) recycling contract with TFC ended September 30. The termination of the recycling contract followed months of disagreement between VPPSA and Tidewater Fiber Corporation (TFC) over performance issues. While I will not discuss the performance issues, I can say that the termination was an abrupt action that occurred without input by the Board of Supervisors. Personally, I believe the termination was ill conceived and not managed well. The 17,000 York County households that participated in the recycling program were receiving the recycling collection service on a regular basis, which wasn’t bad at all. Now, here we are without a recycling service. This means that an additional 350 to 400 tons of material is being sent to the dump each month. The City of Williamsburg, City of Poquoson, and James City County quickly established temporary recycling contracts with TFC at a reduced cost. This continued their programs until a new contract could be established. York County, based on the recommendation of the VPPSA attorney, simply stopped curbside recycling all together. This led to questions about service rate changes, what to do with recycling containers, and the future of recycling in York County. As fortune would have it, the County’s trash collection contract expires in June 2026. In preparation for a contract change, the County initiated a request for bids to provide trash collection service earlier in the year. Since the bid submissions were soon due back to the County, it was possible to add curbside recycling to the bid request. As things currently stand, the County has received new bids for trash and curbside recycling. Details of the bids are currently being negotiated. It appears likely York County will have curbside recycling by the first of January, if not sooner. In the meantime, hang onto your recycling containers. You can still take the same recyclable material to the VPPSA site on Goodwin Neck Road. More information to follow later. 2. Transportation By the time you read this report, the new turn lanes on Victory Boulevard to Hampton Highway heading north will be stripped and open. There will be a slight lane shift of three feet on Victory Boulevard towards the center median. This will move traffic away from workers who will be installing the new eastbound lane on Victory Boulevard between Route 17 and Hampton Highway.  Also, you can expect to see jersey barriers between the traffic and the new lane construction.  VDOT is currently planning an alternate route for the lane expansion east bound on Victory Boulevard between Hampton Highway and Big Bethel Road. Big Bethel Road will be the alternate route when a lane closure on Victory Boulevard takes place. VDOT is working to determine the best traffic light sequencing at the intersection of Big Bethel Road and Hampton Highway. Traffic light adjustments will be necessary to allow for more traffic to flow from Big Bethel to avoid traffic backups. The traffic nightmare continues.

3. Crime Watch Remember when our number one crime in York County was larceny from vehicles. Not anymore. The new number one crime is traffic violations. Larceny from vehicles has dropped off dramatically. The Sheriff believes the drop is the result of increased patrols (we did bring on more deputies last year) and car owners being more vigilant about not leaving valuables exposed in their vehicles. Last year major crimes dropped by 20% and so far, this year major crimes are down another 20%. To say York County is a safe place to live is an understatement. We should all be proud of our crime prevention programs to include our neighborhood Crime Watch. As for traffic violations, I believe the increase in deputies dedicated to traffic enforcement and the installation of speed cameras in school zones has brought increased awareness of traffic violations. Also, you need to be aware that Blue Line Solutions provides speed cameras like those used in school zones. The Sheriff said that the County will be moving to Blue Line Solutions cameras soon. The speed cameras provide DMV information to law enforcement. Currently, the New Kent County Sheriff’s Office is using speed cameras to enforce highway speeds in work zones along I-64. The Sheriff reports that they see around 50,000 violations a week. Drivers who are caught exceeding the speed limit receive a letter of citation and a $100 fine. Fines received from the speed cameras go into the New Kent County’s General Fund. If only 60% of the fines are collected, that equates to $3 million a week or $156 million a year.     Another technology used around the country to help reduce criminal activity is the Flock camera. The Flock camera is often referred to as a license plate reader and is not used in highway speed enforcement.  This camera does not provide DMV information. It informs law enforcement of the presence of a vehicle of interest. As you might expect, this is invaluable information when searching for a vehicle involved in some type of criminal activity.  The County currently has 32 Flock cameras. The Sheriff informed me that he is getting 6 more, which will bring the total to 38 cameras. Flock cameras are a particularly important tool in catching criminals of all kinds and were used to solve a murder in York County last year.

4. Wildlife Safety For many decades in York County, Animal Control belonged to the County’s Fire Department. It is now the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Office. Residents across the County are reporting seeing raccoons walking around in circles and stumbling during the middle of the day. If you see such action, stay away from the animal and call 911. The report will be handled just like any other emergency call and Animal Control or a deputy will respond to the call.   All the raccoons reported to the Sheriff’s Office this year have suffered from what is commonly called distemper, which is not a zoonotic (transmitted to human) disease. However, rabies a deadly and highly contagious zoonotic disease, is very common in raccoons.  There are about five zoonotic diseases carried by raccoons, mice, rats, fox, opossums, and bats that can either kill you or make you very sick. The bottom line is to avoid contact with these animals, especially if they appear sick.  Simply call 911 and let Animal Control take care of the situation.

5. Elections 2025 Election Day is November 4th. Early voting started September 19th and the last day to early vote is Saturday November 1st. Early voting is a great way to avoid the crowds and being forced to walk through rain and cold weather on election day.  Early voting is taking place at 5322 Geo. Wash. Mem. Hwy. (Rt 17) Yorktown, VA. For those of you in the northern end of the County, you can early vote at 6614 Mooretown Rd. Suite A, Williamsburg, VA. The voting offices are open Monday through Friday 8:30 A.M to 5:00 P.M. Saturday October 25th and November 1st the offices will be open from 9A.M to 5 P.M. for early voting. More information concerning this year’s elections can be found at Yorkcounty.gov/357/voter-registration.

6. Real Estate Assessment & Fiscal Year 2027 Budget York County conducts a real estate assessment of all properties within the County every two years. This year is the end of the two year assessments cycle.  Property owners can expect to receive their assessment notices in the mail at the end of December 2025. It is estimated that property assessments will increase between 10 to 12 percent. Information on how to obtain answers to questions about your assessment, including the process for review and appeal, will be described in your assessment letter.  The County is currently developing the fiscal year 2027 budget. This budget will be approved in May 2026 by the Board of Supervisors. The May deadline allows the County the time needed to satisfy State code requirements that all municipalities must begin the fiscal year with a balanced budget. The 2027 fiscal year begins July 1, 2026. Approving the real estate tax rate is an essential action that is necessary to fund the yearly budget. Both the County tax rate and County budget are recommended by the County Administrator for approval to the Board of Supervisors. The tax rate approved in May 2026 multiplied by the real estate assessment you received in December 2025 will determine the amount of real estate tax you must pay to the County. It is important to note that there will be several public meetings and public hearings concerning the proposed budget and tax rate prior to final approval by the Board.  At the direction of the Board of Supervisors, the County Staff is studying the possibility of changing the real estate assessments from a two year to a one year cycle. One objective of the study will be to identify and set a long term tax rate that will not change from year to year. Henrico County has successfully used this approach for the past decade. Lessons learned from years of experience with a stabilized tax rate and yearly assessment are: -          The impact on household budgets due to large variations in real estate assessments is minimized. -          Revenue requirements for the budget become more predictable for both the County and homeowners. -          There is a significant increase in public awareness and understanding of budget requirements and how taxpayers’ funds are being spent. -          Increased communication between the County Government and its citizens leads to increased transparency, accountability, and trust. You can expect to hear more about the study later this budget cycle.

* Comments and opinions expressed in the District 5 Report are authorized and approved by me and do not necessarily represent the position of other elected representatives. All email correspondence to and from this address is subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act and to the Virginia Public Records Act, which may result in monitoring and disclosure to third parties, including law enforcement.

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Tom Shepperd | 131 Chinquapin Orch | Yorktown, VA 23693-2322 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice