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Elected offices: 

  • Board of Supervisors: The supervisors are elected by the residents every four years to represent different areas within the county. The Board enacts laws, sets policies, approves budgets for County services, and sets tax rates. It also appoints citizens to various boards, authorities, commissions, and committees.
  • School Board: The Spotsylvania County School Board is a corporate entity with all legal powers, duties, and responsibilities to engage in contracts, lawsuits, and property transactions. The board provides oversight for county public schools and enforces policy implementation. 
  • Sheriff: Roger Harris serves as Spotsylvania County’s Sheriff. His office is charged with ensuring equal protection under the law, maintaining public peace, preventing crime, enforcing laws and ordinances, apprehending criminals, and keeping public places orderly. The sheriff also ensures safe traffic flow and cooperates with other law enforcement agencies.
  • Commonwealth’s Attorney: Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney G. Ryan Mehaffey prosecutes criminal cases on behalf of citizens, similar to a District Attorney in other states. They are elected for four years and prosecute serious felonies like murder, rape, and robbery. In many areas, they also handle misdemeanors and local ordinance violations, including traffic offenses.
  • Clerk of the Circuit Court: The Circuit Court issues marriage licenses and concealed handgun permits, appoint ministers to perform marriages and handle all criminal cases, including felonies and misdemeanor appeals. For civil law, they have jurisdiction over cases involving $25,000 and above, and share jurisdiction with the General District Court for claims between $4,500 and $25,000. The Court also handles name changes, divorces, adoptions, church trustees, probate wills, and appoint and qualify guardians for adults or children as ordered by the court. Additionally, they can hear civil cases where the issue is between $500 and $10,000.
  • Commissioner of Revenue: The Office of the Commissioner of Revenue is a Constitutional office with a four-year elected term. They assist with assessment of business, vehicle, and real estate taxes and enforce statewide and county financial taxation laws. 
  • Treasurer: The Treasurer’s Office collects and invests all revenue. Their main responsibilities fall into four categories: collection and receipt of revenue, safekeeping of revenue, investment of revenue, and disbursement of funds. The office manages over 300 types of County receipts, with major collections including real estate tax, personal property tax, state income tax, consumer utility tax, vehicle license fees, dog license fees, permit fees, and water and sewer charges.
  • County Attorney: The County Attorney is appointed by the Board of Supervisors and serves as its chief legal advisor. This office offers legal advice and representation to the Board of Supervisors, County Administrator, and County departments. It also provides legal support to Constitutional officers, the Registrar, and other Boards, Commissions, Committees, and Subcommittees created and appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
  • Economic Development Authority: The EDA is an independent entity that supports business growth through financing, programs, and incentives. It assists new and existing businesses, boosts investment, and stimulates the economy.
  • Electoral Board: The Electoral Board ensures that all elections are conducted fairly and impartially, as required by the Constitution of Virginia.
  • Board of Zoning Appeals: The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) handles appeals on zoning decisions and violations, grants variances and special exceptions, and imposes conditions on them related to the location, character, and other features of proposed structures or uses as necessary for the public interest.
  • Architectural Review Board: The Architectural Review Board (ARB) oversees the preservation of historic sites within the County’s Historic Resource (HR) Overlay Districts. It consists of seven members, including at least one architect or architectural historian. The ARB encourages preservation through incentives, identifies new historic sites, provides guidelines, and reviews construction or renovations within historic districts. It also recommends sites for historic designation to the Board of Supervisors.

 

Your local state delegation

  • General Assembly: Del. Bobby Orrock (R-Spotsylvania); Del. Phillip Scott (R-Spotsylvania); Sen. Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania).

Interjurisdictional bodies (officials from several localities serve on these):

  • Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO): The primary mission of FAMPO is to assist in developing regional transportation plans for Fredericksburg, including the City of Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, and Stafford County. FAMPO staff create a forum for local leaders, transportation professionals, and the public to address regional transportation needs, create federally required transportation planning documents, and, under the FAMPO Policy Committee’s direction, study transportation deficiencies and propose solutions.
  • George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC): The George Washington Regional Commission is a planning district commission for Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, Stafford Counties and the City of Fredericksburg. The responsibility of the commission is to encourage the cooperation of addressing local matters such as housing and transportation.
  • Currently, Spotsylvania County does not belong to a regional transit authority such as the ones that exist in northern and central Virginia. However, Spotsylvania and neighboring jurisdictions have discussed forming such a body, which would pursue transportation projects impacting the entire Fredericksburg region.
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