The Central Virginia Transportation Authority voted to adopt its FY2026 operating and capital budgets and approved several related administrative and project items at its regular meeting. The authority also approved the Greater Richmond Transit Company’s FY26 regional public transportation plan, authorized staff to proceed with a bond-planning timeline and committee tasks, and agreed to two wayfinding standard project agreements covering Hanover and Henrico counties.

The authority’s executive director, Scott Parsons, said the finance committee had recommended releasing the budgets for public review and that the public comment period ran from April 10 to April 24. Lauren Shepherd, the authority’s new chief financial officer, told the board that proposed operating expenses are about 17% higher than FY25, driven by one additional full-time equivalent position, cost-estimating bench fees and bond-attorney validation fees, and that the proposed capital budget increases total spending by about 20% compared with the prior year. Shepherd said the authority is proposing a capital line item of $25,000 to begin a shared investment with PlanRVA to replace QuickBooks with a modern grants-management and accounting system: "The $25,000 proposed capital budget is a preliminary estimate for a portion of this shared initiative…Staff is still evaluating vendors, and we will come back to the authority as plans are finalized," Shepherd said.

Why it matters: The budget adoption authorizes the staff to move forward with FY26 work, commits authority funds to operating and project priorities, and funds initial steps for a shared accounting and grants-management system. The authority’s decisions also set the administrative path for longer-term financial planning, including whether and how bonding could be used to accelerate multi-jurisdictional projects.

On bond planning, Parsons and legal advisers laid out a multi-committee process to prepare for possible future bond issuance, describing roles for the Technical Advisory Committee (to identify priority regional projects), a finance directors’ working group (to model bond types and project funding needs by year) and the finance committee (to prepare a recommended bond-financing package). Parsons summarized the approach: "This doesn’t move us forward, in issuing bonds, but it does put the proper protocols in place should that be the determination of the authority at some point to issue bonds." The full authority voted to adopt the bond-planning process and give staff direction to carry it out.

The GRTC FY26 regional public transportation plan was presented by authority staff and a GRTC representative. The plan outlines how GRTC expects to use CVTA funds in FY26 under the statutory requirement that CVTA dedicate 15% of its revenues to the regional transit provider. Presenters said GRTC plans to apply most of the FY26 allocation to maintain transit service. As summarized in the presentation: "Of that, $28.6 million would go toward maintaining service," a GRTC representative said. The plan also includes capital match requests, planning studies and continued microtransit zones; TAC had discussed reserve levels and amendment processes before recommending approval. The authority approved the FY26 regional public transportation plan.

Two wayfinding standard project agreements (SPAs) were before the authority covering segments of the fall-on trail fabrications and installations for Hanover and Henrico counties. Staff reported earlier committee review and unanimous committee recommendations; the authority approved the Hanvoer County SPA and the Henrico County SPA in separate roll-call votes.

Financial report and reserves: Staff reported tax collections and allocations through the most recent update and that the authority’s working capital reserve balance stood near $12.3 million toward a stated goal of $18 million. Parsons said the authority has seen a steady stream of interest income and is evaluating short-term reinvestment strategies to preserve favorable yields. Separate materials discussed using $5,050,000 in interest earnings; TEC recommended those funds be placed into a balance entry to address project shortfalls rather than immediately committing them to new candidate projects.

Votes at a glance:
- FY26 operating and capital budgets — Approved (roll-call vote). Motion carried. (Mover/second: motion and second recorded; vote carried.)
- Bond-planning process and committee tasks — Approved (roll-call). Motion carried.
- Hanover County wayfinding standard project agreement — Approved (roll-call). Motion carried.
- Henrico County wayfinding standard project agreement — Approved (roll-call). Motion carried.
- GRTC FY26 regional public transportation plan — Approved (roll-call). Motion carried.
- FY26 meeting schedule — Approved (voice vote). Motion carried.

What was not decided: The authority adopted procedures and a timeline for bond preparation but did not authorize any bond issuance at the meeting. Parsons and other staff emphasized that the plan establishes preparatory steps; a later board decision would be required to authorize issuance.

Key quotes from meeting participants:
- Scott Parsons, CVTA executive director: "If you're putting the process in place, there should be some reasonable expectation that you may decide to go down and start issuing bonds…This is not just an administrative matter to say, well, we have it in a file cabinet in the back of the room should we ever need it."
- Lauren Shepherd, CVTA chief financial officer: "Proposed operating expenses are 17% higher than fiscal year 25, primarily due to 1 additional FTE, cost estimating bench fees, and bond attorney validation fees."
- GRTC presenter (identified in the record as the agency presenter): "Of that, $28.6 million would go toward maintaining service."

What’s next: Staff will finalize procurement steps for a shared accounting and grants-management system, proceed with the committee-led bond-preparation timeline, and implement the FY26 budget and projects. GRTC will continue to refine its FY26 operating plan with its board and partners; the authority will monitor reserve levels and report on proposed reinvestment strategies to the finance committee.