About Commission on Local Government
The Commission on Local Government promotes and preserves the viability of Virginia’s local governments by fostering positive intergovernmental relations. The Commission assists counties, cities and towns in the commonwealth in the following ways:
- reviews and publishes advisory reports on boundary change and governmental transition issues for the courts and localities;
- provides technical assistance to localities and state agencies on the state’s boundary change and governmental transition processes;
- develops and distributes an annual report analyzing the comparative revenue capacity, revenue effort and fiscal stress of Virginia’s counties and cities and prepares computational exhibits depicting the data by locality;
- develops and distributes an annual catalog of state and Federal mandates on local governments;
- oversees the executive agency assessment of state and federal mandates on local governments;
- publishes an annual report on local government utilization of cash proffers;
- examines proposed state legislation for its potential fiscal impact on the state’s localities;
- assists the Governor’s Task Force for Local Government Mandate Review; and
- assists with duties relating to the oversight of Virginia's planning district commissions.
The commission is composed of five members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Virginia General Assembly. The members are required by statute to have knowledge and experience in local government, and they can hold no other elective or appointive office while on the commission. Commission members are appointed for five-year terms and are eligible for reappointment.
The commission holds regular meetings once every two months. Special meetings of the commission may be called by any member and must be held on such occasions as may be reasonably necessary to carry out their duties.