The second year of Albemarle County’s SPEAR report reflects an organization that is committed to high performance and willing to confront areas where improvement is needed. The results show that while we have many successes to celebrate, there is important work ahead to fully realize the vision of the FY24–28 Strategic Plan.

Public safety remains a priority, and performance in emergency response times continues to challenge us. These results were not unexpected, and we have begun laying the groundwork to strengthen these essential services. Through the FY25 and FY26 budget processes, we identified the need for additional staffing and local funding in both Police and Fire Rescue to meet our community’s evolving needs. While additional resources have been allocated, the benefits will take time to be fully realized as new staff complete required training.

In other areas, performance tracking has shown the need for greater alignment and clarity, particularly within the objectives that guide organizational excellence. With two years of data, we can better refine these objectives to ensure they are actionable and measurable, which will help the organization consistently meet targets in the years ahead.

At the same time, we are seeing continued progress in areas such as major school division project support, regional partnerships, economic development, and human resources. These successes reflect the dedication of staff across departments and the value of collaboration across the organization and with our key community partners.

Moving forward, we will work with the Board of Supervisors to incorporate these insights into long-range planning, aligning them with the comprehensive plan, as we continue our shared commitment to serving the residents of Albemarle County.

Kristy Shifflett
Chief Operating Officer