Following an anonymous social media post on Wednesday that included several presentation documents, the Town of Chilhowie issued a statement confirming that it is in the early stages of exploring a boundary adjustment.
The statement called the Town’s look at an expansion of its corporate limits “very preliminary” and acknowledged that if the process moved forward the town could not legally make a final decision without public input “and would morally never undertake a decision of such impact as a boundary adjustment without hearing the say of the public.”
The statement also outlined the issues that prompted consideration of a boundary adjustment.
It began: “The Town of Chilhowie currently has a population of approximately 1,700 residents. It is also the smallest town in Smyth County, both in terms of land and in population. However, the services Chilhowie provides covers a vast portion of Smyth County and its residents that do not reside within town limits. These services include delivery of drinking water as well as fire protection and Emergency Medical Services. In our modern world, these services are extremely expensive, especially in rural areas such as ours. Decisions have to be made in the near future to ensure that these services can continue to be provided in years to come.
The statement continued, “In our efforts to ensure a prosperous economy for future generations of Chilhowians, ensure that essential services can continue to be provided for decades to come, try to create job opportunities, and to make sure that the youth of our community can enjoy living their adult lives and raising their families in the great community that we all love, Chilhowie staff, elected officials, Planning Commission, and town committees, in partnership with other regional and state organizations, are constantly looking at potential projects that may help grow our community and its economy.”
One of the projects, the statement said, is a boundary adjustment. It noted that a preliminary study and draft map have been completed “as an initial step in an investigatory process that may progress over a relatively long period of time. These initial information and data gathering steps are being undertaken as was recommended by Chilhowie’s Town Attorney under the guidance set by the Virginia Commission on Local Government.”
The commission, which is set up according to Virginia law, guides all boundary adjustments in Virginia as part of its work to promote and preserve “the viability of Virginia's local governments by fostering positive intergovernmental relations.”
The town said that the document posted to social media was compiled as part of the initial data gathering “and was never intended to be a final document.”
The Town also said that before it or Smyth County could move forward with a boundary adjustment, Virginia law requires a period for public comment that must include an advertised public hearing. The statement said, “It had been the town’s intention to start advertising a time and location for this public input period and Public Hearing sometime in early 2027. However, this date cannot be finalized until enough time was allowed to gather correct and accurate information to share with our residents. This data gathering step is critical so that when it is complete, residents can then have … factual information from which they can share their views, concerns, ideas, thoughts with elected officials.”
In its statement, the Town noted that the documents shared on social media didn’t include those that included the potential benefits for areas that might be brought into the town.
The statement said, “If, and that is an if, any future boundary adjustment were to be approved, some of the benefits of residing within the Town of Chilhowie include: a considerable reduction in water and sewer rates, access to residential household trash collection, and free pickup of brush, leaves, grass clippings, etc. These benefits also include improved law enforcement response times, increased patrols by law enforcement, and the installation of streetlights over a period of several years. Residents of the town also have a stronger voice in their government by being eligible to vote in town elections and run for the offices of mayor and town council member.”
A map of the proposed boundary adjustment was among the documents shared on social media. The Town’s statement said those areas included in the potential adjustment “are not final and could absolutely be changed based on public input. Also, any areas that may potentially be brought into the corporate limits that do not have a Chilhowie mailing address can keep their current address. There is no requirement for an address change simply because a property may be brought into the corporate limits.”
The statement continued, “The Town of Chilhowie fully supports our residents, businesses and industries, and community partners. The town cannot legally undertake, and would morally never undertake, a decision of such impact as a boundary adjustment without hearing the say of the public. That being said, well planned and orderly growth of a community is vital to its continuing success. A proposed boundary adjustment is just one of several paths being considered to meet this goal.”
The Town’s statement concluded, “There are towns around us in the Southwestern Virginia region that are examples of towns that have planned and grown well and are thriving. There are also examples of towns that have not planned for growth and are struggling to exist and provide basic services to their residents. So, a question that should be considered: Which of these ways do we want to see OUR Chilhowie go?”
Boundary adjustments are typically drawn-out processes that begin with closed session discussions between the leaders of the participating localities.
The most recent local boundary adjustment was between the Marion and Smyth County and received final judicial approval in 2015. That process involved eight years of discussion and a year and a half of fine-tuning.
In that case, the two localities reached an agreement in December 2013. It was then reviewed by the Commission on Local Government, whose duties include reviewing and publishing advisory reports on boundary changes for the courts and localities.
For any boundary adjustment to receive the Commission’s recommendation, extensive documentation must be prepared and presented.
