After sailing quickly through the first of seven scheduled public hearings with no speakers, board questions, or discussion of the long-planned extension of the late-payment deadline on a variety of county taxes from June 5 to June 22 due to delays in approval of a final budget package, the Warren County Board of Supervisors hit a wall of questions about public hearing number two. The topic was planned increases to Building Inspection Fees to cover departmental costs

The bottom line is the board has seldom revisited its fees, first established over a quarter century ago in 1997, leaving the department, and likely county taxpayers, to absorb those uncovered departmental costs. However, the proposed increase would place Warren County at the highest level in the region on building permit fees, raising a number of issues with local builders.

As noted in the agenda packet summary: The Building Inspections fee schedule was first established on July 1, 1997, (after approval perhaps missing here) by the Board of Supervisors on June 25, 1997. It has been revised only three times, with the last full revision in 2009 and the third and final small revision in 2013. The current request will provide funding to cover the actual expenses incurred, and pending permit activity provide funds to increase the services provided.

Despite the absence of Building Official David Beahm, County Administrator Ed Daley recommended the board conduct the public hearing as planned, then if desired, delay final action until additional departmental information could be received. That additional information might be required prior to a final decision soon became apparent as the first of three construction professionals, including one county planning commission member, all raised similar points in questioning the amount of the proposed increase.

First up was George Cline (at the 5:00-minute mark of the linked County video), representing himself as a builder, as well as the Warren County Builders Association, which he currently chairs. On the fee increase, we absolutely agree there is one needed it cannot sit where its at. But when I sat and ran the numbers today, were at a 200% increase. To me, that just seems a little excessive. One, it makes us the highest county in the surrounding area fee-wise. Im not sure why this county would want to be the highest, Cline said of potential impacts on building professionals and property owners.

Cline continued to ask exactly what would be received in return for such high fees. Are we getting more employees and plan reviewers? Are we doing this to reduce our plan review time? he asked what he asserted he has had calls about recently regarding delays in achieving plan reviews contracted for. We need to get someone in there as soon as possible, Cline added of funding additional building department personnel to reduce turnaround times on services.

Cline pointed to one fee increase on what we heard as ENS plans he said was proposed to move from $5 currently to $200. That is slightly more than the cited 200% average across-the-board increase. He concluded that, on average, a 100% overall increase was acceptable, but not the proposed 200% one on the table.

Following Cline to the podium was Ryan Oakes of Oakes Construction. Oakes concurred with Clines comments regarding the need for an increase, but not at the proposed level. And he added to Clines acknowledgment of the one fee proposed to rise from $5 to $200. My biggest gripe at this point is probably the agreement in lieu of, which is a $5-dollar permit going to $200 dollars, a $195-dollar increase on a $5-dollar permit. Theres no one in their right mind who could justify that, in my opinion, Oakes offered.

As to current turnaround times on some permitting services, Oakes elaborated that currently, he was aware of several builders who had seen 37 to 40 days for a plan review to take place. Is that going to improve? he asked the board about the consequences of the proposed 200% fee hike.

Noting he was a Warren County resident, Oakes added from a residential perspective, I feel like Im getting punished if I want to improve my property because, not only will I have to pay a higher building permit fee than the all the other counties, I will also get taxed as my assessed value goes up, which will make me pay more taxes at the end of the day, every year.

A third strike on the proposed 200% building permitting fees on the table was thrown by Hugh Henry. Henry said he was speaking as a citizen and building contractor, who noted he also serves on the county planning commission. I think everybody understands, with the inflation and things, were due an increase because its been a while. But as a county, we also have to compete with our surrounding counties. And if were grossly higher the $200 would be fine if everybody around us was charging $200, but theyre not. I think its very important to look at those rates a little closer so that we can stay competitive as far as growth in our own community, Henry told the supervisors.

He also observed that some other surrounding counties offered cost-saving options, such as one standard design approved for certain structures not requiring an engineers review, that Warren does not offer.

Our county is notoriously known as a hard place to get permits, Henry added, referencing past board discussion during which he observed, Dr. Daley was concerned at the amount of work that was being done unpermitted because of basically being known as (having) an unfriendly policy to get permits. So, weve already got that stigma about that, whether its true or not, people feel like that. Then if youve got an excessively high rate in comparison to the other counties, I think its a bad way to go, Henry told the countys elected officials.

Bottom line is we need an increase, but maybe not this much to stay competitive with our other counties. And we really need to look at our service per price compared to the other counties and compare apples to apples, Henry concluded of how the county analyzes its approved permitting rate increase in conjunction with the functioning level of the building permitting department.

With the public hearing closed (at 13:25 video mark), as the board discussed what it had just heard, County Administrator Daley noted that the rate increase before them was the higher of two options presented by staff, the other option being a 100% general increase over the existing permitting fees. Supervisors and staff pondered the potential impacts on staffing and operational costs of the 100% versus 200% fee increase. Daley noted there were two current vacancies in the building permitting department, a deputy and the public hearing-referenced plans reviewer.

A consensus was reached to table action until more detail on impacts on the building permitting department operations from enacting the 100% increase versus the 200% increase could be established from further conversation with County Building Official Beahm. And on Ms. Oatess motion, seconded by Ms. Cullers, the board unanimously tabled action.

Other Public Hearings

In other post-public hearing actions, in the order they were addressed, the board approved authorization of the Planning, Zoning and GIS Fee schedules modification request. It was noted in the staff summary that: The fee schedule was last approved on April 15, 2003, and amended April 6, 2004. No changes have been made to the fee schedule since that time, and costs in labor, technology, software, and training have increased in cost across the spectrum. The motion to approve was by Ms. Cullers.

On a motion by Ms. Oates, the board also unanimously approved Option 2 adjustments to the Countys tax relief for the elderly package to become effective Jan. 1, 2024. As the staff summary noted of Option 2: The ordinances described in option 2 be amended as presented effective 1/1/24: Option 2: $300,000 maximum net worth, excluding home and 5 acres $ 0 $30,000 100%; $30,001 $40,000 75%; $40,001 $50,000- 50%; $50,001-$60,000 25%.

On a motion by Ms. Cullers, unanimously approved a Resolution to Set a Percentage of Tax Relief for the 2023 Tax Year at a Level of 25% that is Anticipated to Exhaust Personal Property Tax Relief Funds Provided to Warren County by the Commonwealth of Virginia as Authorized by Warren County Code Section 160-109.

Again on a motion by Ms. Cullers, adopted the proposed Tax Rates for 2023, including a Real Estate Rate of 49 cents per $100 of assessed value, which is the equalized post-reassessment rate, actually resulting in a small annual revenue loss to the County.

On a motion by Mr. Butler, unanimously approved submitted Sanitary District tax rates for the coming year.

As to the delay in imposing late payment fees on taxes from June 5 to June 22, if not paid by June 22, a penalty of 10 percent or $10, whichever is greater, of the amount of such taxes which have not yet been paid shall be imposed, provided that in no case may the penalty exceed the amount of tax payable.

Click here to watch the meeting on the County video.

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County presses forward with Old Oak 4, among other less ... - Royal Examiner

Are you seeking a relatively safe way to invest in this uncertain economic environment? In that case, investing in one of the mega-cap FAANG stocks is an excellent idea, as they have the resources to weather any market downturn.

What is a FAANG stock? It is an acronym investors use to describe some of the most prominent companies in the tech sector. Originally the acronym was FANG for Facebook, Amazon (AMZN -1.61%),Netflix, and Google. The acronym became FAANG in 2017, when investors started including Apple.

One FAANG stock that captured many investors' attention lately is Amazon, which looks like it's turning the page from a tough year in 2022 by starting 2023 with a bang. The stock is up 31.26% year to date, beating the S&P 500 index returns of 7.41%.

Recently, the company released its first-quarter 2023 earnings report. Investors were initially pleased with the quarterly statement, which exceeded consensus analyst revenue and earnings estimates. However, one thing that disappointed investors was hearing that companies have been cutting back on cloud spending in the current challenging economic climate.

Given that cloud computing, its most profitable source of income, is currently struggling, can Amazon's stock crush the market in 2023? Read more to find out why the answer to that question is yes.

Although Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue growth may be affected by current economic concerns, technology experts still expect the cloud industry to experience long-term growth as more companies shift from on-site hosting to cloud-based applications. Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy confirmed that view on the latest earnings call when he said:

We've spent a fair bit of time analyzing what we're seeing, and I've spent a good chunk of time myself looking as well, and we like the fundamentals of what we're seeing in AWS. The new customer pipeline looks strong. The set of ongoing migrations of workloads to AWS is strong. The product innovation and delivery is rapid and compelling, and people sometimes forget that 90-plus percent of global IT spend is still on-premises.

It's challenging to imagine any company not utilizing the cloud in the future. Once OpenAI released ChatGPT, companies became interested in generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models. Most generative AI applications require a large amount of computing power, and the only affordable way for most companies to access such resources is through the cloud. Therefore, as generative AI spreads, it should benefit AWS' long-term revenue and profit growth.

Shareholders have more than AWS to be excited about, though. There are other parts of Amazon's business taking off.

In a 2016 letter to shareholders, then CEO Jeff Bezos wrote: "Customers are always beautifully, wonderfully dissatisfied, even when they report being happy and business is great. Even when they don't yet know it, customers want something better, and your desire to delight customers will drive you to invent on their behalf."

Early on, Amazon identified one significant customer dissatisfaction in e-commerce: the consumer wanting their item now, not a week from now. So the company built a world-class logistics and fulfillment operation by working to solve this issue.

The company built its logistics up so rapidly that competitors could never quite catch up to the delivery speed, convenience, and lower costs of Amazon Prime. As a result, Amazon's delivery service became a competitive advantage.

For example, Shopify recently ended its big bet on establishing a logistics operation by divesting Shopify Fulfillment Network, likely because it had a hard time scaling the business to profitability and would also be too costly to attempt to match up to Amazon's logistical capabilities.

During Amazon's first-quarter earnings call, Jassy announced that Amazon Logistics had implemented a new structure. The company divided its national fulfillment network in the U.S. into eight interconnected regions, each with its own wide product selection. This change in structure enables shorter travel distances, resulting in lower costs to serve each customer and improved delivery speed to facilitate even more next-day and same-day deliveries.

Although it started its logistics operation to enhance its e-commerce operation, Amazon Logistics has already reached a scale to directly compete with UPS and FedEx. Tons of upside here!

Although growth in the overall advertising industry declined in this economic downturn, Amazon advertising has continued to thrive and outpace the general ad industry and the most prominent online advertisers, Alphabetand Meta Platforms. Why are advertisers gravitating to Amazon? It's because Amazon ads target shoppers ready to buy right now, which is not necessarily the case with Google or Meta ads.

Today, Amazon's most popular ad formats are sponsored products, sponsored brands, and sponsored displays. But the best days are ahead for its ad segment, as the company is only beginning to actively strategize how to effectively incorporate advertisements into more of its diverse platforms, spanning video, live sports, audio, and grocery stores.

You can expect Amazon's advertising business to experience substantial growth in the long term, especially with the anticipated recovery of the advertising industry.

Amazon trades for 2.16 times trailing-12-month sales. However, the market valued the stock at a median of 3.02 times trailing-12-month sales over the last 10 years, suggesting the market is undervaluing the stock today.

If you're looking for a stock that offers compelling value, has multiple long-term growth drivers, and can survive should the market turn further south, there are few investments better than Amazon.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Rob Starks Jr has positions in Alphabet, Amazon.com, and Shopify. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon.com, FedEx, Meta Platforms, and Shopify. The Motley Fool recommends United Parcel Service. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Continued here:
One Top FAANG Stock That Should Crush the Market in 2023 - The Motley Fool

After sailing quickly through the first of seven scheduled public hearings with no speakers, board questions, or discussion of the long-planned extension of the late-payment deadline on a variety of county taxes from June 5 to June 22 due to delays in approval of a final budget package, the Warren County Board of Supervisors hit a wall of questions about public hearing number two. The topic was planned increases to Building Inspection Fees to cover departmental costs

The bottom line is the board has seldom revisited its fees, first established over a quarter century ago in 1997, leaving the department, and likely county taxpayers, to absorb those uncovered departmental costs. However, the proposed increase would place Warren County at the highest level in the region on building permit fees, raising a number of issues with local builders.

As noted in the agenda packet summary: The Building Inspections fee schedule was first established on July 1, 1997, (after approval perhaps missing here) by the Board of Supervisors on June 25, 1997. It has been revised only three times, with the last full revision in 2009 and the third and final small revision in 2013. The current request will provide funding to cover the actual expenses incurred, and pending permit activity provide funds to increase the services provided.

Despite the absence of Building Official David Beahm, County Administrator Ed Daley recommended the board conduct the public hearing as planned, then if desired, delay final action until additional departmental information could be received. That additional information might be required prior to a final decision soon became apparent as the first of three construction professionals, including one county planning commission member, all raised similar points in questioning the amount of the proposed increase.

First up was George Cline (at the 5:00-minute mark of the linked County video), representing himself as a builder, as well as the Warren County Builders Association, which he currently chairs. On the fee increase, we absolutely agree there is one needed it cannot sit where its at. But when I sat and ran the numbers today, were at a 200% increase. To me, that just seems a little excessive. One, it makes us the highest county in the surrounding area fee-wise. Im not sure why this county would want to be the highest, Cline said of potential impacts on building professionals and property owners.

Cline continued to ask exactly what would be received in return for such high fees. Are we getting more employees and plan reviewers? Are we doing this to reduce our plan review time? he asked what he asserted he has had calls about recently regarding delays in achieving plan reviews contracted for. We need to get someone in there as soon as possible, Cline added of funding additional building department personnel to reduce turnaround times on services.

Cline pointed to one fee increase on what we heard as ENS plans he said was proposed to move from $5 currently to $200. That is slightly more than the cited 200% average across-the-board increase. He concluded that, on average, a 100% overall increase was acceptable, but not the proposed 200% one on the table.

Following Cline to the podium was Ryan Oakes of Oakes Construction. Oakes concurred with Clines comments regarding the need for an increase, but not at the proposed level. And he added to Clines acknowledgment of the one fee proposed to rise from $5 to $200. My biggest gripe at this point is probably the agreement in lieu of, which is a $5-dollar permit going to $200 dollars, a $195-dollar increase on a $5-dollar permit. Theres no one in their right mind who could justify that, in my opinion, Oakes offered.

As to current turnaround times on some permitting services, Oakes elaborated that currently, he was aware of several builders who had seen 37 to 40 days for a plan review to take place. Is that going to improve? he asked the board about the consequences of the proposed 200% fee hike.

Noting he was a Warren County resident, Oakes added from a residential perspective, I feel like Im getting punished if I want to improve my property because, not only will I have to pay a higher building permit fee than the all the other counties, I will also get taxed as my assessed value goes up, which will make me pay more taxes at the end of the day, every year.

A third strike on the proposed 200% building permitting fees on the table was thrown by Hugh Henry. Henry said he was speaking as a citizen and building contractor, who noted he also serves on the county planning commission. I think everybody understands, with the inflation and things, were due an increase because its been a while. But as a county, we also have to compete with our surrounding counties. And if were grossly higher the $200 would be fine if everybody around us was charging $200, but theyre not. I think its very important to look at those rates a little closer so that we can stay competitive as far as growth in our own community, Henry told the supervisors.

He also observed that some other surrounding counties offered cost-saving options, such as one standard design approved for certain structures not requiring an engineers review, that Warren does not offer.

Our county is notoriously known as a hard place to get permits, Henry added, referencing past board discussion during which he observed, Dr. Daley was concerned at the amount of work that was being done unpermitted because of basically being known as (having) an unfriendly policy to get permits. So, weve already got that stigma about that, whether its true or not, people feel like that. Then if youve got an excessively high rate in comparison to the other counties, I think its a bad way to go, Henry told the countys elected officials.

Bottom line is we need an increase, but maybe not this much to stay competitive with our other counties. And we really need to look at our service per price compared to the other counties and compare apples to apples, Henry concluded of how the county analyzes its approved permitting rate increase in conjunction with the functioning level of the building permitting department.

With the public hearing closed (at 13:25 video mark), as the board discussed what it had just heard, County Administrator Daley noted that the rate increase before them was the higher of two options presented by staff, the other option being a 100% general increase over the existing permitting fees. Supervisors and staff pondered the potential impacts on staffing and operational costs of the 100% versus 200% fee increase. Daley noted there were two current vacancies in the building permitting department, a deputy and the public hearing-referenced plans reviewer.

A consensus was reached to table action until more detail on impacts on the building permitting department operations from enacting the 100% increase versus the 200% increase could be established from further conversation with County Building Official Beahm. And on Ms. Oatess motion, seconded by Ms. Cullers, the board unanimously tabled action.

Other Public Hearings

In other post-public hearing actions, in the order they were addressed, the board approved authorization of the Planning, Zoning and GIS Fee schedules modification request. It was noted in the staff summary that: The fee schedule was last approved on April 15, 2003, and amended April 6, 2004. No changes have been made to the fee schedule since that time, and costs in labor, technology, software, and training have increased in cost across the spectrum. The motion to approve was by Ms. Cullers.

On a motion by Ms. Oates, the board also unanimously approved Option 2 adjustments to the Countys tax relief for the elderly package to become effective Jan. 1, 2024. As the staff summary noted of Option 2: The ordinances described in option 2 be amended as presented effective 1/1/24: Option 2: $300,000 maximum net worth, excluding home and 5 acres $ 0 $30,000 100%; $30,001 $40,000 75%; $40,001 $50,000- 50%; $50,001-$60,000 25%.

On a motion by Ms. Cullers, unanimously approved a Resolution to Set a Percentage of Tax Relief for the 2023 Tax Year at a Level of 25% that is Anticipated to Exhaust Personal Property Tax Relief Funds Provided to Warren County by the Commonwealth of Virginia as Authorized by Warren County Code Section 160-109.

Again on a motion by Ms. Cullers, adopted the proposed Tax Rates for 2023, including a Real Estate Rate of 49 cents per $100 of assessed value, which is the equalized post-reassessment rate, actually resulting in a small annual revenue loss to the County.

On a motion by Mr. Butler, unanimously approved submitted Sanitary District tax rates for the coming year.

As to the delay in imposing late payment fees on taxes from June 5 to June 22, if not paid by June 22, a penalty of 10 percent or $10, whichever is greater, of the amount of such taxes which have not yet been paid shall be imposed, provided that in no case may the penalty exceed the amount of tax payable.

Click here to watch the meeting on the County video.

The rest is here:
Town Planning Commission acts on parking exception proposal and ... - Royal Examiner

In today's digital landscape, businesses are increasingly relying on cloud hosting solutions to store and manage their data.

Cloud hosting provides a cost-effective, scalable, and flexible way to store data, but it also comes with inherent risks. The security of data stored on the cloud is a top priority for businesses, and there are a number of best practices that can be followed to ensure that data is protected.

One of the most important steps in securing your cloud hosting is to choose a provider that has a strong track record of security. Look for a provider that has implemented robust security measures, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and data encryption. A cloud server for rent in Thailand from VPS HiSpeed is a good choice to consider. It's also important to choose a provider that is compliant with industry-standard security regulations such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001.

One of the most common ways that hackers gain access to cloud data is through weak passwords. To prevent this, it's important to use strong passwords that include a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. It's also a good idea to use two-factor authentication (2FA) to add an extra layer of security. 2FA requires users to enter a code sent to their phone or another device in addition to their password, making it much more difficult for hackers to gain access.

Encryption is the process of encoding data so that it cannot be read by anyone who doesn't have the decryption key. This is important for protecting sensitive data, as it ensures that even if someone gains access to the data, they won't be able to read it. Make sure that your cloud provider offers encryption for data both at rest and in transit.

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It's important to monitor your cloud environment for any unusual activity or potential security breaches. This can be done using tools such as intrusion detection systems and log analysis tools. By monitoring your cloud environment, you can quickly detect and respond to any security threats before they can cause significant damage.

One of the most common causes of data breaches is human error. To prevent this, it's important to train your employees on security best practices. This includes things like how to create strong passwords, how to recognize phishing emails, and how to avoid downloading malware. By investing in employee training, you can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches caused by human error.

Even with the best security measures in place, there is always a risk of data loss or a security breach. That's why it's important to have a disaster recovery plan in place. This plan should outline the steps that need to be taken in the event of a data loss or security breach, including how to recover data and how to communicate with customers and stakeholders.

Securing your cloud hosting is essential for protecting your business's data. By following these best practices, you can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and ensure that your data is safe and secure. Choose a secure cloud provider, use strong passwords and two-factor authentication, implement data encryption, regularly back up your data, monitor your cloud environment, train your employees on security best practices, and have a disaster recovery plan.

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Best Practices for Data Protection to Secure Cloud Hosting - BBN Times

Brixlys NVMe cloud infrastructure continues to set the pace in the hosting industry with a remarkable 500TB storage capacity and around 20 hypervisor nodes, more than a year after its deployment.

Brixly, a leading provider of web hosting services in the UK, is proud to highlight the success and robustness of its NVMe cloud infrastructure. Launched in September 2021, this state-of-the-art infrastructure has not only proven its robustness and reliability but has also demonstrated impressive scalability, now boasting a massive 500TB in storage capacity and around 20 hypervisor nodes.

The companys innovative platform, which saw an investment of over 250,000, was meticulously planned and built from the ground up. It has provided a significant number of performance and reliability benefits, setting a new benchmark in the hosting industry.

Looking back at the journey, its been nothing short of amazing! Our NVMe cloud infrastructure has truly stood the test of time, proving its robustness and reliability, said Dennis Nind, CEO of Brixly, with a twinkle of excitement in his eyes. From humble beginnings with just 4 nodes at deployment, weve grown to around 20 hypervisor nodes. And lets not forget the storage were talking a whopping 500TB! Thats a lot of data!

But what makes me particularly proud, Dennis continued, is our decision to roll out this advanced infrastructure not just for our Premium clients, but for all our shared and reseller hosting clients as well. We believe in inclusive growth and are committed to providing high-quality, reliable, and high-performance hosting services to all our clients, regardless of the size of their business.

As Brixly continues to innovate and grow, it remains committed to providing its clients with top-notch, reliable, and high-performance hosting services. The company looks forward to another year of serving its clients with the industrys best technology.

Reflecting on this incredible achievement, I am filled with immense gratitude and pride for our dedicated team at Brixly, said Dennis Nind, CEO of Brixly. This milestone would not have been possible without their unwavering commitment, tireless efforts, and innovative thinking. Our team have worked around the clock, pushing boundaries and exceeding expectations to ensure we deliver the best possible service to our clients.

He continued, Our team is not just the backbone of our operations but the heart and soul of Brixly. Their dedication and passion for their work are a testament to our business. Theyve embraced our mission and values, and their hard work has played a pivotal role in shaping Brixly into the industry leader it is today. I am incredibly proud of each and every one of them and look forward to seeing where their drive and creativity will take us in the future.

For more information about Brixly and its services, please visit http://www.brixly.uk.

About Brixly

Brixly is a multi-award-winning hosting brand independently owned and operated in the UK. It provides one of the UKs fastest-growing hosting platforms designed for the reseller market.

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Brixly's NVMe Cloud Infrastructure: A Testament to Inclusive Growth ... - BusinessMole