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Hanover’s Superlatives – 2007

Hanover County may be the best managed county in the United States. Listed below are a few statistics to support this supposition.

1. Quality of Life Issues:

    • In a recent National Citizen Survey, 92% of Hanover Respondents rated Hanover County as a good or excellent place to live.
    • Hanover was ranked either one or two in the south region for the following questions:
      1. How do you rank Hanover County as a place to live?
      2. How do you rank Hanover County as a place to raise children?
      3. How do you rate the overall quality of life in Hanover County?
      4. How do you rate your neighborhood as a place to live?
    • Home ownership percentage is 84%. Virginia statewide average is 68%.
    • Hanover’s unemployment rate is about 2.5%. Hanover’s unemployment is historically the lowest in the Richmond Region.
    • In a recent survey by America’s Promise-The alliance for Youth, Hanover was selected as one of the 100 best communities for Youth.

2. Financial Management:

    • Hanover County enjoys an AAA bond rating. It is one of only 32 counties out of more than 3,100 to achieve this superlative level of credit worthiness. Hanover is the smallest of the 32.
    • Hanover County is a frugal shepard of our economic resources. In a recent Comparative Report of Local Government’s Revenues and Spending, Hanover County’s spending for general government administration was about 78% of the statewide average. This amount is lower than Chesterfield’s and Henrico’s, but also Caroline, Goochland, King William, and New Kent.
    • Hanover is one of a few local governments that actually saves money and makes capital expenditures from savings instead of borrowing exclusively for big ticket purchases. Since 1997 Hanover has accumulated $56 million to use for large capital improvements.
    • Hanover enjoys the lowest tax rate in the metro region. The tax rate was recently reduced by 5 cents to 81 cents per hundred of evaluation.

3. Crime.

    • Hanover consistently enjoys a dramatically lower crime rate than our suburban neighbors. For instance, to cite one comparison, Henrico’s population is approximately 3 times the size of Hanover’s, but Henrico suffered 18 times as many armed robberies as Hanover in 2006.
    • The Hanover Sheriff’s department cleared 64 % of reported crime last year. This is nearly three times the national average.
    • The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement extensive assessment found the Hanover Sheriff’s office to be in compliance with all 329 mandatory standards and 75 optional standards during their survey of the department in 2006. This is the highest score ever awarded to a Virginia Law Enforcement Agency. This designation places the Hanover Sheriff’s Department in the top one and one half percent of all law enforcement agencies in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
    • The above accreditation is in addition to the Hanover Sheriff’s department accreditation by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission. Only two other localities in Virginia are accredited by both Accreditation organizations.
    • Hanover had the most severe sentencing record in Virginia in 2006.
    • Hanover’s Sheriff Department operates at the lowest cost per resident in the region.

4. Fire/Ems:

    • Fire and EMS volunteers contributed 180,000 hours to the county in 2005.
    • 70% of active volunteers are trained to the same level as career employees.
    • Emergency Communications handled 69,169 calls in FY 2006 and dispatched 92,274 respondents. Hanover Emergency Communications was recognized as the best in the region by the Emergency Medical Alliance Inc. in 2005
    • 99% of all 911 calls are answered in 3 rings or less.

5. Education:

    • All Hanover schools have met accreditation standards under the Standards of Learning.
    • Hanover students have achieved in the top 5% in test scores as compared to all other students in Virginia for many years.
    • Hanover maintains the seventh lowest cost per pupil for education costs in Virginia out of 134 school districts.
    • Hanover was the first school district in the United States to receive the Senate Productivity Award for continuing excellence.
    • Hanover schools enjoy the lowest drop out rate in the state with the rate being below 1% for many years.
    • Hanover Schools are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement and is the first school district in the United States to earn this accreditation.
    • 99.6% of Hanover Teachers are “highly qualified” as defined by the federal No Child Left Behind Act

6. Community Resources:

    • In 2006, Hanover County had 9,028 registered volunteers. Last year these volunteers reported a contribution of 441,134 volunteer hours. Based on state formulas this equates to a value of 9.58 million dollars.

7. Public Works:

    • The Hanover Public Works department received the Bronze Excellence Award in Solid Waste Management from the Solid Waste Association of North America in recognition of Hanover having the third best solid waste program in the United States.

8. Growth:

    • Hanover maintained a residential growth rate of 1.7% in 2006, and 2.1 % over the last 5 years. The “natural” rate of growth in Hanover (births – deaths) is approximately 1 %.) This extraordinarily low rate of growth was achieved in spite of the fact that Hanover has the greatest drivers of growth in the region. These drivers are: The lowest taxes in the region, the lowest crime rate in the region, the best schools in the region, and the largest amount of open, rural land in close proximity to the city center.