Secretary of the Budget, General Administrative Papers, 1918-1922

Access and use

Location of collection:
Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Archives Reference Services
Phone: (804) 692-3888
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions.

Preferred citation:

Secretary of the Budget, General Administrative Papers, 1918-1922. Accession 24960, State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Creator:
Secretary of the Budget
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Secretary of the Budget, General Administrative Papers, 1918-1922. Accession 24960, State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection is comprised of the administrative papers of Colonel LeRoy Hodges, the governor's secretary of the budget from 1918 until 1922, when the position of director of budget was established. Included in the collection are correspondence and reports from state agencies and institutions, as well as some maps, charts, and organizational diagrams. The collection is arranged into four (4) series: Correspondence, 1921; Budget files, 1918-1922; Special reports, 1918-1922; and Monthly reports, 1922. A description of the individual series is found with the folder listing. The original organization of the collection was maintained as much as possible, resulting in the overlapping of dates of folders.

Of particular interest are the reports of state agencies and institutions that were written by the Governor's Board of Mechanical Survey and institutions outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia, including the Institute for Public Service of New York and the Detroit Bureau of Governmental Research (Series III). Additionally, there are maps of the state highway system, architectural drawings of what is now Virginia State University, and maps indicating the residences of the student body of the College of William and Mary (Series III, Oversize).

It is important to note that there is an extensive amount of material concerning the Virginia penal system. During this time, Colonel Hodges was also president of the Penitentiary Board. The materials found in folders relating to the Penitentiary or other agencies within the penal system may be correspondence created as president of the Penitentiary Board, and not as secretary of the budget.

Biographical / historical:

The first state budget was prepared by the staff of Governor Westmoreland Davis in 1920. A member of the Governor's staff served in the capacity of the secretary of the budget, until and act passed by the General Assembly on March 20, 1922, designated the governor as the chief budget officer of the state and authorized him to appoint a deputy to be called the director of the budget. The state government reorganization act passed on April 18, 1927, established the Division of the Budget within the Department of Finance (which existed only on paper). The division remained a part of the governor's office until and act passed on March 19, 1975, transferred it to the secretary of administration and finance. An act passed on April 12, 1976, changed the name of the division to the Department of Planning and Budget. The same act assigned the department the responsibility for creating state planning districts, formerly a duty of the Division of State Planning and Community Affairs.

The primary function of the department is to plan, prepare, and assess the budget for state expenditures. The department also assembles and disseminates date on the social, economic, physical, and governmental characteristics of the state, especially as they relate to future governmental planning.

Acquisition information:
Accession 24960 was received by the library from the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. However, the accession contained materials from three offices: the Commission on Economy and Efficiency; the Secretary of the Budget; and the Secretary of the Commonwealth. This collection is one part of this accession.