Martinsville Mayor LC Jones says there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing in the city of Martinsville’s finances and has accused critics of spreading misinformation. Jones is also pressing an accounting firm to provide a briefing on a completed audit. Jones provided the Martinsville Bulletin a copy of an email sent to Brown & Edwards, a Roanoke-based accounting firm hired by the city, saying he had not received responses to follow-up emails despite being told earlier this month that the audit was complete. Jones wrote that the audit is the property of the city of Martinsville and should be available for discussion without approval from outside parties. … After consulting with other members of the City Council, Jones said he plans to arrange a telephone briefing on the audit no later than Friday. He questioned whether Brown & Edwards requires approval from Sands Anderson before such a briefing can occur, writing that he had been told the firm believed such approval was necessary. “We do not require their permission to discuss our property,” Jones wrote.

The Warrenton Town Council is slated to meet for a special session Tuesday evening to discuss the appointment of the town attorney, according to agenda documents. Earlier this month, the council voted to hire Mark Dycio, of Fairfax-based law firm Dycio Biggs, to represent the town government for an interim of 90 days. But since the 4-2 vote on Dec. 9, at least one council member has raised concerns about Dycio’s appointment. Council member Michele O’Halloran, who voted against hiring Dycio, says he represented Eastern Point Trust, a Warrenton-based trust company that has connections with a donor who contributed to $19,500 to four town council races during the 2024 election. The meeting is slated to include a closed session to discuss the appointment of the town attorney and review the proposed agreement as well as review candidate information for the interim town manager position.

Members of the Lynchburg City Council are exploring whether it would be cost-effective to revive an internal auditor’s office in the Hill City, focusing on the operations of the city government. Lynchburg currently contracts with an external auditor who reviews the city’s balance sheets to ensure the numbers are verifiable and follow the standard rules for financial reporting in the U.S. … By bringing back an internal auditor, Vice Mayor and Ward III Councilman Curt Diemer said such an office would be well-suited to answer questions that council, staff, or the public have about the city’s finances and operations.

A $600 purchase using public funds made to a firm selling “luxury real estate for your furry friends” was for a chicken coop meant to support a homeschool child’s education, according to new information provided by Arkansas education officials. Information provided by the Arkansas Department of Education in response to an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request provides further details on what parents bought using Educational Freedom Account funds from Jan. 1 to Oct. 14. That information, which covers roughly 230 payments, included comments parents submitted with their reimbursement requests and notes entered into the department’s system at the time the transactions were reviewed. … Other big-ticket purchases, which were generally reimbursements made after account participants bought the items, included nine “Shaquille O’Neal” gaming chairs priced from $266.09 to $482.59, clothing and accessories from high-end brands like Ralph Lauren and Ray-Ban and electronics from a firm that emphasized use of its goods for video gaming.

The Department of Homeland Security will require people submitting Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act requests to do so electronically, rather than mailing them in, as directed by a new rule going into effect Jan. 22. Paper requests can be tedious and time-consuming. The updated procedures are aimed at increasing workers’ efficiency by speeding up the initial data-entry processes and directing more time to searching and reviewing records corresponding to related requests, according to DHS. … The agency will consider exceptions in “limited circumstance,” such as for requesters without internet access.

A federal judge set a Jan. 16 hearing for the Dominion Energy lawsuit that seeks to restart wind farm construction, in order to give the federal government time to present classified evidence. In an order issued Sunday, District Judge Jamar Walker of the Eastern District of Virginia changed a Dominion motion for a temporary restraining order against the Department of the Interior into a less urgent motion for a preliminary injunction. He also directed the federal government to present to the court “any and all classified information it contends informed the decision to issue the stop work order.”