Transparency News, 7/15/21

A minor change to Lynchburg City Council rules of procedure extends the deadline for residents to request to speak at council meetings from the Wednesday before a meeting to the Friday before a meeting. This change came after a lengthy discussion Tuesday concerning the adoption of council’s Rules of Procedure, with some councilmembers hoping to see the process amended, and others asking for it to be eliminated entirely. One reason for the change was that the agenda packet is published on the Thursday prior to the meeting, and residents hoping to speak on a topic on the newly-released agenda already would have missed the window to submit a request.
The News & Advance

Virginia’s Attorney General Mark R. Herring has issued his opinion that Urbanna’s mayor “is authorized to vote in proceedings of the council in the same fashion as other members of the council.”The town council had voted earlier this year to seek an opinion of the attorney general after town council’s attorney, Andy Bury, told council that he had discovered that due to the town’s voting structure the mayor was not permitted to vote as a member of council.
Southside Sentinel
Read the AG’s opinion here

The Leesburg Town Council may have found its first fiscal year 2023 General Fund enhancement—better health insurance rates for Town Council members. The council discussed the subject of health insurance rates at its July 12 work session. Currently, according to Human Resources Director Joshua Didawick, council members are eligible for the same health insurance coverage as town employees, but pay different rates. Only two of the sitting council members are enrolled in the town’s health insurance, but their identities were not disclosed. According to Public Information Officer Betsy Arnett, council participation in the town’s health insurance program is considered personnel records that are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
LoudounNow

The future of the town of Mineral may be in question. Town Council voted 3-2 to begin the process of anulling the town’s charter at their July 12 meeting. The town was established in 1890 and was originally called Tolersville. In 1902, the town was incorporated under the name Mineral. Ed Jarvis made the motion  to begin the process, citing concern that town residents are paying taxes to both the county and the town, and that the town provides few services of its own to residents. “When the town first got its charter, we had our own school system, police department and even a court system,” he said. “Without those core components, the question becomes what is the town doing for [the residents]?”
The Central Virginian

 

The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation has won a lawsuit against the University of Michigan after the university denied part of a Freedom of Information Act request filed earlier this year. In an opinion issued today by the Michigan Court of Claims, the university is required to fully respond to the Mackinac Center’s original request for the total salaries of some of its employees. In March, the Mackinac Center took legal action against the university after it refused to fully respond to a FOIA request submitted in January. The Center requested the names and total salary information, including bonus and overtime pay, for all U-M employees in the Office of Institutional Equity, for both 2019 and 2020. U-M partially fulfilled the request but denied providing overtime or bonus pay information. The university claimed that they were only legally required to provide base pay.
The Mackinac Center