Charlottesville — When it’s time to talk about controversial roadways — where to build them, or whether — closed sessions almost inevitably occur, legal or not. “Somebody, someday might sue Charlottesville over the Meadowcreek Parkway, so City Council rushes into secret session to huddle over possible options,” the Daily Progress noted. But as the editorial also said, that is not how FOIA is supposed to work. There must be a pending lawsuit or an all-but-certain litigant for the closed-meeting exemption to kick in.
Danville — A Register & Bee reporter wanted seven years of data on disciplinary actions involving Danville public school teachers. The school system said the records would cost $7,555.20, plus copying. School officials said they’d need to hire a temporary worker to allow a staff member to do the work since personnel files are not computer-based.
Dinwiddie — Lori Stevens, the county’s new commissioner of revenue, reported to the board of supervisors on Jan. 20 that nearly $1 million in public service tax revenue hadn’t been collected because bills weren’t mailed in a timely manner. Stevens said she hasn’t been able to find some assessment records. She indicated both hard copy and computer data were missing. The county’s longtime commissioner of revenue, Deborah Marston, was defeated in the November election.
Fairfax County — Newly elected members of the school board and two incumbents seized on a FOIA loophole to “elect” a new chairman and vice chair before the newcomers ever took office. The victorious Democrats met informally right after the election and agreed to pick Kathy Smith as chair and Kaye Kory as vice chair. Formal ratification followed, at the newcomers’ first “official” meeting (Virginia law requires a meeting of more than two elected officials to be open to the public, but courts have held that the law only applies to those who have assumed office.) Not surprisingly, the secret meetings upset Republicans, who hold four of the board ’s 12 seats.
Fairfax County — The 10-member board of supervisors traveled 80 miles to a remote ranch, owned by Supervisor Elaine McConnell, for a free, two-day retreat. About 10 county staff members also attended. The remote location angered citizens and at least one supervisor, who said it limited public input and participation. On the first day, there were only three spectators who weren’t reporters. On Saturday, just one of them, a former planning commissioner, returned.
Falls Church — Mayor Dan Gardner told a Chamber of Commerce luncheon that a Washington, D.C., construction firm had been selected as “master developer” for a sweeping redevelopment effort in the city’s downtown. Gardner reported the outcome of a secret, closed-door session of the Falls Church City Council and its appointed City Center Task Force the night before. Although The Akridge Co. presented a detailed outline of what it hopes to do with Falls Church’s downtown, that was not made public. It will be subject to considerable behind-closed-doors negotiations with the city, officials said.
Loudoun County — School officials refused to disclose hiring/firing dates of a substitute teacher found guilty of a drug charge. A newspaper also was denied information on the number of cases in which prospective employees failed background checks and the number of times employees with prior criminal records were hired. Such records are not kept, a school official said.
Loudoun County — On Jan. 5, a new board of supervisors approved a score of controversial policy changes, many of them repealing the previous board’s slow-growth policies. No prior notice was given; all of the changes were worked out beforehand in private meetings. A political foe decried the “secrecy and parliamentary trickery.” Said The Washington Post: “Proposals should be thoroughly aired and weighed, not rammed through with no public notice.” But Leesburg2day said, “Among the people who clamored loudest over the apparently well orchestrated nature of the new board majority’s agenda for Monday were individuals who were up to their own eyeballs in orchestrating precisely the same kind of behind-the-scenes preparation for unilateral takeovers in both 1996 and 2000. “
Richmond — After a year of garbage-barge embarrassments (public-hearing charades, illegal closed meetings, secret deals, lawsuits, etc.), the state Department of Environmental Quality decided to create a task force to help it improve communications with environmental groups and the public. But DEQ officials announced the task force without first asking the environmentalists if they wanted to serve on the panel. “They did exactly what we have been complaining about,” said Michael Town, director of the Sierra Club’s Virginia chapter.
Richmond — City council closed a meeting illegally, Circuit Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr. ruled in early May. The council got in trouble when it closed a meeting to discuss the city’s homicide rate, under the guise of evaluating City Manager Calvin D. Jamison. FOIA permits closed-door discussion of a city manager’s job performance; but, as the judge reminded the city council, it does not allow secret discussion of “plans for meeting soaring crime.” The Richmond Times-Dispatch sued the city to keep such illegal meetings from recurring.
Richmond — Despite numerous scandals, the city council voted to keep its “pay as you go” accounts. (Each member gets to spend $25,000 in Paygo funds for non-capital projects in his district; members also get to divide $2.5 million in capital-improvement funds for such things as sidewalks, curbs and gutters.) Eight years after the Paygo accounts came into being, the council agreed to begin requiring public votes on capital spending. Council members Peter Grimm and Manoli Loupassi tried to shut down the program.
Richmond — City Councilman Bill Johnson wants to ban cable casting of city council meetings except on the city’s own cable system. “It’s city business,” he asserted. Councilman Manoli Loupassi disagreed, noting the council often deals with regional issues. Some area residents watch the show strictly for entertainment, the Times-Dispatch reported. (“Meetings have featured satirical speeches, verbal sparring, emotional ramblings and people dressed in cat and devil costumes. “)
Suffolk — When North Carolina businessman Gregory Sakas tried to open an adult book and novelty store, the city blocked it. Sakas then sued the city. To bolster his case, he requested meeting minutes, videotapes, reports and laws, among other city records, all of which are commonly available. City officials declined to hand over the materials, noting that FOIA only requires disclosure to Virginia citizens. The request was renewed, this time by a Virginia resident. Circuit Court Judge Rodham T. Delk Jr. saw through the charade, holding that public documents had to be revealed even when they painted city officials in an unfavorable light.
Surry — Town council filled a vacancy using a secret vote. Councilman William Gwaltney Jr. tried to justify it, saying the council had voted in secret in the past. Furthermore, he said, “Everyone still knows the outcome, just not who voted yea or nay. Secret ballot is the best way to vote, ” Never mind that it’s a FOIA no-no?
Virginia Beach — School officials halted distribution of the February edition of The Towne Crier, First Colonial High School’s student newspaper, because the issue did not receive prior review from Principal Hazel Jessee. But members of The Towne Crier staff say they believe the administration censored the paper because it included an editorial about a teacher recently charged with taking indecent liberties with a student.