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"[A]lthough transparency is key for the board, a public interview process could hinder recruitment of board members."
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Former Augusta County Fire-Rescue Chief Carson Holloway walked away with a settlement from Augusta County when he retired last year, supervisors confirmed Friday. But the county is withholding information about the settlement by using the personnel exemption in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, so the terms of the agreement are unclear. The law doesn't require them to keep the information confidential. The county is allowed to divulge the details.
News Leader
Commemorating the events of 1619 in Virginia was an expensive endeavor for the Virginia taxpayers. State lawmakers put up more than $24.2 million over five years to mark 400 years since the first meeting of representative government, the arrival of the first enslaved Africans and other key historical markers for English North America that took place in Virginia that year. Public records on expenditures this year reviewed by the Richmond Times-Dispatch show Virginia taxpayers shelled out hundreds of thousands on ticketed or private events, public relations firms to lure national and international journalists, hefty speaking fees and donations to Virginia nonprofits. They spent $145,000 to bring artist Queen Latifah to Richmond. And $12,000 on plastic tote bags.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Smithfield Times, first published in 1920, will soon have a new owner. The former publisher of the Suffolk News-Herald has offered to buy it for an undisclosed price and make it an affiliate of Alabama-based Boone Newspapers Inc., among the ten largest newspaper chains in the country based on the number of publications it owns. At the helm for the past 33 of the newspaper’s 100 years have been John Edwards and his wife Anne. The Isle of Wight natives bought the newspaper in 1986. In a story published by The Smithfield Times, Edwards said he and his wife were at the age of retirement but wanted to ensure the newspaper continued to be published.
Daily Press
(NOTE: Edwards was a founding director of VCOG and also served on the FOI Advisory Council)
The clerk of the Portsmouth General District Court abruptly resigned last week, days after officials with the Virginia Supreme Court’s Office of the Executive Secretary wrapped up a review of his office. James Verschueren offered no reason for quitting the job he’d held for almost three years, but in a letter of resignation addressed to the court’s chief judge he referenced some unspecified “tension" among his staff. “I have arrived at this decision after much soul-searching and understand that this decision is in the best interest of you, your fellow judges, the staff, this court and myself,” he wrote in the Oct. 9 letter, explaining his resignation was effective immediately. “While I had hoped to give this court ample notice, I do not think my continued presence here will help the situation.” Kristi Wright, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Executive Secretary, declined to comment on Verschueren’s departure. She called it a personnel matter.
The Virginian-Pilot
The Charlottesville City Council will vote on its legislative priorities for the 2020 General Assembly session at its meeting Monday. Among the positions is a request that city councils have the power to set the salary of their members. Councilors currently make $18,000 a year and the mayor makes $20,000 a year. The range is the maximum allowed under state guidelines. “[E]ach locality’s needs are unique and maximum compensation should be a local decision, based on the will of the electorate and the financial resources of a locality,” the priorities state. Proponents of higher pay for elected officials have said the current salary presents a hurdle for low-income residents to seek office. Opponents, however, have cautioned against open-ended salary guidelines.
The Daily Progress
The Charlottesville City Council has released a final draft of the proposed bylaws and ordinance for a police oversight panel that varies in major ways from initial recommendations. The council will conduct a first reading of the proposal at its meeting on Monday. No corresponding public hearing is scheduled. Board members would be required to sign confidentiality agreements related to the contents of an internal affairs file or other personnel record. The process for selecting members would occur in a closed session of the City Council. The initial proposal called for a public interview process and publication of applicants’ names. City Council member Heather Hill wrote that although transparency is key for the board, a public interview process could hinder recruitment of board members.
The Daily Progress
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"[The auditor] is accused of violating a law that requires government bodies to make printed materials available to the public when those materials are distributed to the body or its employees for use during meetings."
"A state report card focusing on each state program would put that critical information into voters’ hands in an easy-to-understand format."