The Franklin City Council voted 6-0-1 on Sept. 22 to ratify a separation agreement between the city and former City Manager Rosylen Oglesby, who resigned in August. The Tidewater News obtained Oglesby’s Aug. 1 letter of resignation via a Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and in the letter, she described a work environment in which bullying, disrespect and aggressive behavior had become the norm, making it increasingly challenging for her to address the city’s concerning financial status. The Tidewater News submitted a FOIA request on Sept. 22 to obtain the separation agreement between the city of Franklin and Oglesby. Sands Anderson counsel Heather Hays Lockerman responded to the request Oct. 1, delivering the separation agreement with all but part of one sentence redacted from the six-and-a-half page body content of the document. The unredacted partial sentence stated that “the City agrees to pay Employee the equivalent of nine (9) months of Employee’s salary in a lump sum,”.

Warrenton’s Commission on Open and Transparent Government voted Monday to authorize the town attorney to move forward with issuing subpoenas as part of its ongoing review of past land-use decisions. The 3-1 vote came after months of discussion over access to town emails and records related to three major development approvals including the Amazon data center, Warrenton Village Center and Arrington Voluntary Settlement Agreement. Commission Chair Bill Semple, Vice Chair Ken Alm and member David Norden supported the directive, while Secretary Eric Gagnon opposed. Member Mike Kokoszka was absent. Gagnon, a Town Council member along with Alm and Semple, opposed the motion, suggesting the commission should first resolve the “access issue” to Intradyn, the system that archives the town’s emails dating back to 2014. Town Attorney Chap Petersen and staff have issued warnings to the commission, saying direct access could expose law enforcement data or personal employee information. They have instead proposed that searches be conducted by an intermediary, such as Town Clerk and FOIA Officer Stephen Clough.

Connie Clay said she simply does not believe the city’s explanation for why officials have been unable to produce text messages from the work cellphone of former City Hall spokesperson Petula Burks. A city spokesperson said ongoing litigation precluded officials from offering any comment. But last week, Mayor Danny Avula answered questions on Clay’s complaint from Virginia Public Media reporter Rich Meagher. Asked why the city had not settled the increasingly expensive suit, Avula suggested that public representations of the case have been at least somewhat inaccurate. “If what is being publicly reported is actually the truth, then know this would have been solved a long time ago,” Avula said. He didn’t elaborate or offer specific details. The remark rankled Clay. “I challenge Dr. Avula to identify what is untrue that has been reported, what is untrue in my complaint,” she said. “I supported his pledge for transparency and accountability at City Hall, but the actions of his team have contradicted those promises.”

There were numbers galore at a joint meeting of the Roanoke City Council and School Board on Monday, from school classroom square footage to enrollment totals to budget figures of millions of dollars. But important figures that will impact the future of school funding and possibly the relationship between the two bodies are yet to come. A task force — which includes two members of each body and some city and school staff — met for the first time recently. The task force is meeting privately, as allowed by state law based on its makeup.

We commend the Smithfield Town Council’s new majority for setting a high standard of transparency with much-needed reforms to the way closed sessions are conducted.  Other governing bodies in the area, and even statewide, should take note, follow Smithfield’s lead and choose excellence in heeding the preamble to Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act. Under the new procedures, the council, immediately after going behind closed doors, gets a detailed briefing on the reason for secrecy, allowing members to move any topic back to open session. This vital check and balance is a reminder that, as Councilman Darren Cutler noted: “Closed session is a choice. It’s not a requirement.” Newly implemented audio recordings of closed sessions provide a vital reference for council members when questions arise later, such as with a recent closed session on former Town Attorney Bill Riddick’s years of billing taxpayers more than his contractual hourly rate.