Chesterfield County officials asked their state senator to oppose a budget amendment that would require the county to pay for more prosecutors to assist with reviewing police body camera videos. The request came as the county’s top prosecutor warned that he needs to hire more attorneys or will have to slash services in the courtroom.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Virginia’s Senate and House have written their versions of the two-year state budget. But there’s a problem. The two budgets are about $400 million apart. A handful of lawmakers are now tasked with hammering out the difference, and all the wrangling happens behind closed doors. Even though it’s called the budget conference committee, it’s not really a formal committee at all. Because the conference is a tool created by state lawmakers, not by state code, it is informal and temporary. “In some ways this conference committee makes compromise more likely than if this negotiation were to be happening in the open,” Quentin Kidd at Christopher Newport University says.
WVTF
Danville City Council will consider whether to reduce the number of meetings and work sessions it holds each month. Mayor John Gilstrap said council’s current practice of having two business meetings per month, with each one immediately followed by a work session, leaves members with less time to discuss items during those sessions. The alternative could be to hold a work session once a month on a separate day from the meeting.
Danville Register & Bee
The town of Purcellville has paid approximately $250,000 related to the ongoing investigations into the police chief, town management and an audit of the original investigation into the police chief, according to an accounting statement released by the town. It is unknown whether the audit of the original investigation is complete. All members of Town Council declined to answer questions about the investigations prior to Tuesday night’s meeting. When asked whether they believed the investigation, once or if complete, should be released to the public, no council member gave a definitive answer. Several council members said it depends on the advice of counsel.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
Arlington Republicans are calling for greater transparency with regards to the county’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters. Jim Presswood, Chair of the Arlington GOP, issued a statement Wednesday calling for the county to release “the basic framework” of its offer, arguing that “backroom deals are not the Arlington Way.”
ARLnow
