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“Mr. Sweet, what percentage of these FOIA requests come from individuals who are delinquent in their real estate taxes?”
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This week’s meeting of the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors saw the passage of many resolutions and proclamations, but the final minutes of the meeting provided some unexpected fireworks. Toward the end of Monday’s gathering, Jonathan Sweet, the Pulaski County Administrator, displayed a list of every Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made to the county from February 2010 to the present day. In those nine years, Pulaski County administrators were required to answer 316 FOIA requests. When the FOIA requests were displayed on the big screen, Supervisor Joe Guthrie and county administrator Jonathan Sweet engaged in a unique exchange. “Mr. Sweet, what percentage of these FOIA requests come from individuals who are delinquent in their real estate taxes,” Guthrie asked. “Mr. Guthrie, to the best of our knowledge approximately 38 percent of those individuals requesting intervention from the county by way of FOIA are individuals who are delinquent in their real estate taxes,” Sweet answered. “In other words, one individual is making 38 percent of all of these FOIA requests.” “That seems like a lot of time for our county employees and staff,” said Guthrie. “Can you tell us how much time that consumes for the county staff to provide that information?”
Southwest Times
Inaccurate books. Poor communication. Misused money. All hampered city and schools officials during the past five years and contributed to confusion over the amount of construction and maintenance money available to Richmond Public Schools during last year’s budget process, according to a report issued this week by the city auditor. The audit doesn’t match Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney’s description of a financial house in order at recent town halls where he’s selling a tax increase, thrusting the survival of his pitch to raise the real estate tax rate from $1.20 to $1.29 per $100 of assessed value further into question.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
While hundreds of people poured into Portsmouth City Hall this week to demand answers from council members about claims that former police Chief Tonya Chapman was forced to quit her job for fighting systemic racism, the group sat behind closed doors and shared their thoughts privately instead. Divided down racial lines, the City Council’s three black members — Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke, Shannon Glover and Paul Battle — said they don’t like the way City Manager Lydia Pettis Patton handled Chapman’s resignation. The four white members — Mayor John Rowe, Bill Moody, Elizabeth Psimas and Nathan Clark — disagreed, Lucas-Burke said. “They said if we’re not pleased, then we needed to let the city manager know,” Lucas-Burke said in an interview. “So, we told her in our closed session meeting that we were not.” Publicly, most council members have been silent about Chapman’s abrupt departure.
The Virginian-Pilot
A Ridgeway man told the Henry County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday night that he feels his First Amendment rights were violated Monday when he was not allowed to take a cell phone into the county courthouse. Tim Bowen of Farmbrook Road in Ridgeway did not sign in but addressed supervisors during the public-comment portion of their meeting. But he provided an account of his visit to the courthouse. [After he finished, he asked,] “Do you have any response?” Jim Adams, chairman of the Henry County Board of Supervisors: “As I stated upfront, this is a time for us to listen to you and not an open exchange.” Tim: “That’s my issue — that my First Amendment rights were violated. I was told if I walked in past a certain point I would be arrested. What I did was call a lawyer. If something is not done about it, I’m going to sue. Thank you for your time.”
Martinsville Bulletin
Community members soon will be able to watch Albemarle County School Board meetings from a computer or smartphone. Video of meetings will be livestreamed in May, according to an agenda item. Several board members have advocated for this step in recent months. Currently, the audio of meetings is streamed, recorded and later posted on the division’s website. Recordings for meetings this calendar year have not been posted yet. The school division will use existing audio and video systems in Lane Auditorium at County Office Building and pay technical support staff to operate the systems for the rest of the fiscal year. Next year, the operating position will go to a student intern, who will receive $1,300. Meetings outside of Lane also will be streamed using video and audio.
The Daily Progress
Bristol school officials suggested Thursday that a Virginia Tech professor should moderate future dialogue regarding facility funding between the City Council and School Board. Carol Cash, a Virginia Tech associate professor, made a presentation Thursday about school facilities and the impacts on student learning and achievement. “I think it’s been well-documented the attempts our School Board has made to try and improve school facilities. Obviously, we’ve not made it very far,” Perrigan said after the nearly hourlong presentation. “If we have someone in who is not for new construction, who is not for renovation, who is just for better buildings, I think everybody can agree we need to provide a better learning environment for our kids. Maybe she can help our City Council and School Board compromise.” Councilman Bill Hartley, the lone council member in attendance, renewed his call for the two groups to get together. He wouldn’t say if he thought a moderator was necessary but agreed to forward their request.
Bristol Herald Courier
Recent civil litigation filed by the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority states that the authority’s former director Jennifer McDonald stole town, county and EDA money to pay off over $50,000 in personal credit card bills. The filing states that renovations were supposed to be paid for through a loan obtained by the EDA with all construction funded by the developer. The filing explains this arrangement by stating that “invoices were submitted by 2 East Main and reviewed by the Warren EDA and then submitted by the Warren EDA to the loan provider.” The filing adds that McDonald was “the only person reviewing and submitting invoices and payments” for the EDA.
The Northern Virginia Daily
When a delinquent tax public notice publishes in the newspaper, most readers invariably look for their own names first. Just in case. That hurdle cleared, they may look for the names of relatives, hopeful (or perhaps hoping) none of their family members are so publicly in arrears. Family interests satisfied, their attention may then turn to scanning the dozens of listings to familiar or recognizable names and then to the properties themselves.
Orange County Review
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