Transparency News, 3/8/2023
Wednesday
March 8, 2023
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state & local news stories
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Blackstone Mayor Ben Green says he’s received a formal opinion from staff of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Council that a mayor can meet with two members of Council instead of only one without violating open meeting laws. Virginia law prohibits more than two officials from the same governing body discussing official business without public notice, saying such constitutes a meeting. “It’s been determined that I am not a member of this council. I’m not required to be here for a quorum,” Green explained at Council’s Feb. 27th meeting. “There’s nothing to indicate that I’m a member of this body. So therefore, I can meet with two of y’all. We’ve got it on the record, and we got it from the FOIA people.” Green’s move is a deviation from that of his predecessor, Billy Coleburn, who serves on the FOIA Council.
Courier Record
Former Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Miear understated his behavior during an event that preceded his firing last year and there were financial and personnel issues during under his tenure, according to a Montgomery County School Board statement. “In recent weeks, former Montgomery County Public Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Mark Miear has made public statements about his separation from the school division,” reads the document, approved by the board Tuesday night. “Several of these the Montgomery County School Board believes to be inaccurate and misleading. The school board has determined that it is in the community’s best interest to provide the following clarifying message.” The school board statement adds to a back-and-forth that started almost a year ago when the elected body unanimously voted to dismiss Miear “without cause,” a distinct condition that appeared to entitle him to severance pay based on his last employment contract with the district. While both Miear and the board were tight lipped about the case immediately following his dismissal, the former superintendent finally opened up about the matter in January during a public appearance in which he also announced his intentions to run for the county school board seat currently held by Penny Franklin.
The Roanoke Times
The Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority settled two more legal disputes, but the terms of one deal were not disclosed. The EDA Board of Directors voted at a special meeting to approve a resolution to enter into a mediated, confidential settlement with a party to one of the authority’s several pending lawsuits. The identity of the party and the terms of the settlement must remain confidential per the agreement.Directors took action at their Feb. 24 meeting to ink a similar confidential deal to settle a dispute.
The Northern Virginia Daily
The city of Waynesboro confirmed on Wednesday that they had been the victims of a potential cyberattack, and that it was likely that data from the attack had been stolen and put online late last week. According to city manager Mike Hamp, the city was notified of a potential cyberattack in January that occurred on the city’s Information Technology infrastructure. "The city took immediate actions and steps to ensure the removal of the attack from the city’s digital infrastructure and preventative security measures to help lessen the system’s vulnerability to cyberattacks," Hamp said in a statement. Last week, posts on social media began surfacing that seemed to indicate that the attack had been successful on some level and 350 gigabytes of data were stolen from the city and put online.
News Leader
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to consider whether to give board members a significant salary increase. According to a release from Fairfax County officials, the board voted 8 to 2 to consider the raises, with Supervisor Herrity (Springfield) and Supervisor Alcorn (Hunter Mill) opposed. The pay raise would increase a board member's salary from $95,000 to as high as $130,000. There would also be an additional raise for the Chairman's salary from $100,000 to between $140,000 and $145,000. The proposal also includes that any supervisor who votes against the raise, would have to return their share of it to the county.
WUSA
