There will not be a newsletter on Monday. Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.
A public hearing on Petersburg’s $167.3 million budget proposal turned prickly May 19 after one City Council member claimed the need for greater public transparency in future budget discussions rather than the private briefings that councilors get from city administration prior to its submission. Those sentiments from Ward 4 Councilor Charlie Cuthbert immediately drew fire from some of his colleagues, particularly council leadership. Vice Mayor Darrin Hill accused Cuthbert of hinting that council is “doing something nefarious” by having those discussions, saying the practice of having those one-on-one sessions with city management and finance officials has been done “before we even got on council.” And Mayor Sam Parham called Cuthbert “delusional” because the councilor opted out of his session with the city to discuss the budget. The Progress-Index
Martinsville Circuit Court formally dismissed with prejudice a citizen-led petition seeking the removal of Mayor LC Jones from office, according to an order signed Wednesday by Judge Marcus Brinks. The order follows Brinks’ ruling from the bench May 15 that the petition failed to meet the minimum number of signatures required under Virginia law, ending — at least for now — a monthslong political and legal battle tied to allegations of misconduct and an ongoing criminal investigation involving city finances. … The petition effort arose from the fallout of a forensic investigation conducted by Sands Anderson into Martinsville city finances. A Virginia State Police criminal investigation remains active, though no criminal charges have been filed against Jones or any other city officials. Among those involved in the petition effort was Martinsville resident Patti Covington, who previously argued that residents pursued removal after becoming frustrated with what they viewed as a lack of transparency surrounding the Sands Anderson investigation.
About 14 hours after a lengthy closed meeting of the Urbanna Town Council on May 14, Mayor Bill Goldsmith resigned. Goldsmith sent a one-sentence email stating he was resigning immediately about noon on Friday, May 15. “I felt ambushed by council,” Goldsmith said when asked for his reason to resign. Urbanna Town Councilor Merri Hanson resigned on May 17. Hanson was not at the May 14 meeting. Goldsmith said the town council, by consensus, told him to inform council member Hanson about what had happened in closed session. Hanson served as chairman of the personnel committee.
The Suffolk School Board officially adopted new guidelines in place of the old norms and complaint system. The updated policy was unanimously agreed upon after the idea was first introduced in February, when Chair Sean McGee proposed a new Code of Conduct. The new guidelines cover respecting one another, the different SPS roles and responsibilities, maintaining open communication, speaking with the media, and posting on social media. … The formal complaint process outlined in the Board’s policy was also officially scrapped, with the general understanding that the inherent censuring that comes with being an elected public official should be enough. Additionally, all Board member complaints will now be dealt with during the public meetings, rather than in closed sessions.
The Immigration and Legal Services team at the IRC in Richmond is proud to share that we have begun a new partnership with the University of Richmond Law School! Several law students are volunteering their time and skills to help our clients file Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. These requests are an important avenue through which IRC obtains legal documents that allows our team to better understand and represent our clients’ cases.
