This Roanoke Times article covers the 2 biggest events involving baseball and swimming, but there are more things happening in Christiansburg this weekend. Read the rest of this entry »
Monthly Archives: July 2010
Oath Keeper or Oath Breaker, The Duty of Elected and Appointed Officials
Read the Virginia Constitution lately? All elected and appointed officials of the Town of Christiansburg must complete the oath of office before taking office. They use this standard form of that oath as set forth in Article II Section 7 of the Virginia Constitution. Read the rest of this entry »
Smoke and Mirrors! But who is lighting those fires?
This hit the email/internet route about 4:30 PM yesterday, just a few hours before the Public Hearing for the Sage Lane project. When this came up during the Hearing, most council members looked puzzled as did the engineer handling the Ivy Ridge (the let’s kill Sage Lane) project who had just reported that the Sage Lane Road had been eliminated from the proffers. Read the rest of this entry »
Town Manager or Town Council, who can really take credit for the good and the bad?
The BlueRidgeMuse has an article that pretty much sums up most of my own thoughts on the move of Christiansburg Lance Terpenny to Floyd. (See the Article) While there has been a great deal of fervor over the performance of Mr. Terpenny in the Town of Christiansburg, one particular item keeps getting masked by all of that smoke. Read the rest of this entry »
EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) should investigate Christiansburg.
While the EPA does not hold control over the uses of mirrors, the billowing clouds of smoke coming from the vicinity of the Christiansburg Town Hall should be setting off alarms all over the place. Read the rest of this entry »
How is it that the Sage Lane issue ever came up?
Now that is a $1,000,000 plus question. (By the way, videos of the meeting are at: http://myvaresources.com/VideoFiles2010/2010_07_12PC/2010_07_12PC1.html
Here are a few observations/questions about why this and many other development issues have come up. Read the rest of this entry »
A 3 year contract for the Town Manager was considered, but was it simply a diversion?
Something I have been waiting to see addressed in relation to the 3 year contract for the Town Manager is a part of the Virginia State Code.
§ 15.2-1503. Tenure of officers and employees; suspension or removal.
A. All appointments of officers and hiring of other employees by a locality shall be without definite term, unless for temporary services not to exceed one year or except as otherwise provided by general law or special act.
B. Any officer or employee of a locality employed pursuant to subsection A of this section may be suspended or removed from office or employment in accordance with the provisions of §§ 24.2-230 through 24.2-238, if such sections are applicable. Otherwise, any such employee may be suspended or removed in accordance with procedure established by special act or by the governing body, if any.
C. In case of the absence or disability of any officer or employee, the governing body or other appointing power may designate some responsible person to temporarily perform the duties of the office.
(1997, c. 587.)
This rather makes it appear that the Town Charter and/or Code would have had to have been changed before said 3 year contract could have gone into effect. The other localities that I found to have gone with a longer contract for Town Manager, have specifically generated ordinances/charter changes in order to support those. My guess is that the reason for that was this state code.
So, should the town council have been looking at such a contract without having first established that there was such a need as to warrant Charter and/or Code changes. I never heard of any discussions concerning those changes except for some mumblings on how they could enter into the contract first, then change the Charter/Code afterwards. Maybe there are some lawyers out there who have a better understand of the intent of this State Code and would care to comment.
Is it possible that the 3 year contract was merely a ‘smoke screen’ simply to get people riled up so that they wouldn’t see what was really going on. If so, then you have to wonder who the ‘they’ is in this situation. Certainly with Showalter and Carter being the last to find out anything, they are ruled out.
Of course, the town attorney was in the meetings so if this was actually an issue, one would expect it to have been raised.
Fortunately, the State Code also makes sure that the public will know the full extent of the severance packages of any individuals to which they have or shall be awarded. If it is consistent with the document read by Mr. Barber, there are some pretty vague places that I hope will be clarified before the deal is finalized.
§ 15.2-1510.1. Public announcement of severance packages for certain officials.
Severance benefits provided to any departing official appointed by a local governing body or school board shall be publicly announced by the local governing body or school board, respectively, prior to such departure.
(2006, c. 254; 2007, c. 257.)
It sounds like the details should be pretty specific to me, but I am sure that someone can argue that the Letter of the Law was met in Mr. Barbers statement. However, I wonder if it will truly meet the Spirit of the Law. After all, it is the citizen’s money being used for any such severance benefits.
Christiansburg: Filling the Town Manager’s Shoes (Town Charter Style)
While I certainly hope the Town of Christiansburg takes the opportunity to take a close look at what is needed in a Town Manager for a town this size, the more immediate concern is what happens as of August 1 when the current Town Manager is out of office. It looks like the Town Charter will make it interesting:
Here’s what the Town Charter says: Read the rest of this entry »
Christiansburg says good-bye to Town Manager, Floyd says hello.
Well, the good thing is that by making the move to Floyd, Terpenny is in no danger of losing his Virginia retirement. Since both agencies are in VRS, it continues right along. He may have a bit longer commute but a lot less stress. Per Wikipedia on Floyd VA, the 2000 census showed a population of 432, has 238 households, and 117 families. Obviously, this will create a big change, a change that will work well with Terpenny’s management style. In fact, given the growth rate in Christiansburg, Floyd presents him with a scenario far more similar to the environment in which he trained and first worked. Read the rest of this entry »
Some Useful Christiansburg Budget Information for Citizens. Town Council Already Knows This.
Using the Auditor of Public Accounts Reports again and focusing on the time frame from fiscal years 1996 thru 2009….
- Revenue from local taxes and fees increased by 120.06%
- Expenditures increased by 120.32% Read the rest of this entry »
