Wow…all that wonderful stuff in the Vision 2020…all those great projects happening in some areas of town…All Town Council’s visions (see: ThinkChristiansburg.com). Then, on the other handthere are issues like: Read the rest of this entry »
Tag Archives: town
Christiansburg Town Council talks fees for credit card payments.
I kept waiting for someone to bring up a couple of issues about this, but they never did during the Joint Public Hearing held on January 6, 2010. The discussion was concerning the application of fees for those people who wish to pay their town bills using a credit card. Read the rest of this entry »
Town of Christiansburg Moving Elections will shorten some terms:
According to the State Code: found on LIS (see below) terms of existing Town Council Members or Mayor are not to be shortened except as noted in Section D below which states:
D. In any city or town that elects its council biennially or quadrennially and that changes to the November general election date in odd-numbered years from the May general election date in even-numbered years, mayors and members of council who were elected at a May general election shall have their term of office shortened by six months but shall continue in office until their successors have been elected at the November general election and have been qualified to serve.
This shortening of some people’s terms (those who were elected in May of 2008) will mean that those people will need to run again and be elected in the November election.
There is one apparent hitch in this ‘get-along’ in that the shortening is restricted to 6 months. Given that the Town of Christiansburg elected officials don’t take office until September (rather than in July as other jurisdictions do) it appears there will need to be some overlap.
Is it possible that for a 2 month period we could have more than 6 Town Council Members? Suppose the 3 incumbents ran in November and were defeated, could we possibly have a situation where for 2 months we would have 9 Town Council Members?
What a mess? Well, the Town of Christiansburg set their starting dates in September while State Code says they state in July (§ 24.2-222. Election and terms of mayor and council for cities and towns. Apparently, this date was established in the 1954 Charter for the Town of Christiansburg. Since one of those council members affected has put forth that he will be seeking legal recourse to the shortening of his term, it may be that things will get interesting…again.
(Town Council Videos of this meeting should be available later today at myvaresouces.com.)
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§ 24.2-222.1. Alternative election of mayor and council at November general election in cities and towns.
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 24.2-222, the council of a city or town may provide by ordinance that the mayor, if an elected mayor is provided for by charter, and council shall be elected at the November general election date of any cycle as designated in the ordinance, for terms to commence January 1. No such ordinance shall be adopted between January 1 and the May general election date of the year in which city or town elections regularly are scheduled to be held therein.
B. Alternatively, the registered voters of a city or town may file a petition with the circuit court of the city or of the county within which the town is located asking that a referendum be held on the question of whether the city or town should elect the mayor, if an elected mayor is provided for by charter, and council members at the November general election date of any cycle as designated in the petition. The petition shall be signed by registered voters equal in number to at least ten percent of the number registered in the city or town on the January 1 preceding the filing.
The court, pursuant to § 24.2-684, shall order the election officials on a day fixed in the order to conduct a referendum on the question, provided that no such referendum shall be scheduled between January 1 and the May general election date of the year in which city or town elections regularly are scheduled to be held therein. The clerk of the court shall publish notice of the referendum once a week for the three consecutive weeks prior to the referendum in a newspaper having general circulation in the city or town, and shall post a copy of the notice at the door of the courthouse of the city or county within which the town is located. The question on the ballot shall be:
“Shall the (city or town) change the election date of the mayor (if so provided by charter) and members of council from the May general election to the November general election (in even-numbered or odd-numbered years or as otherwise designated in the petition)?”
If members of the school board in the city or town are elected by the voters, the ballot question also shall state that the change in election date applies to the election of school board members.
The referendum shall be held and the results certified as provided in § 24.2-684. If a majority of the voters voting in the referendum vote in favor of the change, the mayor and council thereafter shall be elected at the November general election date for terms to commence January 1.
C. Except as provided in subsection D, no term of a mayor or member of council shall be shortened in implementing the change to the November election date. Mayors and members of council who were elected at a May general election and whose terms are to expire as of June 30 shall continue in office until their successors have been elected at the November general election and have been qualified to serve.
D. In any city or town that elects its council biennially or quadrennially and that changes to the November general election date in odd-numbered years from the May general election date in even-numbered years, mayors and members of council who were elected at a May general election shall have their term of office shortened by six months but shall continue in office until their successors have been elected at the November general election and have been qualified to serve.
(2000, c. 1045; 2002, c. 30.)
If you were one of the Town Council Members in Christiansburg VA…
What would you want to see done differently?
What are the primary issues that you see as needing to be addressed?
These could be important questions. Maybe some of those who will be running for Town Council positions will read and head. Remember we have one more May election before the move to November. That could mean one last big push to create change or, one final push to maintain the status quo for a few more years before the November elections have an impact.
What do you want to see happen in your town? I’ll be adding a few ideas of my own over the next few months. AT the same time, I’ll be looking hard at your suggestions, at the town code, the comprehensive plan, meeting minutes since 2001, audio and video recordings (which by the way are finishing loading and should be all up to date by noon today), and all the emails I’ve received from you.
I think it is a good idea to begin discussing issues now to give a better idea of what citizens identify as issues to those who may be running for election.
Taxpayer Money Used to Pay Off Law Suits and Citizens Never Know.
As many of you know, I keep a running lists of questions that people have contacted me about. One of the most common one’s I hear is “How can the Town of Christiansburg get sued so much and then even the Town Council Members cannot find out what the settlement price was?”
That is a very good question and one that has been answered quite well by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government on a Blog article by Megan Rhyne “Secret lawsuit settlement amounts“. This same blog article was edited and appeared on the May 31, 2009 edition of the Roanoke Times “The public doesn’t know the price it paid“.
What does this mean for citizens? Ultimately, it means that your tax money is used to pay for the insurance that pays settlements in legal cases. Will you know how much or to whom the amount goes to? Not very likley. Will you receive a report of the affect these lawsuits will have on the insurance premiums in the future? What will be the long term financial affect to the taxpayer? There have been multiple instances where law suits have been applied against the Town of Christiansburg. These are almost always settled and with that settlement the records are sealed meaning that you, the taxpayer, have no access to that information.
Now, legal records do not seal themselves. Only a Judge can order the sealing of such records and the Judge has to be asked to do so. That means either the individual/group suing the Town or the Town’s representative MUST ask that those records be sealed.
In other jurisdictions, the facts are known by the elected officials. Christiansburg, however, seems to handle this a bit differently. Only the Town Manager is allowed to know. Town Council Members that were asked advised that they did not know and had been told they could not be given that information.
Some have suggested that it is the Town Attorney that is adding the factor of ‘silence’ to the equation. However, an attorney can advise a client, but it is ultimately the client (in Christiansburg’s case the Town Manager) who prompts the attorney to make a request to the Judge to seal the records. Somehow or other, the wording must be getting included in those orders that either none or only some of the Town Council members are being informed.
Our government has a responsibility to manage the town’s money. We as citizens have the right to see how well they perform that function. As the article referenced above notes, there are certainly some things within a law suit that should be kept confidential, but the amount of settlement hardly seems to be one of them. And, if Town Council members are kept out of the ‘knowledge loop’, how can they be expected to evaluate the situation and make sure it doesn’t happen again. In the recent past, one Town Council member responded to an issue by simply saying…”so sue us”. That’s easy to say when it is not your money or reputation that is one the line but rather the town’s. Just how many law suits have been filed against the Town of Christiansburg in the last 20 years. How many of those cases were settled and an order to seal the records issued by the Court? No. I don’t have the full answer to those questions. Yet:)
If you think taxpayers and Town Council members should be aware of the amount of settlements paid and how it can, will, or has affected insurance rates, please take the time to contact you Delegates and State Senators and let them know. You can find contact information at the Virginia General Assembly homepage.
Where does all the taxmoney go in Christiansburg, VA?
In order to find that out, you have to do a lot of work because there is no clear picture presented by the Town of Christiansburg. Trying to figure all of this out from documents that are available is quite a task, but I do love a challenge.
I have been working on such a project for some time now. I have gotten copies of the Capital Improvement Plans, Budgets, “Pay the Bills”, Town Audits, Auditor of Public Accounts Records, and Minutes of Town Council and Planning Commission Meetings.
By the way, at the last Town Council meeting, the Town Manager mentioned that there had been no need to pay extra money for outdated software…..guess he forgot that he was the one who told Town Council that fact and that the meeting was recorded. Age does things to memory.
But, anyway, in doing all of the research I’ve done, I’ve found a few little tidbits to share. They are far too extensive to be put in one blog so look for more in the future as I am finally summarizing data.
One of the first things that happens with deciding how your tax money is spent is that the Department Heads submit requests based on their projected needs. The Town Manager goes through those and trims out what he determines to be the ‘fat’ in the requests. Then the condensed version is submitted to members of the Planning Commission. (Based upon this flowpath, the Planning Commission members are some of the first to know of every major expense — like Aquatic Centers.) The Planning Commission then casts an eye on the proposed expenses, maybe ask a few questions, and it is then passed on to the Town Council.
There are two primary categories of expenditures that they ‘look’ at: General and Enterprise. General expenses deal with those routine services that are not designed to generate revenue or pay for themselves. the Enterprise expenses deal with those areas where the Town expects to receive payment in exchange for the services (i.e., water, sewer, garbage). Both of these have subcatefories: (Note: this denotes money approved. It does not mean that the money was actually spent. It also does not include any extra money the Council may have authorized after the CIP has been adopted.) Finding out what exactly was spent and when is what takes a lot more work to figure out. This is just the starting point.)
The Total $ Authorized includes monies authorized for Equipment, Construction, and Other (usually engineering fees or loan payments).
| General Fund SubCategory |
Total $ Authorized 2002-2009 |
Enterprise Fund Subcategory |
Total $ Authorized 2002-2009 |
| Administration | $731,415.00 | Water | $226,500.00 |
| Police | $2,376,655.00 | Water Capital Construction | $2,229,800.00 |
| Fire | $1,173,500.00 | Water Revolving Fund | $95,000.00 |
| Rescue | $404,950.00 | Sewer System Operations | $641,560.00 |
| Inspections | $38,000.00 | Sewer Plant Operation | $4,422,800.00 |
| Streets | $9,996,420.00 | Sewer Capital Construction | $3,853,500.00 |
| Solid Waste | $974,000.00 | Sewer Revolving Fund | $90,000.00 |
| Building & Grounds | $2,987,000.00 | Debt Service (Loan Payments | $5,326,982.00 |
| Social Services | $26,600 | ||
| Parks & Recreation (see note 1) | $23,637,500.00 | ||
| Aquatic Center (see note 1) | $27,831,500.00 | ||
| Planning (see note 2) | $10,132,525.00 | ||
| Engineering | $179,500.00 | ||
| Debt Service (Loan Payments) | $2,853,880.00 |
Note 1: Prior to the 2007-08 Fiscal Year authorization of funds for the Aquatic Center were included in the Parks and Recreation Department subgroup. The Aquatic Center total including those would be $36,573,500.00 in authorized funds. (A difference of $8,742,000.00.) This would also mean that the actual Parks and Recreation total would be: $14,895,500.00.
Note 2: The designation of Planning as a category is somewhat interesting because of the clustering of expenses included there. Downtown construction is a large expense but there is nothing to indicate whether that is related to streets or buildings, it also includes funds used to support the: Free Clinic, Museum, Literacy Volunteers, Trans Dominion Express, NRV Cares, Boys & Girls Club, Smart Way Bus, Round the Mountain, and several other items that are not associated with the “Planning Process” that many people may think of when Planning Department is mentioned. For some reason, the Town of Christiansburg puts its donations into the Planning Department Budget. Most jurisdictions have a separate category for these types of donations.
As noted previously, these are authorized/recommended fundings, not actual expenditures. They do, however, give a good indication of what the priorities of Town government are and, if you go to the actual CIP documents on the website MyVAResources.com (They can be found by going to the Town Council page and scrolling down to the section listing previous years. Then, click on the Town Council link for a year (2001 does not have a CIP because of it was finished and approved before the start of that fiscal year.) I hope to have a separate webpage set up with just those documents available to make it easier to access in a few days. In the meantime, you have to search like I did:) Or, you can use the .pdf file I made of my worksheets to get a better idea of what I am talking about since it provides more details. You’ll find the link on the Special Studies page of the website. The link is titled “Capital improvement Plan Review”.
Now, back to digging through all the information to find out how much was added and how much was spent. I bet this system could be made a bit more transparent with only a little bit of effort.
Welcome to Christiansburg’s new Finance Officer Valerie Tweedie!!
Councilman Michael Barber made the introduction of the new Finance Officer at the last Town Council meeting. Ms. Tweedie arrived here from her former home in Michigan to be greeted warmly by elected officials, citizens, and the weather:) Mr. Barber took a few moments to discuss her very impressive credentials, then Ms. Tweedie spoke briefly on looking forward to her job here.
When Mr. Barber discussed Ms. Tweedie’s credentials, one particular item caught my attention. Ms. Tweedie is bringing something into Town that could open a whole new world of opportunities for Christiansburg. She has extensive business in the management of grants. This has been an area that has been a major deficit in Town until now.
There are a lot of opportunities available for funding for Town projects that are grant based. Without having someone who is very knowledgable in writing and then managing those grants, the chances of getting those grants is slim.
Mr. Barber and Ms. Carter, on the Finance Committee, did a wonderful job of developiing the criteria for the position and making sure that the person hired had the qualifications to open the door to a brighter future in Chrisitansburg. While having such an experienced and qualified person working with the grant processes certainly does not guarantee that funds will magically become available, it puts Christiansburg in a much more competitive position.
A world of opportunities are on the horizon. Now, THAT IS PROGRESSIVE!
Welcome, and good luck to you Ms. Tweedie. No pressure, but we are counting on you!
By the way people, be patient. Ms. Tweedie will need a little bit of time to become adjusted and to make some adjustments, but I have an idea great things are coming!!!
Mr. Barber and Ms. Carter — great job!!
See the Ordinance change for the Floodplain Districts.
I finally got a chance to do a bit more work on the ‘myvaresources.com’ citizen webpage (home to all things Christiansburg related to government).
Along with a bit of a face lift (still working), you can find a copy of the proposed Zoning Amendment related to FloodPlain Districts that will be part of the Public Hearing on August 4th Town Council Meeting. There is also a video of the August 3rd Planning Commission Meeting (a good thing to watch if you ever want to apply for one of those positions.
I will keep working on this site and adding to it when I can find time. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of doing this is that I now have 5 web pages to manage (with a possible 6th coming soon) and they all pay the same … nothing. I have to try to earn a living in between the web work. These pages are not perfect and I always welcome suggestions for change. Please remember that I have only been doing this for a year now and have had no training in how to build and maintain websites. I know of a lot of mistakes that I found and corrected. There are probably that many more that I have not noticed yet. But, heck, it’s still not a bad deal since it is done for free:)
Hope to see you at the Town Council Meeting!
Financial Reports made EASY!! Well, the expenses are easy, the product — not so much!
On October 4, 2005, the Town Council of Christiansburg, VA, heard a tear jerker of an appeal from Town Manager Lance Terpenny. The Town Manager put forth a request for a budget amendment for New and Improved fancy Finance Software. According to the report, over the course of 3 years, 3 different RFP’s for Utility/Financial/Information Management Software were posted. It was not until the 3rd attempt (3 years of waiting?) before some responses came in that qualified for review. A committee of selected Town Staff and the Town’s computer consultants reviewed the applicants and recommended Cogsdale Corporation provide the Town with the needed software. The software was to allow for communication between departments, helping with delinquent tax payments and greatly increasing the efficiency of each department. UNFORTUNATELY, the $200,000 set aside in the Budget for this acquisition fell short of the mark. Manager Terpenny requested an additional $160,090.00 for a full negotiated price of $360,090. The negotiated cost included the software, installation, training, and support. Administration Officer, Scot Shippee, commented that this is a leased software program and updates and maintenance will cost approximately $30,000 per year. It was noted by the Town Manager that this does not require a Public Hearing, but does require two readings.
On October 18, 2005, the Town Council revisited this matter:
COUNCIL ACTION ON BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR FINANCE SOFTWARE. Town Manager Terpenny briefed Council on this matter discussed at the October 4, 2005 meeting. He added that this software would also allow the Town to accept credit card payments, and make electronic direct deposits for employees. Councilman Ashworth made a motion to approve tlie budget amendment to allow the purchase of the finance software. Councilman Barber seconded the motion and Council voted as follows: AYES: Ashworth. Ballengee, Barber, Carter, Huppert, and Wade. NAYS: None.
Okay…so the Town has this super duper software package that it has leased for $360,090 that is suppose to make like wonderful, yet I hear the Mayor say it is too complex to give a report that is any more complex than this amount went to this person/company (without any explanation of what it is for????). What in the heck????
And just exactly how much of that total cost and the ongoing annual fees of $30,000 per year were wasted on a system to accept credit card payments that almost 4 years later has not been implemented?
There, Mr., Mrs, or Ms. taxpayer you now have a prime example of your tax money at work. As you’re thinking about that remember that it was the Town Council’s role to approve or disapprove based upon the recommendations of the Town Manager. It was the Town Manager’s role to see that the entire system was implemented. Heck! Maybe the Town Manager will get another raise this year because he is so efficient and necessary. Guess we’ll find out when his contract come up for renewal in September.
I don’t doubt the vendor’s product was well worth the price. But, why in the heck use other people’s money to by a Mercedes when a Ford (or a bus token!!!) would work as well??? I sure hope to goodness this new finance officer can get the most back for taxpayer buck out of the program. Of course, I’ve heard a rumor that she is quite adept at establishing her own programs at…duh…no extra cost to taxpayers!!!!
Another piece of the Town Council meeting held July 21, 2009.
Staff Analysis is a written document prepared by members of a Planning Dept. to help Planning Commissioners and Town Council members understand all of the issues related to any change in zoning status of a parcel of land (zoning, rezoning, conditional use permit, etc.) These are documents routinely provided to the Planning Commission in every jurisdiction that I have been able to contact within the State of Virginia, except the Town of Christiansburg. (Let it be know that these documents were, in the past, prepared by the Planning Dept. of the Town of Christiansburg but staff was told to stop producing them.
Please note that this document is part of the official record and as such should be included in any minutes of the Town Council where decisions were made. Hmmmm….I’ve got about $1,200.00 worth of documents from the Town thus far. Guess what I don’t have? You got it. There is not one copy of a Staff Analysis in all of those Meeting Minutes, Ordinances, etc.
So, my questions now become: (1) “If those documents were prepared, who were they provided to? (2) If they were provided to anyone, did they ever get into the hands of the decision-makers (Town Council)? (3) If they were provided to those decision-makers, why were they NOT included in the official documents? (4) Did Town Council make the decision to stop having those documents provided? (5) If the answer to (4) is no, then WHO did? (5) Why was the practice discontinued?
At the July 21 Town Council Meeting, the topic of staff analysis reports was brought up yet again. Henry Showalter, supported by Ann Carter, Michael Barber, and Jim Vanhoozier, noted that such a report would be very helpful in enabling them to make the best possible decisions for citizens.
While it may be brought up again, the door was all but slammed in their faces when the Mayor essentially turned the matter of deciding over to the Town Manager based upon whether the Town has enough staff to do the job!
Hello! If the Town does not have enough staff to do the jobs they should be doing, then just what the heck is going on???? AND, what is being done about it!!!! Trying to save people a few bucks of tax money when you are costing them a heck of a lot more in decreased property values, decreased quality of life, and increased insurance (just to name a few)…..we should thank you for this?????? Do you really think citizens are that stupid???? Well guess what, we’re not. We can see the $$$$ on the wall!!!!
We apparently do not have enough staff to do inspections concerning erosion and sediment control (even at our own Aquatic Center). We don’t have enough staff for the Planning Department to do what they use to do but stopped doing? We do not have enough staff to insure that elected and appointed officials are provided with all appropriate information necessary to make important decisions?
Mr. Mayor, perhaps in education you found it appropriate to just stop having math or science taught because you didn’t have enough staff? I’ll just bet the parents and School Board would love that approach! Or maybe you’d decide not to send an ambulance out to a vehicle accident because there might be too much work to do? Or, perhaps you would tell the Police Chief not to send an officer out to work an intersection where a traffic light was out because there just aren’t enough officers?????
I doubt it! I think you would take those things pretty seriously and deal with the issues as needed. Well, the issue of landuse is pretty darned serious. The issue of stormwater is pretty darned serious. There issue of codes enforcement is pretty darned serious.
Mr. Mayor, I think it is time to get serious about your responsibilities to the Town. It is not the Town Manager people are coming to with issues. It is not the Town Manager that people elected to represent them. It is not the Town Manager who decides the menu at those Town Council meetings. Let’s start dealing with issues rather than ducking them.
Is it time to change or is it time for change? Guess you are the decider on that part of the equation. Of course, you can sit back, do nothing, be non-commital, pass the buck, and wait for election time to come around. Maybe citizens are already looking around for your replacement since rumor has it you won’t run again. Is that why you don’t seem to care any more?
For more reading on the staff analysis debate:
Christiansburg, VA Comprehensive Plan and Stormwater/Flooding….Interesting Reading
Why is a Staff Analaysis a good thing for Planning Commission and Town Council to have?
Town of Christiansburg Finance Committee Meeting: 1st Budget Discussion.
Christiansburg VA Town Council Meeting Full of Surprises
INFORMATION NEEDED! Where are the staff reports for land use issues?
Comprehensive Plan vs Comprehensive Plan Map, Reading Between the Lines
A good use of property but a very bad way to allow it to happen. Rezoning from R-2 to B-3
