This is a reposting for our blog readers from February 11th with the WPAC version of the Town Council pics
from Ike…to Fauquier Times: At first read, today’s Fauquier Times article regarding the Town Council is misplaced. It belongs in the “Opinion” section, not a lead story in the online and printed edition. I have not read an online article from a newspaper with so much selected text in bold throughout said article. The emphasis appears to be designed to persuade the reader to focus on certain statements / opinions from the writer. Even the article’s title is slanted. If the purpose is to provide a link to a related story, use a “link” format on that text to not appear to emphasize nor sway the reader to form consent. The editor must not have either read the article and weighed in prior to publishing or is as lame in their job as this article itself.
Concerning some of the highlighted “events”…
Mr. Cassidy was removed from his post “without cause” – any other way to replace the Town Manager means publicly citing reasons for termination. That type of public admonishment was prevented by the manner of his dismissal and his contract terms allowed extended pay, medical benefits for a period of time and not to materially impact his ability to seek work in a similar role elsewhere. I suppose it was more than one incident that led to a majority of the Council’s vote for termination. Mr. Cassidy, like the Town Attorneys, served at the pleasure of the Town Council and if a majority sought to terminate the holder of either position, that is their right. Whatever side you fall on regarding Mr. Cassidy’s termination, the Council is indeed correct by not publicly citing specific reasons.
OF COURSE Council members (as they do privately in both factions) spoke privately and strategized prior to a meeting ? I certainly hope they continue to have dialogue outside of their official meetings.
We’d all be better off listening less to this downwardly spiraling newspaper and more to experienced voices like Whit Robinson. Not only is he smarter than most anyone reading this, (myself certainly included) he is ethical, informed and could NEVER legitimately be accused of being anything but honest. Anyone who questions Whit’s ethics is not only an idiot, but an uninformed idiot.
The Amazon approval and votes by former council members on that famous Feb. 14th open meeting at Fauquier High School seems to be forgotten. An overwhelming number of constituents resoundingly spoke against the approval of Amazon’s data center in the Town limits. Yet the will of the people was ignored, and I am one that believes much “behind the scenes” wrangling and promises made by Amazon under the guise of NDAs might have influenced the voting outcome. We must see the transparency investigation through.
Amazon is still an open issue in my mind, regardless of the 3,050 emails reviewed by the article’s author and other Fauquier Times staff. The process of allowing Amazon to move forward in the manner it did via special exception permitting without necessary public comment, the signing of NDAs by staff and other questionable non-recusals by staff and former Council members and the former Town Manager being offered and accepting a position with Amazon shows me that the Town Code of Conduct needs to be reviewed and amended significantly. While I am NOT inferring that nefarious events necessarily occurred, the appearance alone of many questionable actions and subsequent events demand a complete and thorough review to clear the air. Privacy can be maintained and emails excluded in a search via 21st century automated search systems far more sophisticated than the ancient searching methods proposed by some Council members, (Boolean or keyword searches – how’s THAT for 90’s technology). Excluding Human Resources, Police-related emails and other sensitive topics and / or email senders and recipients can be easily accomplished. Bonded companies can securely manage, ingest and process this volume of archived emails and hopefully answer questions and clear the air.
No Council is perfect, but this current Council is dealing with major infrastructure maintenance issues (water and sewer for example) that have not been addressed adequately for decades by past Councils and we have witnessed capital improvement funding ignored or inadequately planned for by prior leadership. The staff that manages our Town water and sewer systems are wizards at what they do and work with major failing infrastructure components, some which were installed more than 60 years ago. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated and accomplished Town staff keeping these systems operational.
No Town nor business operates at 100% efficiency. All organizations can and should periodically streamline operations to increase efficiency and decrease operational costs. The Town is no different. No one wants to see positions eliminated or combined, but all options need to be on the table in this budget cycle. A hiring freeze and getting to a smaller staff by attrition is a good start.
I am personally sick and tired of numbers thrown around about “costs” to replace positions in Town Government. Those funds are part of the cost of conducting Town business and are rounding errors in the overall budget. Cheaper to fill a position with an effective and honest employee than have a loose canon rolling around the deck.
Habitat for Humanity, the Fauquier Food Bank and other exceptional private organizations do benefit from monies from every possible source. Funding from the Town coffers is a nice gesture WHEN funds allow. Those and numerous other organizations receive funding elsewhere. We need fiscal hawks to realign our budget and in that process feelings will be hurt and volunteer organizations (many who provide essential services for those in most need in this community) will certainly feel some level of financial discomfort from not receiving those public funds. Now is the time for the community to volunteer time and/or money to close any deficit and I am certain it can and will rise to the occasion.
Mayor Nevill has “led” Town Councils since 2018. Many prior Town Councils simply “rubber stamped” his vision and never offered real pushback on spending and looking for ways to avoid the mess we are currently in. While he only has a vote to break a tie, his behind the scenes influence and fingerprints are all over some pretty bad decisions from past Councils. Many members of THIS counsel are actively challenging past decisions and that is what PRIOR counsels should have done. No mention of Carter Nevill’s “leadership” since 2018 and lasting effects on the Town in this article ? In fairness, poor decisions and kicking the can down the road on some issues even go back to the late Mayor Fitch’s reign.
Time to get informed and challenge Mayor Nevill and hold him accountable for 7 years as Mayor.
Many members of the council are doing EXACTLY what former members did not… and that, friends should not be construed by this hit job Times piece as a group that has lost their way.
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