Halifax closed-door meetings draw ire of county residents
HALIFAX, Virginia – Residents upset about closed Halifax County Board of Supervisors meetings have taken to social media to express their displeasure about the secrecy and an apparent five-person majority that seems to drive most board matters.
Early in August, the board voted to hire an emergency interim county administrator and finance director at a cost of more than $25,000 per month after it had dismissed the former administrator earlier in the month.
During the August 25 meeting when Tomeka Morgan was hired for a monthly rate of $25,500, the board went into a closed session to discuss it. The board also went into a closed session during the August 4 meeting when it dismissed former County Administrator Scott Simpson.
And at its September 22 meeting, the board again went into a 40-minute closed session to discuss hiring a permanent county administrator.
In the days following Simpson’s firing, Board of Supervisors member Larry Roller Jr. expressed his displeasure with the process.
“It’s not being transparent to the public,” Roller told WSET-TV. Roller, who is up for re-election in November, was one of the three board members to vote against Simpson’s termination. “I don’t understand how one person can do the job duties that are full-time when she’s (Morgan) there basically two days a week. It just does not add up.”
Some residents have complained that a five-member voting bloc led by Board Chairman W. Bryant Claiborne and Vice Chaiman Stanley Brandon often have “banded together to pursue their own agenda versus the needs of the county.”
Resident Karen Fisher called out the supervisors who “vote with Clairborne and keep our county from moving forward.”
“The Finance Director resigned because of pressure from some BOS members, and pressured the interim Finance Director to do what she knew was wrong until she quit,” Fisher posted on Facebook. “Now they have fired Scott Simpson, the County Administrator. Essentially, they are getting rid of anyone who will not support their agenda.
“Larry Roller, Robbie Smart and Dennis Witt are trying to do what is right but are met with opposition by Claiborne, (Hubert) Pannell, (Pete) Riddle, Brandon and (Keith) McDowell.”
Pannell’s seat is up for election this year, and he faces a challenge from former sheriff Jeff Oakes. Brandon’s seat also is on the ballot, and he has chosen not to seek re-election. Monte Thompson and James Gordon are seeking that seat.
Another resident said the secretive meetings lead to more questions.
“When you hold these closed meetings and do not elaborate on why these decisions are made, it leaves others to make assumptions about what is actually going on,” Halifax County resident Shari Chism Medley posted on Facebook. “You can not get mad with a community that was told nothing about the matter and expect us to go wait until you are ready.
“After that closed meeting, the community should have been addressed and all of this mess could have been avoided. You all act as if we are not owed an explanation. This is where you were wrong.”
Melissa Clark said it’s nice to see people speaking out about things “going on behind the closed doors of the BOS.”
“But is anyone listening?” she asked in a Facebook post. “I know I have emailed the BOS a couple times and never gotten any sort of response at all. Because they can’t and won’t explain themselves. They are supposed to be in place to serve the taxpayers, to answer to the taxpayers. Instead they just go around bullying anyone who dares to speak out.”
Jeremy Satterfield seemed to compare the BOS drama to a soap opera, calling it “Only In Halifax County.”
“Our infamous Board of Supervisors voted to make Ms. Morgan the Emergency/Interim County Administrator AND Interim Finance Director,” Satterfield posted on Facebook. “The best part is … they voted to pay her $25,500 per month to work on behalf of the Halifax County residents two days a week!!!
“Yep, you read that right, $25,500 a month to work 8 days!! I don’t know Ms. Morgan at all and I’m sure she’s highly qualified but how do we expect her to do everything that our former Director of Finance and County Administrator did when they were working 80+ hours a week between them?”
Satterfield went on to say it seems the board and the county “have plenty of money to throw around.”
“If that truly is the case, I guess they don’t need my personal property taxes in December,” he wrote. “Who would like to join me in not cutting the county a check come December?? All jokes aside, it could bring their derailment to a screeching halt.
“As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, Supervisors Brandon, Claiborne, Riddle, McDowell and Pannell voted in favor of this idea. Shocker, right? Supervisors Roller, Smart and Whitt voted no, as they felt like this contract amount was predatory to our rural community.
“Supervisor Smart presented the opportunity for our BOS to utilize an emergency program through VACO to help with our current staffing needs, but it was voted down by the same five BOS members. Also to note, after their vote, the only BOS members willing to address the media, and more importantly, Halifax County residents, were Supervisors Roller, Smart and Whitt. I guess Supervisors Brandon, Claiborne, Riddle, McDowell and Pannell don’t believe they work for the residents of Halifax County.”
Satterfield also stressed the importance of the November BOS elections.
“The upcoming election in two districts are HUGE for Halifax County and if we don’t shake up this completely dysfunctional board, we will be doomed,” he wrote.