Interim Town Manager grilled on budget-departmental reorganization plan

On Thursday afternoon, January 30, Matt Tederick found himself under the gun from a room full of citizens concerned and/or angry about a radical realignment of the town government function propelled forward by him as interim town manager.

Late Thursday afternoon, citizens called out by ViNoVa downtown business co-owner Rachel Failmezger met in the rear section of the adjacent Front Royal Brewery to discuss the pending terminations tied to a $29 million capital improvements proposal contained in Tederick’s FY 2021 budget proposal.

That proposal will be presented to the Front Royal Town Council at a Monday, February 3rd work session. According to Tederick, the terminations are slated to become effective with council’s concurrence the following day, February 4. However, several of the impacted employees’ work cell phones were not accepting calls on Wednesday, January 29, indicating they had likely been taken and turned off by town administrative staff, reflecting a likely termination of those employees’ work functions that day.

Band-Aid on the Titanic?

During his exchange with the public, Tederick said he thought tying a half-cent real estate tax decrease to the FY 2021 budget despite the additional $29 million included for capital improvements projects was a way to indicate the Town was in good financial shape despite the EDA financial scandal.

Matt Tederick fields a question from Michelle Matthieu, one of many citizens upset over the revelation of a sweeping reorganization and downsizing plan for the town government. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

The Town is claiming alleged financial improprieties under the executive directorship of Jennifer McDonald cost it at least $15 million in misdirected or lost assets. Thus far town officials have provided no documentation to support any of its financial claims at the base of its civil suit filed against a current EDA, whose board and staff have repeatedly offered to work together in good faith to reach an actual assessment of municipal losses by way of past EDA operations. However, that circumstance may change as the town attorney has noted that the court has ordered future amendments to its litigation to include reference material in support of its claims.

What is the end game?

While Tederick was lauded for his willingness to appear to answer questions on short notice last Thursday, he was also grilled as to possible underlying motives and a seeming lack of any immediate plan to replace terminated employees or fill outsourced or reorganized departmental functions.

Local attorney David Downes, who is in an ongoing legal dispute with the Town over parking on his property behind his law office and Virginia Beer Museum on Chester Street, ended a series of questions on the advisability of the announced plan by noting that he has both agreed and disagreed with Tederick on policy issues in the past.

Local attorney and Va. Beer Museum proprietor David Downes ponders consolidation of town and county governments as a possible end game of firings and outsourcing of town government functions – ‘well played,’ Downes offered Tederick, drawing cynical laughter from some present.

One, perhaps ironically considering his negative reaction to the current plan, Downes said he had agreed with Tederick on previously was consolidation of the county and town governmental functions. It was an initiative rejected by town voters in a referendum several years ago.

“If anything, ironically Matt has supported the argument of why we don’t need two governments. You just showed us that by wiping out three department heads – we don’t need them! The next step logically is, we don’t need the town,” at which point one citizen interrupted Downes to inject pointedly at Tederick, “We don’t need a town manager.”

“I wish you well,” Downes continued to the interim town manager, adding, “Maybe that was your goal, I don’t know – well played.”

“Well played alright,” another citizen injected of Downes’ observation on possible policy endgames.

At that point C&C Frozen Treats owner William Huck interrupted to point out it was 5:30 p.m., with a long-planned Town “Envision” meeting on future downtown festival and event permitting slated for 6 p.m. at the Villa Avenue Community Center.

C&C Frozen Treats proprietor William Huck was vocal at both the 4:30 p.m. public meeting on Town downsizing and the 6 p.m. ‘Envision’ meeting on future criteria for permitting of downtown events, festivals and street closings.

“My point is, at this point we’re not going to get the answers that you solely want out of Matt on this – he can’t give you those answers today. No, we don’t agree with it; we don’t all like it; but we don’t understand 100% of what it is,” Huck said, adding that two department heads believed earmarked for termination potentially with their departments or part of them, Felicia Hart and Jeremy Camp, had been important to his downtown business interests as they interact with tourism.

But ultimate, detailed answers were not likely to come from the interim town manager on this short notice, Huck said, noting he and other present, including Tederick, would soon have to depart for the community “Envision” meeting.

Double Standard?

And as noted in our story on Thursday’s Town Envision Meeting on permitting criteria for future downtown festivals and events, it was the absence of any opportunity for public input on such a major downsizing and outsourcing plan prior to its being announced as a virtual done deal, that angered many present at Thursday’s public meeting at the Front Royal Brewery.

If public feedback is being sought in a series of meetings about how downtown events and street closings should be managed in the future, why wouldn’t the Town offer the same opportunity to citizens for such a major change in how the town government is structured and functions, several wondered.

The interim town manager, right, and ‘Envision’ meeting facilitator Chips Lickson at the whiteboard during downtown event permitting meeting. Why weren’t citizens allowed similar input on a major restructuring of town government, some asked.

Neither the interim town manager or town communications director had an answer to that question.

It will be interesting to see whether members of the town council will have an explanation, either at Monday’s work session or council’s February 10 meeting, its first with a public comments portion on the agenda since the budget and reorganization plan’s revelation by the media.

Many questions, few clear answers on Town reorganization plan

At least three Town department heads, council clerk facing termination