Tederick, council defend budget plan, staff terminations in face of pointed public criticism

An exceptionally light Front Royal Town Council meeting agenda for Monday evening, February 10, was extended by 90 minutes of public comments, largely criticisms, regarding a Fiscal Year 2021 Budget proposal tied to a significant downsizing of the Town governmental function.

That, that budget proposal included five immediate staff terminations, including three department heads, all of whose jobs were funded through the current fiscal year ending June 30, did not sit well with 20 of 24 speakers. Two of those 24 addressing the budget-staffing issue took middle ground stances, defending town staff and council while suggesting they take into consideration what the public feedback, particularly as it applies to tourism and downtown business development, had to say.

Matt Tederick, left discusses issues with citizen prior to convening of Monday night’s council meeting. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini. Video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

The more aggressive public criticism of council and its appointed interim town manager echoed comments and questions heard at the public meeting at the Front Royal Brewery on January 30, the day after the five terminations, including Council Clerk Jennifer Berry, who was present at Monday’s meeting, went public.

Those critical comments and questions covered:

1 – the seeming lack of an immediate plan to replace the functions of the terminated town planning director, community development director and town engineer;

2 – why five positions covered in the existing budget year were terminated immediately for a budget plan not yet approved, and one that would not be implemented until the July 1 beginning of the next fiscal year?

3 – who the actual beneficiaries of these cutbacks and outsourcing plans are, and to what end – such as weakening the Town to facilitate past initiatives of the interim town manager like eventual consolidation with the county government, or extension of Town water-sewer outside the town limits for private sector residential development; 4/ negative impacts on tourism marketing by the planned outsourcing of the tourism function to the private sector (these public remarks will be explored in more detail in a future story).

Three speakers addressed other issues, two for a 2^nd Amendment sanctuary resolution slated for discussion at a work session to follow the meeting, and local builder Chris Ramsey on issues he has brought before council at recent work sessions regarding tap fee policies as they apply to his projects in town.

The 2^nd Amendment Sanctuary work session discussion was cancelled when council unanimously endorsed Letasha Thompson’s motion to add approval of that gun rights resolution to the meeting agenda. Council then unanimously endorsed the resolution, precluding the necessity for additional work session discussion.

Also removed from the agenda was a closed session personnel discussion of “consideration of assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body pursuant to Section 2.2-3711. A. 1. of the Code of Virginia”.

Two other additions to the meeting agenda were also accepted and unanimously endorsed, approval of a $24,500 contract with Baker Tilley to conduct the executive search for a permanent town manager; and acceptance of an anonymous $500 contribution to a Town scholarship fund to be included in the town budget. Approval of the Baker Tilley executive search contract was removed from a one-item special meeting agenda a week earlier.

Early departures & rebuttal

But the real action Monday night was the public criticism of the Town departmental downsizing plan and interim town manager and council blowback to that criticism. Perhaps unfortunately, the bulk of the public who spoke against the Town downsizing plan or were there in support of that criticism were not present to hear council’s and Interim Town Manager Matt Tederick’s response to their criticism.

With only the executive search contract approval remaining on the as-yet un-amended agenda, most of that contingent of critics left during a break called by Mayor Gene Tewalt after the final public speaker concluded their remarks around 8:30 p.m., an hour and a half into the meeting. That crowd apparently did not realize the meeting agenda’s town manager and council reports would be utilized to respond to the public criticism of the downsizing plan.

Much of the crowd left during the 8:30 p.m. break, apparently believing the budget and termination discussions were at an end – they were wrong.

Those town officials’ responses offered fiscally conservative rationales in support of the downsizing plan as an alternative to tax hikes that would be necessary to support $29 million in infrastructure capital improvements in the coming budget year.

Councilman Chris Holloway pointed to capital improvements like the redundant water line to the north corridor in the new budget dating back 10 years to his first stint on council. Vice-Mayor Bill Sealock said some of the infrastructure improvements proposed in the new budget had been on the table for two years. What seemed apparent from council comments was a past reluctance to raise taxes to provide revenue to support some of these infrastructure improvements in past budget cycles. But with state mandates on the horizon forcing the Town’s hand on some fixes, including Intake & Inflow (I&I) issues with the wastewater and sewer systems; as well as the long-deteriorating state of town roads becoming more of a public issue, FY 2021 appears the budget year of reckoning on proposed capital improvements.

Tederick criticized those speaking against the plan for not presenting an alternative that wouldn’t put an undue burden on town taxpayers. That tax increases to pay for necessary infrastructure improvements was not seen as a viable option was apparent in multiple council and staff comments. The interim town manager presented statistics indicating that the town budget had outpaced population growth in recent years as an indicator town operational expenses were unjustifiably high.

Tederick has used the term “right-sizing” to describe the council-favored municipal downsizing, immediate termination and outsourcing plan presented through his office. And from various council rebuttal remarks Monday it appears council is on board with that assessment. In fact, during his response Councilman Jacob Meza pointed to council’s unanimous support of changes in the function of town government.

Above, Matt Tederick and Lori Cockrell listen to public discontent over early stages of the FY 2021 Town budget process and what some see as premature terminations in support of that budget proposal. With criticism mounting, will council, below, stay united in its support of downsizing the town government to reduce the need for municipal tax revenues in the future?

“But it is interesting when you have a council that is making unanimous votes on changes, uh, you got to stop to ask yourself how, you know, six people who don’t work together, don’t necessarily socialize or hang out together, all can come to the same conclusion for better change for the Town of Front Royal. It’s not like you have a split council here,” Meza stated without elaborating on when and in what context any unanimous votes took place related to the object of public concerns brought to council’s attention Monday night.

However, in their responses to the overwhelming negative public comment at least two council members, Letasha Thompson and Chris Holloway, appeared willing to at least reconsider the outsourcing of the Town’s tourism marketing and operational function.

Presidential ghosts

Tederick seemed to invoke the spirit of Richard Nixon when he referenced positive feedback from what he called a “silent majority” of supporters of the council-endorsed downsizing plan. “Silent Majority” was a term popularized by Nixon in 1969 as a reference to Americans who did not demonstrate against the Vietnam War, but also did not make their opinion, ostensibly in support of the war, known publicly.

As for the “vocal minority” of two public speakers expressing outright support of council, the interim town manager and the downsizing plan Monday, they were Warren County Republican Committee Treasurer Amber Poe Morris and Wendy Kurtz, wife of the current successor to Tederick’s past stint as chairman of the Warren County Republican Committee, Steve Kurtz.

Both lauded the Republican Committee-majority council and Interim Town Manager Tederick, who is currently listed as the county Republicans’ Finance Committee Chairman, for being proactive in reducing municipal costs.

Morris invoked an analogy to the current Republican president when she told Tederick, “You seem to have become the (Donald) Trump of Front Royal. You have done the job you were asked to do; you were appointed to do. You were asked to clean some stuff up. You work at the instruction of the council and there is conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory and downright accusations of personal attacks thrown at you every single day since you’ve been in your position.”

Invoking criticism directed Donald Trump’s way, County Republican Committee Treasurer Amber Poe Morris launched an aggressive defense of Interim Town Manager Matt Tederick – adding support for adoption of a 2nd Amendment Sanctuary Resolution.

Poe echoed the three other public speakers who were complimentary of Tederick and his stint as interim town manager when she observed, “And despite being very receptive to answering public comments every time you’re asked or confronted, and you’ve done so with humility. Thank you for being fiscally conservative and working as the government should. The interim town manager works at the discretion of the elected town council members,” she noted before concluding with a plug for the crowd gathered in support of the 2^nd Amendment Sanctuary initiative, saying, “So, I’m looking forward to the Town of Front Royal becoming a 2^nd Amendment sanctuary,” drawing applause and hoots of support from the 2nd Amendment crowd, including some in matching camouflage militia gear.

Mrs. Kurtz was critical of the questions about Tederick’s motives about the town downsizing as relating to his past support of consolidation with the County government or a desire to acquire Town water-sewer utilities in support of private-sector residential development in the county’s north corridor.

Several council members also cited public support from people they alleged were fearful of expressing their opinions publicly due to possible threats from those critical of the downsizing plan. Social media threats on Facebook were cited, including by newly appointed council member Lori Athey Cockrell. She pointed to a social media post calling for the burning down of council members houses or the breaking into their homes or vehicles.

See the public criticism and the interim town manager and council responses to that criticism in these two exclusive Royal Examiner videos, the first containing the entire public comments portion of the meeting, the second starting with the interim town manager and council responses to what they heard from the public.

Highlights include Jacob Meza’s repeated points of order called in response to what he felt were too personal public criticisms violating meeting rules; and public counterpoints to those points of order calls, including one citing Meza’s and Holloway’s personal work session criticisms of the mayor a week earlier and another stating “I think the U.S. Constitution trumps Robert’s Rules of Order. – Get the popcorn: