Want to be the new South River district supervisor? Takeaways from Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting

Akhil Ganesh, Staunton News Leader
·5 min read

VERONA — Transparency seemed to be the word of the day during Wednesday night’s board of supervisors meeting. The board made important decisions on the future of the recently vacated South River district seat on the board, as well as rolled back some requirements for signing up to speak during a board meeting.

The board alluded to a long and difficult week following Morelli's resignation, but few details were shared about what led to Morelli's departure. The supervisors did hold a closed session following the regular meeting to discuss personnel matters having to do with the board.

There’s plenty to get to from Wednesday’s meeting, so let’s take it from the top.

Want to be the South River district's new representative? Here's what you need to know.

Following the resignation of South River district supervisor Steve Morelli this week, Augusta County administrator Tim Fitzgerald announced the timeline for filling the vacant seat on the board. According to state statute, the board has 45 days from Morelli’s resignation to fill his seat, or else a circuit court judge will appoint someone to fill the position.

If you followed the process earlier this year with Staunton, the process pushed for by supervisor Scott Seaton during Wednesday’s board of supervisor’s meeting should feel largely similar.

Applications will be open by the end of this week on the Augusta County website, and are due back to the county on April 14 at 4 p.m. Applications should include a resumé and a cover letter or letter of interest in serving. These application materials for every applicant will be viewable online on the county’s website.

In order to qualify to apply, residents must be:

  • A citizen of the United States of America

  • At least 18 years of age

  • A registered voter in Augusta County

  • A resident of the South River district

The board will then schedule an interview session sometime during the week of April 17 to consider applicants and then name a replacement. The interviews will likely take place in the board’s regular meeting room in order to be live-streamed, but deliberations amongst the board will be held in a closed session. The board also likely will not decide on the interim representative from the South River district on the day they conduct interviews, as they will allow time for residents to watch the interviews and provide input to the board.

This is a change for Augusta County. Each of the last three times a board member has needed to be appointed, interviews had been conducted in closed session.

Residents with any questions about the details of the job can reach out to Fitzgerald. One thing that applicants should be aware of is the timeline on the current budget proposal in front of the board. With an appointment coming after April 17, the board is set to vote on their budget on April 26. That will be a condensed timeline for whoever is appointed to the seat to turn around and get up to speed on the proposed budget.

Body and dash cameras for Augusta County Sheriff’s Office return to discussion for budget season

RISE co-founder Chanda McGuffin made an appearance in front of the board during the matters to be presented by the public section of Wednesday’s meeting, and renewed calls for this year’s budget to include funding for body and dash cameras for the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office.

“I’m back because it’s budget season, and I promised y’all I would come back every budget season to talk about the body and dash cams for the sheriff’s department,” McGuffin said. She mentioned that cameras had not been included in last year’s budget, and spoke to a concern with the police holding themselves accountable.

“The people have spoken,” McGuffin said, adding, “This is the only municipality that does not have body and dash cams.”

Supervisor Seaton followed up on the points raised about resident’s feelings on body and dash cameras. He pointed to the recently completed Augusta County community survey which specifically asked questions of the community on body and dashboard cameras.

The survey had 801 respondents between July and December of last year, and 65% of those surveyed said they completely support body and dash cameras for the sheriff’s deputies, with an additional 21% saying they “mostly supported” the idea. When it came to the question of funding for the cameras, 47% said they completely supported using county funds on the project while an additional 26% said they “mostly supported” the idea.

According to Seaton, Sheriff Donald Smith presented a request for an Axon camera system around a month ago in a work session. Seaton said he supported the request, and would ask for cameras in this year’s budget to help deputies against false accusations and to improve transparency with the community.

Quick hitters

  • The board reversed a decision from last year that limited how residents could sign up for public comment. Residents are no longer required to sign up by 7:30 p.m. online.

  • A strategic plan for fire and rescue agencies in the county may be on hold for a while, as the county tabled a potential consultant’s proposal during Wednesday’s meeting. Supervisors spoke to a want to include the volunteer fire departments in conversations on a new strategic plan, and perhaps putting the plan together internally rather than bringing in an outside consultant. The item will again be discussed in April.

  • The board chose recipients for an arts grant this year, with Wayne Theater and Oak Grove Theater joining the Stonewall Brigade Band as recipients of funding. The board expressed a desire for more arts organizations to reach out regarding the grant funding, and would consider rotating organizations every year.

  • A public hearing on a potential rezoning from single family residential to general agriculture near the Shannon Lea subdivision was deferred. The public hearing will be held on May 24.

More:Little Free Libraries coming to Waynesboro schools as Kate Collins, Mathers Construction team up

More:Mexican-style seafood restaurant coming to Fishersville

—Akhil Ganesh is the Government Reporter at The News Leader. You can contact him at aganesh@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @akhildoesthings.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Augusta County Board of Supervisors talks filling vacancy, body and dash cameras