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Leesburg leaders regularly absent from meetings
For a Loudoun student, one unexcused absence at school could result in a phone call to mom and dad and a world of trouble.
But who can Leesburg residents call when their town leaders are absent from meetings?
In 2007, all seven town council members were present and on time at only 17 of the 45 council meetings, according to town records; thus, council meetings had a late or absent member 62 percent of the time.
The percentage of absences increased to as much as 83 percent for committee and commission meetings, where council members serve as nonvoting liaisons to the town council.
“It’s an issue,” Mayor Kristen Umstattd said. She said council members have an obligation to go to meetings but added, “in their defense, [the council members] have full-time jobs … and they have families.”
Leesburg has no attendance policy for council members, so attendance is not mandatory, according to town officials. And no policy exists that docks pay from council members who don't show up (council members are paid $666.66 a month; the mayor, $703.33).
While some have better attendance than others, frequent absences by town council members can lead to a disconnect between the council and the town's committees and commissions. In addition, absences have, at times, changed or reversed the outcome of a council vote.
Council members provided an assortment of reasons for missing meetings: family and personal illness, second honeymoons, death in the family, campaigning for another office and vacations.
But most said they didn't realize they had missed as many committee and commission meetings as town records indicate.
Committee attendance
The town has 12 committees and commissions that have council liaisons. The remaining members of these groups are volunteer residents appointed by council members.
“It’s very important [to have a council liaison at meetings] because it provides a two-way line of communication,” said Vice Mayor Susan Horne, who in 2007 missed seven out of 12 Airport Commission meetings. Horne often travels out of town for business.
Arguably, the two most important Leesburg commissions are the Economic Development Commission and the Board of Architectural Review. Issues of poor council attendance plague both.
The EDC council liaison, Fernando “Marty” Martinez, has missed 83 percent of the commission's meetings. The EDC is charged with recommending ways to improve Leesburg's economic health, especially in the downtown. A recent EDC report, which stated the town appears disconnected and unfriendly to business owners, said lack of communication between town leaders often muffles expectations.
“Normally [attendance] would be a significant issue,” said EDC Chair Ara Bagdasarian. He said the EDC, of late, has been reporting directly to council.
“Obviously it would be best to have 100 percent involvement from council members," said Bagdasarian. "The most important thing is updating council members constantly. ”
Martinez said he missed EDC meetings because he was running for Virginia's House of Delegates.
“There was a lot of things going on, and I had to make a decision,” he said. “Unfortunately, the EDC suffered."
The Board of Architectural Review, which reviews development applications in the historic district, has been called an obstruction to growth by some council members and developers.
One of the BAR's biggest critics, Councilman Kenneth “Ken” Reid, serves as its council liaison. He missed 10 of the 19 bimonthly meetings last year. Reid said a pre-scheduled family vacation accounted for two absences.
Among the meetings Reid missed were those concerning the Loudoun Street fire station's application for renovations, which gained the BAR's approval. The decision was appealed to the council by residents who complained the BAR considered the financial needs of the firehouse when approving the application, something the BAR is not supposed to do.
“I think [being at BAR meetings] would have been helpful [in this case],” said Reid, adding that had he been at the meetings, the validity of the complaint could have quickly been cleared up.
Instead, council members had to listen to recordings of the BAR's meetings to hear why the decision had been made. Ultimately, the council sided with residents.
Reid and other council members complained it is not possible to attend all the meetings, adding that they are not credited with the other events they attend.
Some council members have said there are too many committees, and liaisons might not be needed all the time.
Likewise, some commissioners and committee members said productivity is not hindered by the absence of a council member liaison.
Others say it’s important for council members to be there.
“Council members are very busy,” said Planning Commission Chair Ted Kalriess. His council liaison, Kevin Wright, has the fewest commission absences.
“They aren’t going to watch us on TV," Kalriess said. "They aren’t going to listen to the tapes, so this is a way for them to see why we make our decisions.”
Wright said he attends his commission meetings “so that I can properly represent them to the council. I think my biggest role is to listen and provide the council's perspective.
“What you lose when you don't go to meetings is the flavor or the dissenting viewpoint,” which Wright said sometimes does not end up in the records.
Council meetings
Attendance is better at town council meetings, but an absence here can have a more serious consequence than at a committee meeting.
An empty council seat at a town meeting can affect the outcome of a vote, which was the case with the PMW Farms housing-development application. The council first voted in November to deny the application for 275 housing units at the Festival Lakes property in northeastern Leesburg.
A council member moved to reconsider the application, in part because another member had been missing from the vote.
In December, council voted again on Festival Lakes, this time with a full cast of seven, and the plans were approved by one vote, reversing the earlier decision.
Several decisions in 2007 were postponed so that absent council members could have a say.
“There has been an abuse of the [voting] system where absentees have been used to manipulate the system,” said Reid.
And because the town has no attendance policy for council members, re-votes can't be restricted.
Umstattd said the solution might be to remove the liaison position from some committees and limit the position to the major commissions: Planning, Economic Development and the Airport commissions. Other council members suggested getting rid of the position altogether.
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com
What an incredibly overblown story. No mention that Umstattd never volunteered to be a council rep to any commissions! But boy, Martinez -- what a lazy bum! But no mention of the Board of Supervisors and their awful attendance at meetings. I think this is just an example of a young reporter trying to make a name for herself and telling only part of the stats.
Posted by RabbleRouser
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