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Residents press board on rezoning, comp plan survey, FOIA and tax-billing errors during public comment
Summary
During public comment the board heard concerns that a rezoning may lack a recorded ordinance, that a comprehensive-plan online survey had only 124 online respondents (not 1,100–1,500), that petition signatures surpassed 10% for a referendum, FOIA response delays/excessive costs and multiple residents receiving incorrect tax bills.
Residents used the public-comment period at the Dec. 18 Board of Supervisors meeting to raise a cluster of governance and transparency concerns.
Pat Davis told the board she had filed a FOIA request and found no ordinance rezoning two Route 106 parcels that a developer says were rezoned in 2017; she asked the planning commission to confirm whether screening of coal material on the site would violate the M-1 zoning designation.
Brandy Marano challenged the participation numbers cited for the county’s comprehensive-plan survey, saying the Crater Planning District Commission counted 124 online participants, not 1,100–1,500 as had been reported at public meetings; she urged postponing the comp plan until broader public outreach is achieved.
Jared Klein, speaking as an individual, said the petition to change the county government structure and add a board supervisor had reached 633 signatures — which he said exceeds the stated 10% threshold to trigger a referendum — and he said the group planned to work with the registrar to validate signatures for a referendum scheduled on April 14.
Other speakers raised administrative concerns: Thelma Whitehead recounted residents receiving incorrect tax bills and cited a letter from Commissioner of Revenue Candace Jones; Tracy Floyd warned about late FOIA responses and high estimated costs for records production and urged the county to publicly post its FOIA officer and ensure statutory compliance; Martha Harris and another commenter criticized the timing of the meeting and the placement of substantive items on the consent agenda.
Board members acknowledged the complaints and staff said they will investigate certain items (for example, the rezoning documentation and the scale of tax-billing errors) and report back.
