Board of Supervisors adopts amended agenda and moves to closed session to interview EMS chief candidates

The Madison County Board of Supervisors approved an amended agenda and voted to enter a closed session to interview candidates for the county’s emergency medical services chief, the board chair announced during a special meeting.

A board member suggested adding detail to the closed-session citation so the public would understand it was for interviewing EMS chief candidates; the board accepted that proposed clarification when it moved to adopt the agenda as amended. A board member said, “Mr. Chairman, I move to approve the agenda as amended,” and a second was recorded. After a voice vote the motion carried; the chair cast the only recorded dissent by saying “nay.”

The chair opened two public-comment periods; in both cases the chair stated there were no speakers and closed the comment periods. Shortly afterward a board member moved “that the board [go] in closed session pursuant to Virginia Code” to interview EMS chief candidates. The motion was seconded, the board voted, and the motion carried.

The board cited state law authorizing closed sessions for personnel matters. The transcript references the statute as “Virginia Code section 2.2711”; this appears to be a transcription error. The statutory authority for closed meetings to discuss certain personnel matters in Virginia is commonly cited as Virginia Code §2.2-3711 (personnel and closed meetings). The board did not take any hire or appointment action in open session during the meeting.

The meeting record indicates the board moved into closed session for candidate interviews; no public disclosures about interview content or candidate identities were made in the open session. The board provided no timetable in the meeting transcript for when a hiring decision would be announced.

The meeting adjourned into the closed session; no additional public business or votes were recorded after the board voted to enter closed session.