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Resident accuses Patrick County board of closed-session spending and requests FOIA disclosure
Summary
Public commenter Steve Ferring accused the board of authorizing payments to a former administrator in closed session without public vote, urged an investigation and cited FOIA advisory opinions requesting full disclosure of settlement/payment amounts.
During public comment Feb. 9, resident Steve Ferring sharply criticized the Board of Supervisors, alleging the board had continued paying a former county administrator after announcing a resignation and had authorized payments in closed session without a public motion or open vote. Ferring asked the board for full disclosure of the amount paid under the inferred settlement and cited a Virginia FOIA Advisory Opinion discussing disclosure of accounting records related to settlement payments.
Ferring said the board’s approach "engenders the mistrust" of taxpayers and urged an investigation if the allegations were supported. The board did not provide the specific payment amounts during the meeting; the public comment period was then closed by the chair.
