Purcellville council approves interim manager contract after heated debate over process and salary

The Purcellville Town Council voted Jan. 28 to authorize the human resources director to execute an interim town manager contract and to begin the process to recruit a permanent town manager.

The vote followed extended debate over the timeline and handling of the contract. Council member (and vice mayor) LaDonna said she circulated a prior interim contract template and updated it to allow new staff onboarding. Several council members said they received the final contract only hours or days before the meeting and criticized what they described as an opaque process. “I did not receive this contract until this past Friday,” one council member said during the meeting, arguing they had been told the document was ready earlier. An HR official, LaDonna, explained she provided a template adapted from a previous interim contract and that a salary adjustment was made at the mayor’s request.

Council members pressed whether a closed‑session discussion of salary had occurred in the past for similar contracts and whether the mayor had authority to alter salary terms without full council input. The town attorney said there is no statutory requirement that salary negotiations for interim agreements occur in closed session and that such arrangements have been handled in a variety of ways historically.

After discussion, the motion to direct HR to execute the interim agreement and to start the permanent‑manager recruitment process passed on roll call. The council also directed HR to post the position for 30 days and vet applicants by standard HR review prior to interviews with department heads and legal counsel.

The council did not approve a final permanent manager at the meeting; staff said the posting and vetting process will follow standard hiring practice and return candidates for council consideration.