Residents denounce council majority after trial outcome during Purcellville public comment

Several Purcellville residents used the council’s citizen-comment period on April 28 to demand greater accountability from the town’s elected majority after a recent trial result.

Paul McCrae, who identified himself as a Purcellville resident, told the council that an organized petition drive had “obtained nearly three times the signatures necessary to recall the council majority” and said citizens had become “an army of informed citizens” ready to act. Becky Gardner, another resident, referenced the courtroom outcome directly: “They found Vice Mayor Nett guilty,” she said, arguing that legal thresholds and leadership standards are different and that the town needs renewed integrity. Several other speakers echoed calls for resignations or electoral accountability and urged voters to remember the outcome in November.

Speakers also tied the governance concerns to policy choices. Alan Colby, treasurer of the local volunteer fire department, warned that proposed budget cuts to the department would force a reevaluation of donated services and standbys; he said the town’s suggested $45,000 reduction would be “a 100%” cut to the line the department has historically relied on. Kevin Kelly, chief of the volunteer rescue squad, said the town contribution represented roughly 13–15% of his organization’s annual budget and asked the council to maintain funding.

Many commenters asked the council to restore trust by following open procedures and addressing conflicts of interest and policy shortcomings raised in testimony and the recent trial. The council did not take formal action on these public statements at the meeting; they were heard as part of the citizen-comment agenda item.