County releases remarks on former administrator Rodney Taylor

Two months after the resignation of former county administrator Rodney Taylor, the Amherst Board of Supervisors has issued a statement some board members say they hope will bring closure to the matter.

However, the supervisors were divided over the wording of the statement itself, though not the need to issue it.

Issued Friday, the statement attributed Taylor’s departure to “insubordination.”

The Friday news release from the county stated that a majority of board members approved the statement but did not name who the majority was. The board, during a closed session last week, directed its acting county administrator and the county attorney to draft the statement, according to supervisors.

Supervisors debated its content in closed session and later finalized it through individual phone calls with the county attorney. No official vote was taken to issue the statement.

Megan Rhyne, of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said the term “approval by a majority of the board of supervisors” in the news release indicates an official action. Actions by the board have to be voted on in open session to be official, she said.

“At the very least, it does go against the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act’s open meeting requirements,” Rhyne said of any approvals made without meeting in open session.

Taylor resigned in late April following conflicts with some board members in a series of closed meetings.

Residents criticized supervisors recently for their initial silence about his removal, the decision to ask him to resign after three years in the position and the lack of openness surrounding the discussions before the departure.

Vice Chairman Chris Adams and Supervisors Ray Vandall and Don Kidd said they supported the latest statement.

Supervisor Vernon Wood said he supported earlier versions but not the final draft. Chairman Leon Parrish said he did not support releasing a statement at this point.

The statement said the board did not immediately give information on Taylor’s resignation because it didn’t want to “compromise or negatively impact” an ongoing police investigation involving John Mulvey, the county’s economic development director.

Mulvey was arrested June 18 by Amherst police and charged with attempted sexual battery against a child under age 13. Taylor informed supervisors of the investigation after he was notified of it by police.

The board asked Taylor to resign for “insubordination involving the perceived mishandling of confidential information” related to the case, according to the statement. It said Taylor spoke to law enforcement personnel not directly involved with the police investigation. Some board members believe that Taylor implied that a supervisor leaked information to an attorney representing Mulvey.

The statement said the board thanked Taylor for his three years of “dedicated service to Amherst County” and wished him well in his future endeavors.

Taylor responded this week that he believed he had a “moral and legal obligation” to discuss the leak with law enforcement.

A former Amherst supervisor, Taylor also said this week that he believed the board members violated state law by discussing the statement in closed session without announcing it beforehand and by giving direction to county staff in a closed session.

The board’s steps to release the statement continue “a pattern of arrogantly shutting the public out of county government,” Taylor said.

County Attorney J. Vaden Hunt could not be reached for comment.

Several supervisors, in response to recent public criticism that some county business is done behind closed doors, have said they support open government and would strive to discuss more topics out of closed session.

Issuing the statement was meant as a form of closure, according to several supervisors. They said they want the county to move forward.

“It’s time for this to be past us,” said Adams. “The county has lots of work … we have to get going.”

Kidd said all five board members agreed that a statement needed to be made and he did not know why the final version did not receive the support of all board members. It was a response to citizens seeking the board’s side of the story, he said.

“This is all there is to it, as far as I’m concerned,” Vandall said in reference to the statement.

Adams said that it if were not for a police investigation involving a county employee, the board would have made a statement sooner than it did. Vandall said he would rather take criticism for silence than for jeopardizing a police investigation, especially one involving a child.

“We took a lot of heat over it,” Vandall said of Taylor’s resignation. “If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change it.”

Here is the text of the supervisors’ Friday statement:

Statement approved by a majority of the Board of Supervisors regarding Rodney E. Taylor’s Resignation

To date, the Board of Supervisors of Amherst County, Virginia (the “Board”), has not provided information concerning Rodney E. Taylor’s (“Taylor”) resignation as County Administrator, because it did not want to compromise or negatively impact an ongoing police investigation. With the recent arrest of John J. Mulvey (“Mulvey”), Director of Economic Development, the Board is finally at liberty to discuss the factual circumstances surrounding Taylor’s resignation. Pursuant to Virginia Code § 15.2-406, Taylor worked at the Board’s pleasure. Accordingly, on April 23, 2009, the Board asked for and accepted, via a 5-0 vote, Taylor’s resignation due to insubordination involving the perceived mishandling of confidential information. Upon information and belief, contrary to earlier reports, in addition to Amherst Police Chief Kenneth Watts, Taylor made a statement to law enforcement personnel not directly involved with the investigation of Mulvey implicating a Board member in the disclosure of confidential information to Mulvey’s attorney.

The Board thanks Taylor for his three (3) years of dedicated service to Amherst County, and wishes him well in all his future endeavors. The Board remains dedicated to working diligently to improve the lives of the citizens of Amherst County, and looks forward to a bright and successful future.