Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 24, 1994 TAG: 9403240088
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The board evaluated County Administrator Betty Thomas and County Attorney Roy Thorpe behind closed doors on Feb. 28, March 14 and March 16.
"We're going to make some recommendations to the individuals . . . [about] some things we'd like corrected," Chairman Larry Linkous said. "Better communications and simple things like that."
There's "always things that can be improved upon," Linkous said. But overall, "We're real pleased with the two employees."
One board member recently criticized Thomas' preparation of the 1994-95 budget proposal, in a rare public critique of her work. It is unclear if the budget was an issue in the evaluations.
The board excluded the reviews from the public as personnel matters, an exemption allowed under the state's open-meeting law.
Other supervisors have declined to discuss the specifics of the reviews. Linkous, who as chairman acts as the board's spokesman, said the privacy allowed for candid discussions.
The supervisors conducted abbreviated personnel reviews of Thomas and Thorpe two years ago, but haven't conducted a "real, true evaluation" since 1991, Linkous said.
Thomas issued a written statement Wednesday. The evaluation process "proved to be a positive one, not only for the individuals involved but for the county as a whole," Thomas wrote. "Managing a county of this size presents numerous challenges. I was pleased with the results and the process afforded an excellent opportunity to define goals for the future."
Thorpe, too, called the experience a positive one. "I look forward to this being done on an annual basis," he said. "It's a good opportunity for me to talk with the board about how to better serve the Board of Supervisors and county government."
The reviews took place amid unusual security precautions.
Each time, the supervisors moved from their regular third-floor meeting room to an isolated jury room on the fourth floor of the county courthouse.
Linkous said that the security was "probably unprecedented."
"I wanted to be in a real private place where other county employees could not listen in," he said.
The regular meeting room on the third floor abuts the assistant county administrator's office.
The first session, which Supervisor Ira Long missed due to illness, lasted from 9:45 p.m. until 1 a.m.
Though there has been no major public criticism of Thomas' or Thorpe's overall job performances, at least one supervisor recently criticized the lack of specific recommendations on how to handle a $2 million deficit in next year's county budget.
Thomas presented a 1994-95 budget proposal to the board last month that included a $2.8 million shortfall. She did not recommend specific budget cuts or tax increases to balance the budget.
Instead, in her Feb. 14 budget message she essentially blamed the shortfall on a large requested increase in school funding and noted that the deficit was equal to an increase of 14.2 cents on the real estate tax rate. School officials disagree that their budget is responsible for the deficit.
In the last month, the Board of Supervisors identified revised revenue estimates and minor spending cuts that would reduce the tax increase to 8 cents on the real estate rate and 25 cents on the personal property rate. It could approve those increases next week.
But the lack of guidance from the county's chief executive left three-year Supervisor Joe Gorman frustrated at a March 15 budget meeting. "I feel a little helpless because we have not had a recommendation as to what to do with our budget," he said. "I would hope [the] staff would offer a solution."
Supervisor Ira Long, a 10-year board member, defended Thomas. "I think we do have a recommendation from Betty," he said.
Thomas said the county administrator has never made a recommendation on the School Board budget. "We've just never done that," she said.
Thomas is a 22-year county employee who began working as assistant administrator. The supervisors appointed Thomas to the administrator's post in 1981; she is paid $67,236 a year. In 1991 she married Richard M. Yearwood, a former chairman of the Board of Supervisors who served on the board from 1980 to 1983.
Thorpe, a Rockville, N.Y., native, has been county attorney since 1984. He was city attorney, a three-year assistant prosecutor and in private practice during 12 years in Bedford before coming to Montgomery County. He is paid $62,481 a year.
by CNB