Consolidation discussion: still closed

By Allison Brophy Champion

Published: July 1, 2008

Two months after the last private meeting on consolidation, Town Council meets again tonight in closed session to talk about an issue many voters named as their number one concern in the May Town Council election.

Last year, Culpeper businessman Joe Daniel, owner of Culpeper Wood Preservers and Jefferson Homebuilders, initiated the process to consolidate the town and county of Culpeper into a new Culpeper County, doing away with the town as it exists today.

Daniel, a longtime Culpeper resident and philanthropist for who Germanna’s Daniel Center for Technology is named, started his “One Government” movement because he felt the town was not cooperating with the county in the provision of water.

Citing Sec. 15.2-3531 of the Virginia Code and after amassing nearly 1,000 signatures from town voters in support of “One Government,” Daniel delivered notice to the town and county in January that the two bodies had one year to format and agree on a consolidation plan.

The town quickly took the lead on the plan, hiring Richmond attorney Carter Glass IV, considered an expert in such matters, at a rate of up to $342 an hour.

In May, Town Council named former Police Chief Dan Boring “consolidation manager” to lead the town through the complicated consolidation process.

In March, the town made public a 13-page report by Glass titled, “Town of Culpeper/County of Culpeper: Mandatory & Op-tional Terms of a Consolidation Agreement for a County Form of Government.”

Options for the plan, as listed by Glass, could include renaming the existing town of Culpeper the shire of Culpeper.

Another option, as included in his report, would be the creation of “special debt districts” in which residents of the former town, for example, would be specially taxed to pay off old debt not incurred by the rest of the county.

The consolidation plan could also include the formation of “special tax districts” wherein residents “within the area of the present town boundaries” would pay more property taxes than the rest of the county in exchange for existing services — municipal water and sewer, trash pickup, streets, sidewalks, etc. — or “a higher level of services,” Glass wrote.

Of course, under the new county form of government, town taxes,such as the meals tax, would go away.

In addition, the new county board would make all the taxing decisions and Town Council would be abolished.

Further, “a higher level of law enforcement services would have to be provided by the County Sheriff,“ to the shire “unless the County established a police department,” Glass wrote in his report.

But would the county be eligible for more state funding for the expanded department? And would current personnel in the Town Police Department be in danger of being out of work?

These are questions Town Council must deal with in the consolidation plan, under discussion at tonight’s meeting in Town Hall.

But since the March report, scant public details have emerged regarding a progress report on the consolidation plan.

Once the plan is finished, it will go before all town and county residents for a vote; the date of that referendum has yet to be determined.

At least one Town Councilman is opposed to the closed session approach.

“I have said all along that the town should provide total transparency on the consolidation plan and encourage citizen input and questions,” said Town Councilman Steve Jenkins Tuesday.

“Certainly, I will vote against the closed session discussion.”

It is unclear if the town will issue any public statement about the consolidation plan after tonight’s meeting.

Acting Town Manager Tom Huggard, in an e-mail Tuesday, said that decision would be up to Town Council.

Town Councilman Chip Coleman said he would “push for” the town to release a statement.

Other Town Council members did not respond to an e-mail request Tuesday morning for further public information on the process.

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or

Culpeper Town Council meets tonight at 7 p.m. in Town Hall for a special meeting.

Open session items will include the presentation of election certificates to newly elected officials, including former vice mayor Bobby Ryan, who served on council from 1994 to 2002, before being re-elected in May. He starts his new term today.

Mayor Pranas Rimeikis will also finalize council committee assignments in open session and the year’s vice mayor will be appointed by vote of council.

Closed session items will include an update on the consolidation plan