Anzivino quits as interim town manager

By Valerie Cury

At Purcellville Town Council’s Tuesday, April 11 meeting, Interim Town Manager John Anzivino abruptly quit.  Anzivino had been slated to serve as interim town manager for three months, through the end of May. He expressed frustration over a council member motion to lower a proposed staff raise, through the fiscal year FY 24 budget, to two percent from five percent. He said he was not given advance notice of the motion.

The Town Council for three weeks has been conducting a line-item review of the entire proposed FY24 budget. They have met for two days each week, reviewing each department’s budget requests. To optimize the efficiency of the review, Mayor Stan Milan recommended that Council Members come to meetings starting the week of April 10, prepared to propose any suggested amendments to the budget.

The matter of staff pay raises is under scrutiny by Council because the majority recently elected pledged to pay down the Town’s debt. Some Council Members expressed concern about implementing five percent across the board staff raises during a time when Purcellville citizens are paying more for their own costs of living.

Council Member Boo Bennett compared the situation to a family scrutinizing its budget to identify overspending and deciding to cut discretionary spending during an uncertain economic time. Noting this was her first time venturing into the public sector, Bennett said she would use an example many in the room would likely relate to: “So when inflation is high, and maybe somebody loses their job or whatever happens in the family – we are not going on vacation this year … It’s one year and we do what we need to do. You don’t hopefully get a divorce. Your kids hopefully don’t walk out the door and never come back – or speak to you again. It’s life, in my little world.”

Council member Carol Luke noted that while raises are important, they should not be guaranteed because they may not be possible every year in every economic situation. Other council members described their own pay increase expectations, comparing this with the proposed town staff increases. Council member Erin Rayner was vocal in her objection to the motion, indicating that staff must receive their proposed increase. 

Anzivino added that the Town of Warrenton gave their staff a 10 percent increase in the most recent budget cycle. However, the Town of Warrenton has not yet approved their budget, but plans to do so in June. In comparing their salaries with other localities their size, they decided to propose the 10 percent increase to keep up with the salaries of other Towns their size.

The Town of Leesburg approved a 3 percent cost of living allowance (COLA) increase and an up to five percent increase based on the annual performance evaluation process.

Anzivino has voiced approval during the budget process of Purcellville’s staff salaries, including the proposed five percent increase. He had advocated for the increase, noting that among other reasons, the Purcellville community is “affluent.”

He objected to the pay increase motion because he said no one notified him before the meeting that the matter would be under discussion in that particular meeting, and he was not prepared. He stated that he had never seen anything like this situation – meaning a motion to lower the proposed staff raises – in his 40 years of municipal service. To be clear, the motion sought to lower the proposed rate increase but not eliminate it. 

Vice Mayor Chris Bertaut said that the Council was “about half way through the Town Manager’s budget meetings. As members of this Town Council our obligation is to the citizens of this Town …with our new outsourced legal agreement, we’ll be saving the taxpayers more than $100,000 annually.”

Council Member Boo Bennett made an agenda amendment to add two budget action items at the beginning of the meeting. At that point Anzivino had not commented on her amendment. 

At the time of the motion, including the ensuing discussion, Bennett made a motion to amend the FY 2024 budget increases for the Cost-of-Living Adjustments from 5 to 2 percent. Council Member Mary Jane Williams immediately responded that she supported the five percent increase.

Council Member Carol Luke said she “understood where Boo is coming from. I would love to be handing out money but we have citizens here that every time we go to them, they are worried about what they are paying for water … Maybe some of us have raises all the time, but a lot of us don’t and I think that impacts the citizens of our Town.” Luke said she supports a two percent COLA.

“If I remember, said Council Member Ron Rise Jr., inflation was 8 percent this past year. I have always done public sector work and I always hated raises because I knew they were never coming, so it’s tough.”  He said he supported the five percent COLA.

Council Member Erin Rayner said a five percent increase “is the least we can do for a staff that works incredibly hard.” She said, “I think it’s kinda insulting to give them two percent, especially with inflation being 8 percent.”

“This is a tough call,” said Vice Mayor Chris Bertaut. “We’ve had some unexpectedly high inflation this past year, but I’d also like to note that we’re now with respect to our employees’ pay at equity compared to other Towns.”  He said the Council is looking at ways to enhance pay for Town employees, including through COLA increases but that he is in favor of reducing the proposal for this year.

Mayor Milan echoed that he felt the same way.  He said he thought that two percent was reasonable in the current economic climate.  He went on to say, “There are citizens in Town that have…,” but was interrupted by a Town citizen seated in the audience.  The citizen, David Milam, raised his voice, interjecting, “In what universe?”

Mayor Milan responded, “It’s the universe we are living in … But the citizens of Purcellville have been suffering the same amount of pain we all have …”

At this point David Milam, began pumping his fist in a threatening manner and mouthing “Boo” several times.  At one point he appeared ready to jump out of his seat.

Mayor Milan consequently asked Purcellville Police Chief Cynthia McAlister to “escort him out of here please.”  McAlister looked down at her lap and did not respond to Mayor Milan. David Milam called out, “I’ll leave on my own!” and slammed the chamber door behind him.

Mayor Milan asked Chief McAlister why she failed to respond to his request. She said, “Every person has the right to freedom of speech.” She said the resident was not unruly and that he simply “did something with his hand one time.”

Council Member Bennett acknowledged that “It’s quite something to sit up here and watch someone at the back of the room, and I see various smirks … but to have somebody literally shaking their fist at me …We are human beings, and we have to adjust.”

Mayor Milan, returning to the discussion at hand said, “We’re looking at an increase in water, sewer, and also the pay for performance. It’s a lot of budget constraints. We are looking at increasing the staff population – we cannot keep on giving raises and hiring more people … we have to do what’s necessary to make the budget reasonable.”

Anzivino stated that, “This is a community that does a lot with very little. It is an affluent community … and I recognize the Council’s right to set the rates of employees on a cost-of-living basis … but I think it’s the wrong thing to do.”

“It’s a surprise this evening,” he said, referring to the fact that this meeting wasn’t a budget meeting.

“You reduced the budget,” said Anzivino, “by $100,000 by economizing in legal services. You’ve reduced the tax rate and saved $90,000 and there probably are more reductions to be had in the budget. But I will honestly tell you that working under this arrangement where surprises come up in the middle of a council meeting is unusual. It is unusual; it’s not something I’m willing to continue with.”

Mayor Milan said Council have gone over the budget for the past three weeks and “we’ve asked questions about where the numbers are … based on a five percent increase and four percent pay for performance. So the budget as it stands already includes the five percent pay raise.”

Vice Mayor Bertaut said “there’s never a good time to give the Town Council the opportunity to actually meaningfully shape the budget and thereby represent the people …There’s never anything on the agenda about changing the budget in any way, shape or form.”

“We as a Town Council cannot again be forced to choose between either accepting or rejecting a budget in its totality at the end of the budgeting season, and just before it has to go in operation.”

Mayor Milan asked, “When will we be able to lighten the burden on the citizens as they get ready to pay their taxes, and water bills?”

Bennett said, “At the last meeting it was stated if there were any budget amendments, to bring them up, so I thought that was the process,” and she said Anzivino was in the room. She had asked, “when are we going to make suggestions and not have to pull an all nighter?”

Anzivino returned the discussion to dissolving his commitment to serve Purcellville, stating, “I am here because I want to be here. I came because I know you needed help …I am ready to go … I just think it’s time for me to go …I just don’t want to be here anymore.”

The Town Manager’s FY24 proposed budget is $28,195,082 which is an increase of 18.2 percent over last year. The proposed Utility Rate increase is 6.5 percent water and 9 percent wastewater.

The week of April 6 foreshadowed a challenging week ahead for Mayor Stan Milan.

A Loudoun newspaper displayed an editorial cartoon in their April 6 edition, portraying him – along with Vice Mayor Chris Bertaut – at a dais along with the Town seal of Purcellville, with a noose in the seal. 

The cartoon focused only on these two elected officials, indicating they make unilateral decisions. In fact, the cartoon’s seeming reference to the termination of the former Town Manager David Mekarski’s contract fails to acknowledge that a unanimous 7-0 council vote in a public meeting made that decision. Former Purcellville Planning Director Don Dooley, also named in the cartoon, volunteered his resignation before a newly elected Mayor Milan was even sworn into office. 

Dooley is the person caught on a hot mic, speaking for an hour and twenty minutes to a local developer and telling him, “Whatever you want, I’ll make it happen.”

Supervisor Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) proudly displayed the cartoon on his Facebook page, commenting that he wasn’t the only one “baffled by the lack of responsible decision making by Mayor Milan and his majority.”  He later removed the cartoon and apologized to Milan for posting it, saying he didn’t notice the “despicable” image.

Buffington has consistently supported pro-growth candidates in the Town of Purcellville elections.