Did Purcellville really pay $12K for a six-page organizational assessment report?

By Lloyd Harting

In March of 2025, the Town of Purcellville awarded a $12,000 service contract to perform a comprehensive organizational assessment of the Purcellville Police Department. What the town received instead was a six-page report, and one of those pages was the consultant’s biography.

This so-called “organizational assessment” was performed by Major Consulting and Design, LLC, a Virginia-based consulting firm that was competitively awarded the contract. The town’s Request for Quotes sought an experienced consultant, preferably a former police chief, to evaluate the department’s structure, staffing, operations, and overall efficiency. The town expected to receive a professional, data-driven report that could guide improvements in public safety and resource management.

But what was delivered was far from that.

There was no data analysis. No benchmarking. No methodology explaining how recommendations were developed. No discussion of call volume, officer workload, or community needs. In fact, there’s no indication the contractor made any serious effort to determine what an “ideal” police department for Purcellville should look like—either in structure, staffing or funding.

Furthermore, it appears that not all Town Council members or police department employees were interviewed. So what input drove this report? And more importantly, what exactly did the town pay for?

One of the most glaring omissions is that the report does not mention the Purcellville Police Department’s longstanding accreditation by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC)—a mark of professionalism the department has maintained since 2009. Any legitimate organizational assessment should have addressed that fact.

Instead, the report reads more like a “climate survey” than a serious analytical review. But that’s not what the contract called for. The Purcellville Town Council did not authorize payment of $12,000 for anecdotal, subjective impressions and a consultant’s professional resume.

No one disputes the value of reviewing and improving local government services. Conducting an organizational assessment can be a responsible and forward-thinking move when it’s done well. But this certainly was not a professional product.

The Town of Purcellville paid for a serious, professional evaluation. What it received was a short, superficial report that falls below true professional standards. Six pages—only five with actual content—isn’t an assessment. It’s an embarrassment.

When public money is spent, town residents have every right to expect results that reflect expert analysis, real effort, and clear value. That didn’t happen here. So it’s fair to ask, ‘Did this report even meet the scope of work that the town paid for?’ 

The Town of Purcellville deserved to receive a professional assessment, which is not what was delivered. Therefore the Purcellville Town Council should examine whether $12,000 of the Town of Purcellville taxpayers’ money was properly spent to obtain an organizational assessment report of such dubious quality and usefulness.

Lloyd Harting is a resident of Purcellville and a retired U.S. Government contracting professional.