Council rescinds December appointment to Planning Commission and more

By Valerie Cury

On Jan. 8, the new Purcellville Town Council voted 4-3 to rescind the Dec. 10 decision regarding Committees, Commissions, and Boards. In December, then Vice Mayor Erin Rayner, and Council Members Kevin Wright, Mary Jane Williams, and Caleb Stought had voted to appoint then-Mayor Stan Milan—who had just lost his reelection bid—to the Planning Commission. The issue, however, was that the Planning Commission seat at the time was not vacant; it was occupied by then-Council Member Chris Bertaut. 

Mayor Chris Bertaut, along with Vice Mayor Ben Nett, who had been appointed as Vice Mayor, and Council Members Carol Luke and Susan Khalil voted to rescind Milan’s appointment, citing legal concerns. Council Members Erin Rayner, Kevin Wright and Caleb Stought voted against the motion.

The controversy surrounding the December appointment traces back to earlier decisions made by the previous Town Council. In August 2024, the majority of the council voted not to renew the terms of three long-serving Planning Commissioners who were known for their commitment to slow growth and adherence to the Town’s 2030 Comprehensive Plan. As a result, the December vote to appoint Milan was seen as an attempt to align the Planning Commission with a more pro-growth agenda—before the newly elected council could make its own appointments.

Mayor Bertaut addressed the legal implications, stating, “It is not lawful for a town council to appoint an individual to a Committee, Commission or Board in advance of a vacancy in that Committee, Commission or Board.”

Town Attorney John Cafferky further clarified that there are three court cases and an Attorney General opinion from 1980. “The court has said that you can’t make essentially prospective appointments,” said Cafferky.

“In this case it was something that wasn’t going to start until Jan. 1 and essentially the AG position in these two cases say that’s the job of the next council,” he said.

Cafferky said Milan wouldn’t have started right away on the Planning Commission as the appointment made on Dec. 10 wouldn’t have commenced until Jan. 1. “The idea was Milan would have gone into a position that would have become vacant on Jan. 1.”

Rayner asked, “You are saying they [the new majority on Town Council] can resend Mr. Milan’s appointment to the Planning Commission, correct? Cafferky confirmed, “That’s correct.” 

She also asked if the council had to rescind other appointments they made in December. “No because the other appointments were for vacant seats, and Milan was appointed to a seat which was not vacant,” responded Cafferky.

Stought disagreed, arguing that the motion indicated the vacancy “was at the time of the motion—even though the seat didn’t become vacant until Jan. 1. Stought noted the motion followed an Oct. 22 2024 majority Town Council decision to replace the council liaison role with a new voting member. “To my mind it would indicate there was a vacancy at the time even though the term didn’t start until Jan. 1,” he said.

However, Cafferky reiterated that the law prohibits filling a position before it becomes vacant. The Attorney General’s opinion and relevant case law “is saying you can’t fill the position prospectively,” he said.

Nett subsequently made the motion that the Stan Milan appointment to the Planning Commission be vacated on the grounds that his appointment was made in violation of the AG opinion. The motion was seconded by Khalil.

When asked how he would vote, Stought initially replied, “Get back to me.” In the final vote, Stought joined Rayner and Wright in opposing the motion.

In another 4-3 vote, the Town Council restored voting rights to one of its members appointed to the Planning Commission. Mayor Chris Bertaut, who has served on the Planning Commission for the past two years, will continue in his role, as the council voted to retain his position with a 4-3 decision, with Rayner, Wright and Stought voting no.

Bertaut explained that the Town Council has consistently taken an active interest in the Planning Commission, as it has always been a priority for the Council to stay informed about this important committee. He emphasized that a full member of the Town Council has always been knowledgeable about the Planning Commission’s activities. He also noted the significant learning curve that new members of the commission often face.

Meals Tax

The majority of the Town Council voted to establish a policy allocating up to 50 % of the meals tax revenue to the utility fund, as needed. Bertaut, Nett, Luke, and Khalil supported the policy, while Rayner, Wright, and Stought opposed it.

Rayner questioned how the Town Council could make up taking out $1.6 million out of the General Fund asking, “What are you going to do to replace that?” 

Stought said, “Town Staff has recommended against this.” 

In response Khalil explained, “You all voted on double digit rate increases. This meals tax is not due to go into effect until the next budget. So there’s a lot of budget items that are going to be looked at. There’s no way we would jeopardize the services of the Town by taking out [over] $1 million from the General Fund to help our residents with our water bills. 

“Our aim is to get rid of these double-digit rate increases and this is a good way to do it. The longer we push this down the road, the more hemorrhaging continues to happen, and we have to stop this hemorrhaging,” said Khalil.

Nett said during his campaign he met with the Director of Finance Liz Krens to discuss the issue stating, “I believe our current path of planning double digit utility increases is unsustainable for families and again, I am going to fulfill my promises.”

Luke emphasized the need to address the financial burden on residents, saying the decision to raise utility rates was made with little hesitation. “So we can say whatever we want, but what we are trying to do is make this manageable for the people who live here.” Luke said there is left over meals tax and the Town puts it in reserves— “We need to put it to work.”

Bertaut said Council needs to take “every opportunity that we can to find these savings opportunities in order to offset up to 50 % of the annual meals tax revenue by the Town. We owe it to the citizens of this Town to make this effort.

Grants

In another 4-3 vote Bertaut, Nett, Luke and Khalil voted to direct the Interim Town Manager to research options for improvement of the grants process. Rayner, Wright and Stought voted present.

Bertaut said the Town process for obtaining and processing grants needs some improvement, and we’d like to see some suggestion from the Interim Town Manager as to how we can better track and process grant applications in order to maximize the flow of money into the Town from non-tax and non-user fee revenue sources.”

Khalil said to task the Interim Town Manager to research options for improvements in the grant process “can only help the process right now.” She said grants are important to the Town’s finances. “To task that person with evaluation and improvement recommendations is not out of line”—and needs to be done immediately to secure those grants, she said.

Luke said that having a Town Manager “right at the beginning to focus on getting grants” would be very positive for the Town.