“I can shout if I want; I can shout if I want.”  Stought says during heated Purcellville budget debate

By Valerie Cury

On May 12, the Purcellville Town Council passed its $31,779,808 budget in a 4–3 vote. Mayor Chris Bertaut, Vice Mayor Ben Nett, and Council Members Carol Luke and Susan Khalil voted in favor, while Council Members Erin Rayner, Kevin Wright, and Caleb Stought voted against.

Utility rates are set to increase by 16.5% for water service and 14.5% for wastewater service due to increased operating costs and capital improvement projects.

During the public comment portion of the April 28 Purcellville Town Council work session, several residents who regularly support Council Members Erin Rayner, Kevin Wright and Caleb Stought addressed the council, continuing a pattern of contentious exchanges that have characterized council meetings.

Paul McCray, who is running for Town Council in the November election, referenced the recent court decision in Vice Mayor Ben Nett’s recall case, in which Nett was not removed from office.

“I’m sorry the recent decision in court didn’t go how most people wanted,” McCray said. “But justice takes time.”

McCray also thanked Rayner, Wright and Stought for what he described as using the law and the town charter to oppose actions taken by the council majority.

Purcellville resident Justin Morrow told the council he missed his six-year-old son’s baseball game to attend the meeting. Morrow said he struggled to explain the town’s political conflicts to his son and criticized the council majority for what he described as a lack of accountability.

Morrow then said, “You all are guilty, but not accountable. We are not seeing justice tonight. The mayor can’t run a simple meeting without f—–g up a simple agenda. He added, “This is un-f—–g believable.”  

Former Council Member Joan Lehr also addressed the council during public comment, telling members of the council majority, “You are really done. You are not going to make it.”

Lehr’s remarks referenced the upcoming November elections and criticized the council majority associated with slow-growth policies and lower-tax priorities.

Lehr previously served on the Town Council and supported expanding the wastewater treatment facility to accommodate anticipated future growth. At the time, the facility was operating at approximately 40% capacity.

The wastewater treatment facility expansion contributed to approximately $60 million in long-term debt obligations. Those debt obligations continue to impact the town’s utility finances and contribute to current water and wastewater rate increases.

Interim Town Manager Tony Sabio discussed the three utility scenarios—E, F, and G—while Finance Director Liz Krens explained that utility rate increases under Scenario E would be 9% for both water and wastewater services.

In Sabio’s initial proposed Scenario F budget, the increases were 24% for water and 16% for wastewater. Scenario G proposed increasing the rates by 16.5% for water and 14.5% for wastewater.

Council Member Erin Rayner opposed eliminating the Deputy Police Chief position. She said the proposed 9% utility increases were insulting, adding, “Stop stealing from the General Fund to prop up the Enterprise Fund.”

Council Member Caleb Stought said the lowest proposed increase of 9% for both funds would move the town further away from structural balance. He also said he was not in favor of removing the Deputy Police Chief position.

Sabio said that any scenario would get the town to structural balance depending on which scenario the council chose. He said some approaches would achieve structural balance faster than others. “So, we can build out the rest all the way through to structural balance.”

Stought said delaying higher utility rate increases would require the town to draw on reserves longer. He said that if the council approved a large increase now—such as 60% —the town could reach structural balance sooner rather than over a period of years like “three or four years from now.”

“If you front load to get to structural balance there’s no draw on reserves. If you push it way out, there’s a lot of draw on reserves,” he said.

Council Member Susan Khalil said, “All of the assumptions are that we are not going to increase any revenue and I think we have great opportunities for doing that as far as grants and other areas.”

Khalil said she was leaning toward Scenario G and added that it was not far off from Scenario F. She said reaching structural balance this year would require major increases, “but I am very optimistic.”

She said after speaking with Sabio and staff that all efforts would focus on pursuing as much outside money as possible.

“So I say, don’t tax the people of Purcellville too much. We already pay Fireman’s Field tax, Purcellville Town tax, and we cover our police department,” Khalil said. “We are already paying so much. Let’s give some relief as far as the water rates are concerned.”

“We can address it year by year as long as Stantec [Town’s Utility Consultant] goes with it and it looks doable.”

Rayner said that utility fees are not a tax. “We are not taxing the people of Purcellville. We are charging appropriate amounts for the usage of the utility.” 

She said she was against transferring funds from the general fund to the utility fund “because it’s gonna hurt our bond rating and it’s just not right.”

The town does have a policy to transfer a portion of the town’s meals tax to the utility fund, and this practice has not been said to affect the town’s bond rating when done under existing policy parameters.

 According to previous statements from David Rose, senior vice president and manager of public finance at Davenport & Company LLC, such transfers do not negatively affect the town’s bond rating when conducted within established policy guidelines.

Council Member Kevin Wright said he wanted to “rip the band-aid off as quickly as possible” by implementing a 60% increase for FY 27, saying that “in future years the pain is not nearly as bad.” He said the town has $61 million in capital improvement projects. 

Wright said a larger increase now would reduce borrowing and allow the town to fund more projects in cash, potentially lowering long-term costs since loans are running at 4% to 5%.

Mayor Chris Bertaut said he was in favor of Scenario G which raises the rates by 16.5% for water and 14.5% for sewer.

He said he supported a phased approach to reaching structural balance over several years because “it’s a great deal of stress on our residents dealing with this.” Bertaut added that the phased approach would give the town time “to seek out grants to cut down on the possible capital improvement project costs.” 

Bertaut said the reason the town would take out loans “is there’s a time value to money and that’s why people take out mortgages on their houses. These are long-term investments that we are making as a town and funding them entirely up front really doesn’t make fiscal sense.”

Stought reiterated that raising rates by more than 50% now could save the town millions in long-term loan interest. He said the estimated $5.8 million in interest savings over 30 years could be applied to capital improvement projects.

He said that the County pays higher water rates than residents, and if you want the County to pay their fair share, increase water rates—and by not doing so—“You are allowing the County to get by scot-free by not paying us the revenue through the schools.”

Bertaut made a motion to draft an ordinance for the May 12 meeting based on Scenario G. This passed in a 4-3 vote—with Rayner saying, “You dismissed all of our concerns.”

Khalil said, “We have been at this budget for months now. We have all studied it. At the end of the day, we were voted in to do the people’s work. I have to approve a budget based on what I ran on.”

Yelling during the exchange, Stought accused the council majority of rushing Scenario G through the process and doing so for favors and “special interests.”

He further accused the council majority of “making decisions behind closed doors in secret and ram it down the citizens’ face.”

Bertaut jumped in and said, “And you were not elected to shout at a council meeting, sir.”

“I can shout if I want; I can shout if I want,” Stought replied.

Khalil said that the council minority had “not one suggestion for cutting anything.” She said the only answer the minority had given was “to raise rates to an astronomical level.

“We have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure the residents of this town and our businesses do not pay more than what they absolutely have to, and that’s what we are trying to do.”

Khalil said the council minority had done little more than make accusations and that was irresponsible.

At this point, Justin Morrow told her to “go f— yourself.” He also made an obscene gesture. Morrow then left the chamber before being escorted out, but not before telling the mayor, “Goodbye b—-.

Bertaut explained that people take out mortgages because they cannot afford to pay the full cost upfront and are willing to bear the interest over time. Addressing the current scenario of 30-year loans on $60 million, he said the interest could total about $5.8 million, but would be paid over 30 years.

Bertaut said the schools pay a lot less in water usage per unit of land area than our residents and businesses. 

Replying to Stought’s remarks about “ramming through a budget,” Bertaut said the 16.5% water increase and 14.5% wastewater increase “gets us to structural balance. It just doesn’t do it in one year, which I would consider to be a ram through as well.”

Rayner complained that certain council members met with the town manager and staff “in private” to discuss and ask questions about the budget. She called it “secret meetings and secret proposals.”

Sabio said some council members met with him and staff to discuss the budget, while others did not. “I’m not going to fault a council member for coming in. Everyone was invited.”

Rayner replied, “This should have been done here and not in secret.”

Vice Mayor Ben Nett then asked Sabio whether council members who met with him and staff during the budget process merely provided requested feedback and asked questions, or whether they attempted to “tell you what to do.”

Sabio responded that no council member had attempted to tell “him or staff what to do.”