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Special Called Board of Supervisors Meeting (Wednesday, March 5, 2025)
Northumberland County, Virginia
Members present:
James M. Long, Richard F. Haynie, James W. Brann, Chip Williams, AC Fisher, Jr. Other Staff Present:
Mr. Luttrell Tadlock, County Administrator
Mr. Drew Basye, Assistant County Administrator
Ms. Morgan Wilson, Executive Assistant
Mr. Carl Hayden, IT Technician
Ms. Mary Dodson, Benefits and Bookkeeper Administrator
1. Opening of Meeting 6:30p.m.
Procedural: A. Call to Order
The special meeting was convened by Chairman Haynie and held at the
Northumberland Courthouse located at 220 Judicial Place, Heathsville, VA 22473.
2. County Administrator Items
Information: A. Corrective Action Plan
The full corrective action plans for the County, Treasurer, and the School can be accessed in board docs.
Chairman Haynie stated that the big question is when these items are corrected, are they going to stay corrected?
Supervisor Williams asked who would be responsible for monitoring the corrective actions to ensure that things are being corrected.
Chairman Haynie stated that is something the Board needs to decide today.
Vice Chairman Brann believes the one responsible for overseeing the corrective actions should be an outside source.
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Supervisor Long stated that there are enough retired individuals in the County that would do an excellent job. He would like to see the County reach out to the entire community about this opportunity and not just a small portion of it.
The Board stated that they need to identify their goals, when they expect them to be met, and what actions will be taken if they are not met.
Supervisor Fisher stated that he’d like to further discuss this with Mr. Tadlock to get his opinion on what qualifications the individual will need to have.
County Administrator Tadlock stated that he’s looked over the corrective action plan over the last several weeks and some aspects were going to be presented to the Board in closed meeting under personnel matters, however there are other aspects he offered to discuss now in open meeting if the Board would like him to do so.
The Board asked Mr. Tadlock to present the information to the Board.
County Administrator Tadlock stated that he’s talked to Mary Earhart who does a lot of the County’s pre-audit and from their discussions they gathered that there may be some benefit to having an accountant on staff. Mr. Tadlock presented an accountant manager position and went through the job description for the Board.
Supervisor Fisher asked Mr. Tadlock to clarify that this individual would have access to all the county budget and financial transactions.
Mr. Tadlock stated that they would have access to all County transactions and Social Services transactions, but they’d have to work with the school division. This individual would look into bridging the School and the County’s RDA systems.
Supervisor Long asked if this individual would have an assistant as there are a lot of job responsibilities. He also asked Mr. Tadlock if he’s checked with other counties who are in similar situations.
County Administrator Tadlock explained that the job description is similar to other job descriptions out there related to Directors of Finance or an Accountant Manager. There are some combined aspects, but this is still one position.
Supervisor Williams asked how much this position would benefit Ms. Dodson.
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Mr. Tadlock explained that this position is totally separate from the recommended position by the forensic auditors. The position that would benefit Ms. Dodson will be included in the FY26 budget request.
Supervisor Fisher asked if this would be a new hire or would it be a contracted individual. Mr. Tadlock stated that the way it is written right now is as a county employee. Supervisor Fisher believes that the workload is going to be a concern.
Chairman Haynie asked Mr. Tadlock if it would be better to hire an employee or to contract with an individual.
Mr. Tadlock stated that these options can be evaluated. He explained that the goal would ultimately be to reduce the County’s pre-audit cost. A challenge that the County could face is the contracted position potentially being performed virtually, which would take staff time away from several employees who would have to compile the data for the individual.
After further discussion, the Board decided to look back at the corrective action plans and come back to the next meeting with questions and decide if they are okay with how each department plans to make corrections.
The Board offered the public to comment at this time.
Mr. John Kost stated that Michigan had a similar issue when he worked there, and they had a group of analysts called the Senate Fiscal Agency who reported directly to the leadership of the Senate. He explained that they oversee what is happening in the government and report back to the legislative officials on whether it’s working and provide advice. Mr. Kost doesn’t believe the goal is to add more accountants to the government. The goal is to improve trust and accountability.
Dr. Pica agreed with Mr. Kost and doesn’t believe that adding another position to the payroll is the best solution. She stated that the Board of Supervisors needs to have authority over who is in the position, whether it be a contracted position on a supplement employee on a temporary basis, if they want the issues to be corrected. Dr. Pica recommended the Board crowdsource the corrective action plans as the County has a lot of bright people who may want to comment on it. Mr. Maurice Johnson stated that this will have an impact on employees’ policies & procedures, and it needs to be incorporated into their job descriptions so that it gets done and can be used as an evaluation of employees.
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Dr. Dave Curran, School Board member, stated that there are typically seven steps to a corrective action plan. These steps include:
1. Define the problem
2. Establish the scope of the problem
3. Take containment action
4. Find the root cause of the problem
5. Develop a plan
6. Implement the plan
7. Follow up to ensure it does not happen
Dr. Curran stated that the individual who is going to be put into this position must have the autonomy to enforce it across the board.
Ms. Lynn Stuart agreed with Mr. Kost, Dr. Pica and Dr. Curran that it’s important for the individual to have autonomy and to report directly to the Board of Supervisors. Chairman Haynie asked if there was anything else that the Board would like to discuss before convening into closed meeting.
Supervisor Fisher commented on the unfinished County audit and stated that the citizens need better.
County Administrator Tadlock stated that the County is currently requesting proposals for the audit and pre-audit.
The Board asked where the RFP is advertised.
Mr. Tadlock stated that the County advertised it on the state site and on the County’s webpage. Mrs. Betty Christopher introduced the Assistant Superintendent, Dr. Karen Leslie, to the Board of Supervisors.
Dr. Wargo explained that they’ve had different finance teams over the last five years and currently have an interim Finance Director, but hopefully with Mrs. Wither’s leadership, they can get to the bottom of the discrepancies. Dr. Wargo stated that she takes full ownership as Superintendent, and will strive to do better to get things fixed as soon as possible.
3. Items Related to Closed Meeting
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Action, Information: A. Convene into Closed Meeting
Motion to Action: A. Convene into Closed Meeting: Convene into closed meeting as permitted by Virginia Code Section 2.2-3711 (A)(1); 1. Discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment; assignment, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body; and evaluation of performance of departments or schools of public institutions of higher education where such evaluation will necessarily involve discussion of the performance of specific individuals. Any teacher shall be permitted to be present during a closed meeting in which there is a discussion or consideration of a disciplinary matter that involves the teacher and some student and the student involved in the matter is present, provided the teacher makes a written request to be present to the presiding officer of the appropriate board. Nothing in this subdivision, however, shall be construed to authorize a closed meeting by a local governing body or an elected school board to discuss compensation matters that affect the membership of such body or board collectively.
Motion by: AC Fisher, Jr., second by: Chip Williams.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: James M. Long, Richard F. Haynie, James W. Brann, Chip Williams, AC Fisher, Jr. Action, Information: B. Reconvene into Open Meeting
Motion to reconvene into open session.
Motion by: James W. Brann, second by: AC Fisher, Jr.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: James M. Long, Richard F. Haynie, James W. Brann, Chip Williams, AC Fisher, Jr. Action, Information: C. Certification of Closed Meeting
Motion that the Northumberland Board of Supervisors return to Public Meeting and certify by roll call vote that only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed or considered during the closed meeting. The vote on the motion was passed by a roll call vote as follows:
Aye: Richard F. Haynie, AC Fisher, Jr., James M. Long, James W. Brann, Charles H. Williams
Motion by: James W. Brann, second by: AC Fisher, Jr.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: James M. Long, Richard F. Haynie, James W. Brann, Chip Williams, AC Fisher, Jr.
4. Closing of Meeting
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Supervisor Long asked how the County could encourage citizens to keep the County clean from litter.
Supervisor Fisher stated that the school system could help educate the students on this issue. Action: A. Adjournment
Motion to adjourn.
Motion by: James W. Brann, second by: Chip Williams.
Final Resolution: Motion Carried
Aye: James M. Long, Richard F. Haynie, James W. Brann, Chip Williams, AC Fisher, Jr.