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Vote against administrator splits Amherst board

By Justin Faulconer

Published: June 17, 2008

Amherst County supervisors are divided over the performance of County Administrator Rodney Taylor, according to a vote taken earlier this month.

Supervisors Don Kidd and Chris Adams, the two newest members of the five-member board, supported a vote of no confidence in Taylor, according to minutes from a June 2 session.

Supervisors Leon Parrish, Ray Vandall and Vernon Wood voted against it.

Kidd and Adams said because much of the discussion about this matter was done in a closed session, neither would comment and deferred questions to Wood, the board’s chairman.

Wood said the Board of Supervisors was not considering actions to remove Taylor. He would not comment further.

Taylor, an Amherst native and former county supervisor, was hired in April 2006.

He said the vote surprised him but he remains passionate and dedicated to his position.

“It’s not unusual for there to be issues between board members and staff,” Taylor said. “My focus is working with the entire board to achieve visions and goals they have set for the county and am confident that by working together we will do so.”

Taylor was a business owner in Lynchburg prior to taking the Amherst post. He then resigned from the county’s Democratic committee.

“I am specifically not involved in any political activities,” he said.

A county administrator can be removed at the pleasure of the board, the Code of Virginia states.

James Campbell, executive director of the Virginia Association of Counties, said a vote of no confidence is not a decision to remove an administrator, but rather an expression of dissatisfaction in job performance.

Vandall said the motion by Kidd caught him by surprise.

He said Taylor has not engaged in anything illegal or unethical.

“I don’t think the vote would have been as it was if there was any wrongdoing,” Vandall said.

Kidd and Adams are each in the first year of their terms.

It’s not uncommon whenever new supervisors are elected for a board to reexamine structure and personnel matters, Campbell said, though it’s most of the time done in private.

Vandall said he remains confident in Taylor’s performance.

“If I had no confidence,” he said, “I wouldn’t have voted the way I did.”

Reader Reactions

Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on June 21, 2008 at 12:31 pm

maybe the board members know things we the public are unaware of. I have seen a lot of tax payer money spent on newly created county positions since Rodney became Administrator. Also our homes have been reassessed above what we can sell them for and in a time of housing market crash to pay for an increased county budget. Not only are our homes assessed beyond market value but the tax rate also was increased. I would be interested in hearing WHAT MONEY RODNEY HAS SAVED OUR COUNTY, Local Observer?

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Posted by ( localobserver ) on June 20, 2008 at 4:15 pm

I can honestly say that Rodney Taylor is one of the most ethical and honest young men that I know. The News Advance did him a terrible disservice in the shallow reporting of an incident that most surely has more background than the reporter chose to dig up. His innovations have saved Amherst County substantial amounts of money and the County is a dynamic and growing entity. As to the reader commentary and charges of nepotism; Who is related to whom? Check the definitions of big words if you are going to use them.

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Posted by ( ProudtobefromAmherst ) on June 18, 2008 at 10:35 pm

I am truly sadden by this news article. Since becoming County Administrator, Rodney Taylor has devoted himself to taking actions for the improvement of the County and its residents. Rodney’s daily actions demonstrate his committment to continuing to make the County flourish. I am sure most of you reading this article can think of many ways in which things have changed for the better since Rodney became the Administrator. I am disappointed that the new Board members are calling into question his competency to perform his job in the best interests of the people. What the article above is lacking are the explicit reasons why the two new Board members would propose a vote of “No Confidence.” Could it be that the new Board members are casting such a vote without just cause and simply judging Rodney based on their own personal bias?
As there are sure to be more articles on this topic, I encourage each of you to think long and hard about passing judgement - it is easy to judge when you are looking in from the outside and don’t have facts.

Continue to place your trust in Rodney as your Administrator and your advocate. He is the best person for the job and will continue to work hard to live up to your expectations.

And to Rodney, I thank you for your hard work and dedication.

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Posted by ( Get Right ) on June 18, 2008 at 11:00 am

Nepotism is Nepotism! Get a clue! You must be married to the lil guy!

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Posted by ( hogtown gal ) on June 18, 2008 at 10:20 am

Rodney is a nice person however I have noticed since his becoming County Administrator a huge increase in high paying newly created positions in our County. Also our property taxes went up plus we were reassessed by about 50%. With many new businesses added to our County’s tax income and many new people moving into our County and paying taxes, we should not have a tax increase. Also all county employees received a big salary increase this past year where many taxpayers are retired people and on fixed incomes while other working taxpayers got no raises or less than the cost of living increases due to the poor economy.
Rodney now has an Assistant and the not needed position of Gary Roakes and his Assistant seem more like Public Relations positions as he is always quoted in the media. We got along fine for years without these positions and I don’t think we really need them now when people are having a hard time putting food on their tables and our country is in a recession. Our Country also includes Amherst County. This vote of “no confidence” has nothing to do with politics except the 2 supervisors voting NO are Republicans and I know at least 1 voting yes is a Democratic.

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Posted by ( Morning Glory ) on June 18, 2008 at 9:38 am

It isn’t nepotism if the best person for the job was chosen!

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Posted by ( real deal ) on June 18, 2008 at 8:07 am

He may not be involved in politics....but how about NEPOTISM?

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