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County scraps public information officer proposal
For the full story, see The Fauquier Times-Democrat
A proposal to create a county government spokesperson's job quickly turned into a public relations mess.Fauquier Supervisors Terry Nyhous (Center District), Ray Graham (Cedar Lee District) and Holder Trumbo (Marshall District) backed the idea because they believe residents need more information about county government.
But critics believe the move defied logic, given the board of supervisors' commitment to shrink county government during tough financial times.
Nyhous, Graham and Trumbo received a flurry of phone calls from taxpayers after an April 30 Times-Democrat article outlined their intentions for the part-time public information officer (PIO) position.
The three board members wanted to budget $40,000 for salary and benefits for the 20-hour per week position, plus $10,000 for operations.
Because of the fragile economy, money would remain tight for Fauquier during the next few years, the board of supervisors warned.
Nyhous, especially, made it clear during fiscal 2009 budget discussions that he believes Fauquier's costs must be reduced partly through layoffs.
Additionally, Nyhous and Graham, who head the county finance committee, soon plan to meet monthly with department heads to discuss ways to further cut government spending.In light of such circumstances, the notion of establishing a PIO job left many incredulous.
It "was creating a very poor impression, and we decided to shelve it," Nyhous admitted. "It was sending out a very conflicting message."
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