Vice Mayor Darlene Kirk needed less than half an hour to sprint through the agenda for the March 13 regular monthly meeting of the Middleburg Town Council. Presiding in the absence of vacationing Mayor Betsy Davis and Council Member Eura Lewis, Kirk pressed from Pledge of Allegiance to closing gavel in 29 minutes, in the process approving three sets of minutes, accepting seven written and oral staff reports, and approving a resolution honoring the 150th anniversary of Middleburg United Methodist Church.

Reforms are Working

Key to Council's ability to move swiftly through its agenda and still get its work done are reforms introduced by the Council and Town Administrator Jerry Schiro, soon after he and Mayor Davis took office. Just emerging from a half-decade-long struggle over the Salamander Inn, and faced by what appeared to be massive budget deficits and oversight problems, Council abolished a cumbersome multi-committee structure, and began to meet in regular work sessions as a "committee of the whole." The new process involved every member of Council in key oversight and decision-making activities formerly reserved for members of special committees. According to Town Administrator Jerry Schiro, the reforms also "... saved time formerly spent by committee chairmen briefing the Council as a whole, eliminated double and triple debates of the same issues, and, with a working quorum present at 'work sessions' allowed Council to accelerate decisions that, in the past, could only be made at its regular once-monthly meetings." "It took courage for Mayor Davis and the Council to make such a radical change in procedures," Schiro noted, "but, so far, the changes seem to be working just the way we all hoped they would."

Candidates for May Election

Critical to the success of the Council's new procedures are not only effective professional staff, but Council members willing and able to put in the time required for effective governance. Betsy Davis will run without opposition for a second term as Mayor. Four candidates will compete for three open Council seats: two current council members Bundles Murdock and Trowbridge Littleton; Sally Bolton, and Kathy Jo Shea.

Budget, Planning, and Taxes

Council is now actively engaged in completing the Town Budget for fiscal year 2008-2009 and, for the first time, developing a long-term plan for capital investment. Year-to-date revenues remain strong, and expenses on target. Meal and Occupancy tax receipts for the year total $160,500, up 28%. Cash on hand in the town's "sweep" and checking accounts totaled $1,798,401. No increases in real-estate tax rates are anticipated for next year, though Middleburg tax payers will face slightly higher payments. Despite declining real estate values nationally, in the state, and in the county as a whole, Middleburg's combined residential and commercial real estate assessments actually went up some 2.6%. Possible increases in cigarette taxes and water rates have been discussed.

Water and Sewer Issues

The Loudoun County Sanitation Authority has been coordinating the "flushing" of the town's water lines with Town Administrator Jerry Schiro. The procedure, scheduled for 10:00 PM to Midnight, is designed to wash away built-up deposits of minerals in the town's pipes, stemming naturally from iron and magnesium in the town's water supply. Though unsightly, the "brown" water is closely monitored and contains no dangerous bacteria. A new multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art waste-water treatment plant will be built for Middleburg in conjunction with the development of the Salamander Inn. At its work session on February 28, the town at last passed a much debated ordinance requiring connection with the Town's water supply system and prohibiting private wells.

Vultures

At least a dozen letters landed on Town Administrator Jerry Schiro's desk in March, voicing opposition to Middleburg's late-February plans for driving flocks of ill-behaved vultures away from the town's water tanks and residential areas. The plan called for hanging the carcasses of dead vultures in sensitive areas to drive off the larger flocks.

After consultation with state and federal wildlife and conservation authorities, the town received a permit to kill up to 200 of the birds. Opponents of the plan were outraged. They were "... disappointed that the leadership ... of Middleburg would kill a vulture and hang it in effigy ...." They cited the undeniable ecological value of the birds as scavengers. They decried the impression sight of vulture carcasses would make on "young impressionable minds." They noted that there was "no hard evidence that excrement from vultures has ever caused a human illness."

They threatened that "if one vulture is killed" they would "not be able to spend another cent in Middleburg" or bring an out-of-town visitor to the village. They suggested keeping other dead animals out of town, noting that "If the vultures don't have anything to eat ... they will move on." Middleburg Police Chief Steve Webber noted that his men had no desire whatsoever to kill and hang a bird, and would do so only upon expert advice and as an absolute last resort to protect the town's citizens and water supply. Town Administrator Jerry Schiro, hoping to avoid being forced into shooting anything, looked into purchasing an artificial vulture or two, and found several online. One, he noted, seemed to be smiling. At press time the only dead vulture in Middleburg had been hit by a car; and the flocks, like last month's starlings, appear to have moved on.