For years the Town of Middleburg has noticed a significant difference between the number of gallons of water pumped from its wells, and the number of gallons paid for by its citizens. Of the roughly 44 million gallons of water pumped last year only about 19 million showed up on the Town's water bills. Nearly 25 million gallons thus "disappeared," much to the chagrin of the Town's ratepayers, Town Council members, and administrators.

At the April 11 Middleburg Town Council work session, after several weeks of work with Town Administrator Martha Semmes and staff, Russ Horner and Ken Jacquay, of Alexandria-based Water Management, Inc. (WMI) presented their preliminary thoughts on the matter, as well as suggestions for what Semmes termed, "a public/private partnership that may benefit the Town"

Leaks, Bad Meters, Free Water

According to WMI co-founder Horner, there were three prime suspects in the case of the missing water: meters, leaky pipes, or someone receiving water for which they were not being billed.

Jacquay said he believed "a high percentage" of missing water wasn't missing at all, but was "lost" only in the sense that many of the town's roughly 460 water meters were not recording correctly "because they were old."

Replacing the meters, he noted, might well clear up the mystery of the missing water, but could also produce extremely high water bills for some users, especially those whose actual but unrecorded water use was disproportionately high.

Normally, WMI is paid by end-users to help them save money on their water bills. In Middleburg's case, the company is suggesting a reverse variant.

Middleburg, the company suggests, could pay WMI a capped percentage of a projected "profit" the town could earn on its water operations by improving efficiency, reducing waste and accurately billing its customers for the water they use. A formal proposal will be forthcoming.

Firehouse Improvement Stalled

Paul Draisey, Treasurer of the Middleburg Volunteer Fire Department, reported that work on expanding and improving his organization's headquarters on the western edge of town had been halted due to unexpected increases in the estimated cost of the project.

"Several weeks ago," he reminded Council, "the County accepted bids to renovate and expand the Fire Department's building based on a budget of some $3.1 million. The lowest bid the County received, however, was some $800,000 higher."

As a result, he said, the County has sent their engineers and architects "back to the drawing board."

It's possible, Draisey continued, that $800,000 could be reallocated by the County from an unnamed project that had been funded, but was "nowhere near ready for construction." County Board of Supervisor approval of such a plan could get the Middleburg project back on track as early as May.

Tax Revenues

In Virginia, when new cost or revenue estimates alter a town's budget more than one percent, public notice is required before the budget is changed.

As a result of very conservative revenue estimates by former Town Administrator Jerry Schiro, Middleburg now finds itself compelled to increase its estimated real estate tax revenue for fiscal year 2011, by $25,000. The money will, for the moment, be allocated to the town's "contingency fund," originally budgeted at $100,000.

One possible use for the money was discussed at the Council's March 24 work session: employee raises. Vice Mayor Kirk noted that it would cost the Town $20,000 to grant a three percent pay raise, and that she favored such a move.

Middleburg Museum Committee Appointed

Council appointed former Town Council Member Eura H. Lewis, Veronica Bonfanti, Mary Kay Garwood, Christina Schinner, and Punkin Lee to its new Middleburg Museum Committee. Vice Mayor Darlene Kirk will serve as the Town Council's representative and Economic Development Manager Cindy Pearson will attend ex-officio. The committee is tentatively scheduled to meet the first Wednesday of each month.

Volunteers Recognized

Council presented Lynne Galbreath with a formal Resolution of Appreciation for her five years of service on the town's Historic District Review Committee.

When Councilmember Trowbridge Littleton told Galbreath that she was already missed on the committee, Mayor Davis observed that it was volunteers like Ms. Galbreath who made the Town so special.

Noting that the entire town of Middleburg had been recognized as VisitLoudoun's "Tourism Volunteer of the Year," the Mayor then congratulated six other honored "volunteers:" George Lengauer of Seven Loaves (Distinguished Service Award); Marvin Simms, (Home Town Star Award); Robin Cavanagh, of Duchessa (Humanitarian Award); Emily Tabaka of the Goodstone Inn (Partner of the Year Award); and the Mosby Heritage Area Association's Childs Burden, for the annual Conference on the Art of Command of the Civil War( Tourism Award for Attendance up to 3,000 people) and Kristine Paliasani (nominated for her work as Chair of the Annual Summer Sidewalk Sale.)

Middleburg Library Expansion

Following a unanimous resolution of support from the Middleburg Town Council, the Loudoun County Public Library Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution of support for the efforts of the Middleburg Library Advisory Board to raise private funds to roughly double the size of the Middleburg library. The Board also formally requested that the County Library staff work with the County Attorney and other appropriate parties to draw up a formal memorandum of understanding to facilitate the design and construction.

Police Affairs

Town Administrator Semmes reported that, as of April 14, the Town had received thirteen applications for the position of Chief of Police. The position will become vacant officially on June 28.

Three of the applicants, she said, were former Chiefs of Police; three were current Deputy Chiefs; and nearly all had at least some management experience.

Filling in for absent Chief Webber, Police Officer Mike Prince said the Department's activity numbers "were down for the month." Reporting that "all was quiet," Prince attributed the decline in total activity by the force to a combination of weather and being a man short. Prince and two other officers also spoke during the Council's April 14 "public comment" session, reassuring Council that Middleburg was safe and in good hands while Webber prepared for his retirement, and praising Webber for his hard work, leadership and support of his officers during his years of service. Webber, he said, "has done a fine job enforcing the law" and has been effective, fair and courteous.

Officer Owen Heine said that Chief Webber had been a "lead from the front supervisor"; and, noted that he often would show up to assist on traffic stops, arrests and other crimes in progress.

Mayor Davis also read a letter from Doctor Richard C. Falkenstein thanking Webber for his service and wishing him well in his retirement.

New Rules

Since the announcement of Chief Webber's retirement, members of the Town Council and Staff have been engaged in an ambitious review of many of the town's rules, regulations policies and procedures, many of them related to the Police Department.

Recruitment and Employment Policies

Town Administrator Martha Semmes formally confirmed that "the Town Charter, Town Code and Employee Handbook" all contained ambiguous or contradictory provisions related to the position of Chief of Police position, "including references to hiring and supervision."

"Nothing," she said, "was clear."

"The Police Department's own rules and procedures," she noted, "also contained a job description that contradicted the Town Code."

Suggesting the "there was an opportunity to clarify this matter as the Town was getting a new Police Chief," Semmes expressed her hope that changes be made official before a new Chief starts work.

Hiring, Firing and the Chain of Command

Given "the need to start the recruitment process" for a new Chief, Semmes provided Council with "a cross section of the hiring and supervisory policies of other towns."

After extended discussion Council decided to retain its authority to hire and fire any new Chief of Police, but to delegate the day-to-day supervision of the Chief to the Town Administrator.

Asked whether or not the Council needed to appoint an Interim or Acting Chief, Semmes replied that she thought an Acting Chief was needed if a new Chief has not been hired by June 28.

Personnel Procedures

Vice Mayor Kirk, in her role as head of the Town's Personnel & Finance Committee, reported that she had talked to Town Attorney Liz Whiting and given her a list of "personnel related items" she thought needed to be addressed.