The Shadow
Ten local residents have agreed to serve on a committee that will develop a governmental consolidation plan for Alleghany County and Covington.
The committee, which will be appointed after a hearing is held in Alleghany County Circuit Court, will be comprised of five representatives from Alleghany County and five from Covington.
The Alleghany County representatives will be Annette Comer, former Clifton Forge Mayor George Goode, Kevin Terrell, Bryan Thompson and Mike Warwick. Covington will be represented by Joe Carpenter, Harry B. Casey Jr., Pearl Miller, John Stone and Wes Walker.
Circuit Court Judge Malfourd W. Trumbo began working on the appointments after a petition was filed Oct. 26. The petition was filed by Roanoke attorney Sam Darby Jr., who represents citizens from Alleghany County and Covington who favor governmental consolidation.
The move to appoint the citizens committee came after Alleghany County Board of Supervisors and Covington City Council representatives spent almost a year negotiating a consolidation plan. The negotiations between the elected officials broke off Oct. 5 due to conflicting opinions over city and county government. The Alleghany County Board of Supervisors wanted to develop a plan for a consolidated county government, while Covington City Council favored a consolidated city.
Under Virginia law, negotiatins in a citizen-initiated consolidation process can be turned over to private citizens by the court if elected officials fail to reach an accord after one year. The consolidation process started when Alleghany County and Covington residents filed circuit court petitions in October 2008. The petitions contained signatures from 5 percent of registered voters in each locality.
Any consolidation plan must be approved by voters in Alleghany County and Covington in a referndum. A plan for a consolidated city must pass muster before a special three-judge panel and the Virginia Commission on Local Government before it goes to voters.
The names of citizens who have agreed to serve on the consolidation committee were released Friday in a letter from Judge Trumbo to Darby.
