The Shadow
Dear Editor,
I am writing as a concerned and confused citizen of Clifton Forge.
At its Dec. 10, 2019, council meeting, council accepted Town Manager Darlene Burcham’s letter stating she was not seeking a renewal of her contract.
Her letter which was read at the meeting, stated: “… I said I am not interested in staying unless the council got its act together. Let me be absolutely clear so that your announcement does not misrepresent me or my position. I do not want my contract extended. I will fulfill the current contractual obligation until June 30th unless council wants to terminate it early. And I hope that you will respect and support the next town manager more than you have me and stay true to the charter under which the town should operate.”
A majority of three Council members, Jeff Irvine, Bob Umstead and Pam Marshall, did not support an extension of her contract and Ms. Burcham’s resignation was accepted. These council members failed to give any credible reason for not supporting Ms. Burcham.
Mr. Umstead has commented that she makes too much money, but the recent advertisement for the new town manager belies that assertion.
At the council work session ostensibly for council to decide on criteria for a new town manager, including salary, council repeatedly and constantly relied on Ms. Burcham to explain to them what they needed in a town manager, how to advertise, experience necessary, etc. etc.
At that work session, council finally agreed on a salary offering of $90,000 to $105,000. (Ms. Burcham’s current salary of $109,171 is in the low end of the range for Virginia towns the size of Clifton Forge!)
And in addition, for approximately the past two years, she has been filling in for the director of public works and during two separate periods for the community development director, because the town has not been able to find qualified candidates for those two positions in the salary range offered.
In the Saturday, Jan 18, 2020, Virginian Review, there was an advertisement for a new town manager for Clifton Forge. The job requirements are listed as: “seeking a local government professional” with “at least 5 years’ experience in planning and executing the daily responsibilities of municipal operations, including water and sewer, highway maintenance, public safety, community development, finance and library. A bachelor’s degree as well as grant writing experience is required.Salary is commensurate with experience, ranging from $90,000 to $105,000.”
I must ask why Council is doing this? Ms. Burcham has more than 30 years’ experience in all of the requirements in the advertisement. Indeed, she has personally written, applied for and received grants for the town of Clifton Forge totaling more than $9 million! She has every single qualification council claims to want, she knows this town well and has worked 24/7 for Clifton Forge since the day she arrived in May 2010.
Ms. Burcham has deep experience in local government and is well-respected by both state and national government officials. Why in the world would council want to pay some person with as little as 5 years’ experience up to $105,000 when they can keep Darlene Burcham for an extra $4,171?
And just in case there is any doubt that we cannot afford Ms. Burcham, keep in mind that this town has been affording her for 10 years, and real property and personal property taxes have not been raised even once in all that time!
Moreover, Ms. Burcham currently has projects under contract that are crucial to Clifton Forge. Those projects would likely have taken her only another year to complete. At that time, she could have helped with input into who would be replacing her.
Council should be ashamed and should politely and sincerely offer Ms. Burcham their full support and request that she reconsider her resignation.
Sincerely,
Johnette Roberts, Clifton Forge
