Four say "NO" to term limits.....

Turns out four of the Supervisors feel that there is no need for BOS term limits for if their citizens want them replaced they will vote them out of office. We all know how well this works in Washington and by looking at some of the track history of some of our electeds in DC, we also know these guys get away with numerous acts but the incumbant always has the large advantage.

I hear Supervisors Beyeler, Karraffa, and Moore understand that we need citizens to stand up and serve their county but they should also not become entrenched in a long-term occupation where they focus more on re-election instead of doing what is right for the citizens.....

Think about the other four ....






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Bonus for the County Team....

The NewsVirginian has copy on the possible plan for the BOS to vote on paying out a bonus package to the County staff. Good to see a surplus and I believe in paying out incentives for those who keep expenses down and save the taxpayers money.

Lets see what happens with the term limit issue... 

Augusta County supervisors to consider bonuses for employees

By: Bob Stuart | News Virginian
Published: August 21, 2012 Updated: August 21, 2012 - 7:30 AM

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VERONA, Va. -- Augusta supervisors will discuss Wednesday night a bonus for county employees based on a surplus in the 2012 budget.

Supervisors are considering either a bonus based on a percentage of the employee’s pay, or one that pays $1,000 to full-time employees and $500 to part-timers.

During a Monday staff briefing, Augusta County Finance Director Jennifer Whetzel said that a $635,539 balance remained from the recent budget year, which ended June 30.

Middle River District Supervisor Larry Wills suggested the idea of a bonus as recent county budgets have not included pay increases for workers.

Wills also said that frugal spending by county employees led to the surplus.

Supervisor David Karaffa, who represents the Beverley Manor District, said he would prefer that the surplus funds go to help the county’s schools.

He noted the release of Standards of Learning scores last week, and the difficulty students had on some of the tests. County school administrators said that the scores were lower on a newly designed math test aimed at examining critical thinking.

“The fund balance would be better in the schools,” Karaffa said.

Board Chairman Tracy Pyles said he prefers a bonus for employees.

“Every department brought money back,” Pyles said of the tightened spending by the county’s government.

Also during Monday’s briefing, Karaffa said he would like his colleagues to consider adding term limits for supervisors to the county’s legislative agenda for 2013.

South River District Supervisor David Beyeler proposed a three-term limit for supervisors at a meeting two weeks ago.

But state legislation would be needed to allow Augusta County to impose the limits.

Such legislation previously has been approved by the General Assembly, notably when state Sen. Emmett Hanger sponsored a bill to extend the county’s reassessment time to include an option of every six years.

O.K., So how about term limits?....

It seems now we have Supervisor Beyeler bringing up the idea of term limits for the BOS so that no one member becomes "entrenched" in the position and almost impossible to replace. And this coming from one of the so called "Good old boy" members?.....

 

Beyeler wants term limits for supervisors

By Bob Stuart

Augusta County Supervisor David Beyeler told his colleagues this past week he wants term limits for county supervisors.

With too much power accumulating in long-tenured politicians, Beyeler said he supported a three-term limit after Wednesday’s meeting.

Term limits for politicians started in ancient Greece and Rome, and today 36 states limit the terms of their governors and 15 state legislatures have term limits.

Term limits have been debated at the federal level, but have only been set for the presidency.

The director of the Virginia Association of Counties, Jim Campbell, said he knows of no Virginia counties that impose term limits.

North River District Supervisor Marshall Pattie said term limits are not necessary because County supervisors are held accountable by voters.

“There are only 10,000 people in my district,’’ said Pattie, who answers telephone calls and emails from his constituents.

“They know us and see us at church,’’ he said. “The districts are divided nonpolitically. There is a lot of opportunity for someone to run a campaign without a lot of money and win.”

Beverley Manor Supervisor David Karaffa, who sees merit in Beyeler’s suggestion, said limiting terms may result in different types of representatives serving on the board.

“For a certain amount of time, a business person could serve. Maybe the next time a farmer would be allowed to represent,” he said. Or a retired police officer or firefighter could serve, he added.

Term limits “opens the opportunity for many people from many different walks of life to represent a district,” Karaffa said

Karaffa is married, a father and works at Augusta Health as an intensive care unit nurse. He said his predecessor, Jeremy Shifflett, brought a different perspective to the board.

“Beverley Manor benefited from having Jeremy on the board prior to me,” he said. He is a farmer. My history is in the health care field. I’m married and have children.”

A political expert weighs in

Local officials cannot hide in Richmond or Washington when they serve in the community they are elected in, said Quentin Kidd, a political science professor and chairman of the department of government at Christopher Newport University.

The losses from term limits are greater than the gains, Kidd said.

“You lose institutional history and know-how, which is very difficult to replace easily,’’ he said.

He said the importance of institutional history and know-how is not outweighed by the “potential for abuse from a retrenched office holder.”

But the impact of term limits is subject to debate and conflicting opinions, said Paul Wolf, who runs the Center for Reinventing Government in New York.

Pointing to the power of incumbency, Wolf said an incumbent has a high re-election probability because incumbents can raise more money than a challenger and have access to media.

An incumbent also has an advantage because he or she generally know more about the government than a challenger because incumbents are already in office, Wolf said.

It’s not clear whether supervisors, who will first tackle staggered terms at a public hearing Sept. 26, will consider acting on Beyeler’s suggestion.