FOIA Friday: Former Virginia Beach staffer’s spending investigated

File cabinets. (Getty)

One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealth’s leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in practice take the opposite stance, acting as if records are by default private and the public must prove they should be handled otherwise.

In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small — and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating. 

Virginia Beach’s former economic development director is under investigation for spending roughly $47,000 of city money in his first year on the job.

Though he resigned this past July, records show that Charles Rigney took trips to Brazil, Italy, Germany, Spain, New York and Las Vegas. It’s unclear what triggered the investigation, 13 News Now reported, but emails it obtained show that Virginia Beach’s finance department and city manager staff called a meeting in July to discuss missing receipts and a set of expense reports from one of Rigney’s trips. 

The emails also included discussion of a $329  bill — $200 of which was spent on alcohol — at an amphitheater where Rigney said he was trying to convince a Norfolk-based company to move to Virginia Beach. 

With an audit underway, Virginia Beach officials declined the station’s request for comment.

Richmond Inspector General Jim Osuna said that city attorneys advised him to stop investigating tax issues in the city’s finance department — a claim the city attorney’s office refutes. 

Osuna had been probing allegations that the finance department had failed to alert business owners they were due refunds or credits on tax overpayments. He told city council mid-July at a meeting that he had “put a pause” on his investigation due to legal advice that he wasn’t “authorized to look at it,” the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. 

Council, which both city attorneys and the inspector general report to, gave the Times-Dispatch different answers about the probe. 4th District Councilor Kristen Nye confirmed that Osuna had been conducting an investigation, but did not clarify if he’d discussed being told to stop. Meanwhile, 8th District Councilor Reva Trammell claimed that Osuna had relayed that information to her. 

While back and forth has played out over Osuna’s inquiry, Richmond is allowed to hold onto overpayments for the time being. 

State law outlines that the city is not at fault for withholding extra funds, but that taxpayers have three years to claim a refund. 

The city of Winchester might change how it conducts public comment during its city council meetings, the Winchester Star reported. 

Currently, speakers are allotted three minutes to speak but there is little other guidance or restrictions. 

The policy review follows a series of protests that played out during public comment at  council meetings this summer. Opponents of Israel’s war with Hamas pressed the council to adopt a resolution that would condemn the conflict and call for a ceasefire. Councilors declined to pass such a resolution; public comment periods then became flooded with protesters talking about the resolution in lieu of other matters before the local council at its meetings. Insults had also been lobbed at members, Winchester Star reported. 

Though the protesters have not returned to recent council meetings to bring the matter up again, the local legislative body may still explore adjustments to how public comment is conducted. It’s unclear what that could look like, as free speech is protected by the U.S. Constitution, though guidance on avoiding verbal attacks or using profanity could be advised. 

The council unanimously voted for their city attorney to draft a document she can present to the council at a future meeting. 

Have you experienced local or state officials denying or delaying your FOIA request? Tell us about it: info@virginiamercury.com