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Follow us on TwitterOfficials still waiting on attorney general in Rodney Taylor probe
Several months after authorizing an investigation into a matter that led former County Administrator Rodney Taylor to resign, Amherst supervisors are still awaiting a response from the Attorney General of Virginia for legal assistance.
County Attorney J. Vaden Hunt told supervisors last week that an assistant within the office informed him by phone that a written response would soon be forthcoming. Hunt said a specific date wasn’t given but indicated it would come in “weeks rather than months.”
The involvement of the attorney general’s office is the county’s last option for a probe without using taxpayer money to hire a private investigator. The commonwealth’s attorney in Amherst and state police declined to get involved. Hunt did not conduct his own investigation to avoid appearance of a conflict of interest.
Taylor resigned in late April after he was accused of implicating a supervisor in leaking confidential information to a local attorney. The alleged leak involved a former county employee who was under criminal investigation.
Supervisors denied divulging the information and released a statement saying Taylor was “insubordinate,” though not all five supervisors consented to a final version of the statement. At least two supervisors had performance-related concerns with Taylor before the incident.
Taylor, who served three years as administrator, insisted he acted appropriately with law enforcement personnel and was not treated fairly when he was asked to resign.
Supervisors voted in early June to authorize a probe into the leak but it has yet to produce results. Hunt has said the leak “may or may not have given rise to an obstruction of justice criminal act.”
Some citizens have personally demanded that the county continue to investigate while others, including some supervisors, have said that taxpayer money should not be used to proceed further.
Meanwhile, supervisors went into closed session last week to discuss hiring a new county administrator and took no action after convening a regular meeting. As of press time the county has yet to hire Taylor’s replacement.
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to next meet Sept. 15 at the Amherst Education Center at 219 Trojan Lane in Madison Heights.
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Reader Reactions
—“As of press time the county has yet to hire Taylor’s replacement.“—
Just how hard up for work would a person have to be to want to babysit this crew? After the mess they made with the last one to have the job? They should interview for a “Nanny”.
We have been saying for months that the act of leaking this information was “OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE” and this is the first time I have seen that in an article about this matter. The criminal that leaked (commented the Obstruction of Justice) should be charged and tried in a court of law and removed from the board of supervisors. They know very well who leaked the information and they just don’t want to take action against one of the GOOD OLE BOYS. All of them will have to answer when their term is up and they want to be re-elected. I don’t think we the citizens of Amherst will forget this any time soon. I am sure the council members wish we would forget. The members need to understand that most citizens want the criminal removed from the board and ask that they think of Amherst first and put the “SOB” out. Kick him to the crub where he belongs. If you don’t have the BackBone to do something as simple as that then you shouldn’t be in the position you are in.
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