While the Mineral Town Council meeting to discuss the budget on May 18 initially had five of its six council members present, the number eventually dwindled to just two council members and the mayor over the course of an hour.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mayor Pam Harlowe — who is currently filling the role of town manager duties in the absence of former Town Manager Nicole Washington after the council voted to terminate the town’s contract with her in January — outlined the biggest issue at hand was finding $125,000 to fund a new town well.

But conversation shifted toward the proposed town manager salary. In May, council discussed that 21 individuals have submitted applicants for the position and that they will likely pursue hiring someone for the position after the town budget has been approved in June. Council member Afton Von Tye, who is on the town’s personnel committee, shared that a rough salary is $55,000-$60,000 depending on the applicant’s experience. Washington’s salary, according to govsalaries.com, was $90,000 plus benefits in 2024.

Reasons for the proposed salary, Harlowe cited, include population of the town, the town budget, and average salaries/wages for government offices of a similar size. She also noted the position could be part-time, but at least one council member disagreed.

“I believe this town is not functioning well with part-time managers,” council member Michelle Covert said. “It wasn’t until we got somebody who was full-time that we could start making progress. I’d hate to see us go backwards.”

Covert also had “significant concern” with $100,000 in “professional services (attorney)” in the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) recommended line item.

In March, the council emerged from closed session with a motion to pay out the rest of Washington’s contract. Council members Covert, Bob Spedden, Rebecca “Becky” McGehee voted “yes”, while council members Von Tye, David Hempstead, and Bernice Kube voted “no.” Harlowe cast the final vote to not pay out Washington’s contract. Council members Covert and McGehee vocalized their opposition, with McGehee stating that it was “ridiculous” to pay an attorney up to $100,000 when they could pay out Washington’s contract for “much less.” Frustration over this vote by the divided council lingered to the May 18 budget meeting. “Right now, I have no idea what the attorney fees are going to cost us, but I think it should be $50,000 instead of the $25,000,” Harlowe said. While $100,000 is listed in the FY27 recommended line item for “professional services (attorney),” only $25,000 is set aside in the treasurer’s recommendation.

McGehee argued for paying out Washington’s contract.

“If [Washington] takes it to court and she wins, we’re going to be paying $100,000 for that lawyer and we’re going to be paying $100,000 for her and her lawyer and we’re going to end up paying $200,000,” McGehee speculated.

McGehee and Harlowe disagreed on which direction constituted the best direction for the town. Hempstead later stated that McGehee and Covert are working under an assumption that the town will be spending $100,000 on an attorney; he added that is not justified as no formal contract has been written.

Discussion shifted toward town salaries, with McGehee concerned about DMV employees. According to the FY26 projected year end total for the Town of Mineral draft budget, the DMV select revenue is $349,309.13, which is 40% of the FY26 projected year end revenue in the general fund.

It would be “a tragedy,” McGehee said, if the town chooses to cut DMV salaries, citing a letter that was not included in the agenda packet allegedly from DMV employees. Covert said that staff, as the town’s greatest asset, need to be protected and that the town has a “terrible reputation” of keeping good employees, citing that the DMV is a major source of revenue to which Harlowe agreed.

In a follow-up interview with The Central Virginian, Harlowe said that reduction in salaries for DMV staff have never been considered. However, Harlowe reiterated that the two positions that may have a salary reduction are the town clerk and the town treasurer.

“It has no bearing on the people’s performance or their ability,” Harlowe said. “For a small town of 500 people with a budget like we have, we shouldn’t be paying the clerk and the treasurer the rates that we are paying them — it has nothing to do with their performance.”

During the meeting, Harlowe mentioned that the treasurer and clerk for the town are currently making close to what the town is offering to the town manager ($55,000 – $60,000). The two positions have a combined salary of $122,127.17 according to page nine of the agenda packet. Covert asked if Harlowe was suggesting to lower their pay; Harlowe responded that the council has to make decisions on how to come up with money before the budget is approved in June to put money in for a well.

“Our staff rates are way above a town that has the population and the budget that we have,” Harlowe said.

With $50,000 deducted from estimates for an attorney and $28,000 left over from not paying the town manager salary due to Harlowe taking over the role, Harlowe said now the council has to only find $44,000; the town could also save another $30,000 by reducing the town manager’s rate from $90,000 to $60,000, Harlowe said, which would also include a $2,000 reduction in payroll tax. Harlowe stated that with $110,000 cut in the budget, council only has to find $15,000 more by June to get to the $125,000 goal for a balanced budget and money set aside for a new well. Harlowe also noted maintenance salaries for two individuals that she believed to be too high; she advocated that the salaries should be hourly, especially in the winter months.

“We have to be responsible for the money that is being spent,” Harlowe said.

For the first 43 minutes of the meeting, the council was relatively amicable with their disagreements. But when Hempstead and Covert were debating salary comparisons, Hempstead said that since Covert “calls [herself] a doctor,” she could do her own research; he then pulled out a sheet of paper that allegedly had requirements from the State of Virginia to be called a Doctor of Psychology, prompting an uproar from council.

Harlowe told Covert they are supposed to be discussing the budget; Covert responded that Hempstead is the one not discussing the budget and that he is a bully. McGehee called Harlowe a problem for not controlling the meeting. While Covert protested, Harlowe asked Covert to leave the meeting if she couldn’t be quiet.

Both Covert and McGehee left the meeting. “If you want to get up and leave during a meeting, nothing will ever get accomplished,” Harlowe said.

Town Clerk Teri Burns asked if the town had a quorum since the two left. Harlowe responded that three members is a quorum — but the meeting attendance didn’t stay that way for long. Council member Bob Spedden left 16 minutes later. While it was unclear why he left, Spedden shared in a follow-up interview a general frustration with the behavior of Harlowe and Hempstead.

This meant that only two council members, Von Tye and Hempstead, and the mayor were left while the meeting continued for another 15 minutes. Council member Bernice Kube was not present for the meeting.

In a follow-up interview, Harlowe said that she did not stop the meeting because there doesn’t have to be a quorum to discuss budget items and that the council wasn’t taking a vote on any of their discussions that evening. Megan Rhyne, the executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, stated that there was not a FOIA violation by the council in this incident, but advised the council should check their town bylaws to make sure they were in compliance with their operational procedures. It is unclear in the Mineral Town Charter what constitutes a quorum for a special budget meeting.

During one of the town’s first budget meetings this year, Harlowe said that council agreed to not consider cost of living adjustment (COLA) this year. But on page 9 of the agenda packet, a scale is shown with wages for town staff with and without a 2% COLA, which Harlowe said the treasurer added.

A decision has to be made by council, Harlowe said, and council could pursue a 2% COLA for staff, but she contrasted that with looking out for the town citizens and the benefit of funding a new well, which she said the town is “desperate” for.

Harlowe said the town’s goal is to have a public hearing for the budget on June 8. If they vote, there will likely be three council members for and three council members against the budget, Harlowe said, reflecting previous partisan voting lines.

“These are issues in 33 years that I have never dealt with — people and the politics that they are generating,” Harlowe said, adding that it is unlikely she will be running to continue in the mayoral position. “It’s unbelievable.”