The ongoing verbal battle between Hopewell City Council and residents over a $17,000 coucil retreat last year in Williamsburg took quite a nasty turn during the Feb. 10 council meeting, with speakers accusing city administration of lying about the need for the event and one of them telling the mayor to “keep your piehole shut.”
The tense exchange happened during the council meeting’s public-comment period. Traditionally during that period, residents get up and say their piece about a non-agenda topic while councilors remain quiet. At previous council meetings, residents have criticized the Williamsburg retreat as unnecessary for a financially strapped city such as Hopewell when it could have been held in Hopewell for far cheaper.
Rogers was appointed interim manager after last May’s firing of City Manager Concetta Manker, who has subsequently sued council for racial discrimination. Rogers was recommended for the post by the Robert Bobb Group, which had been contracted to help Hopewell reboot its fiscal management system, and is being paid $21,000 a month − a move that already had citizens inflamed.
‘Citizens can object to the retreat’
On Tuesday night, after a citizen got up to again criticize the retreat, Mayor Johnny Partin Jr. asked Rogers to offer his take on the issue…