Outgoing Town Manager spoke about frustration in his interview with Roanoke Times reporter Lerone Graham.
Lance Terpenny specifically mentions the source of his frustration as being citizens (not the first or last attack against his perceived antagonists). Probably the same citizens who weren't beneficiaries of an open door policy, or possibly including some who spoke to their elected officials instead (perceived as going over his head?) or who had the audacity to attend public meetings (once these dates were finally in compliance with FOIA laws).
One definition of "frustrate" is to prevent from achieving a goal or gratifying a desire. This could imply that goals and desires of administration may no longer have been aligned with voters. And voters were showing frustration since 2000 while the town continued to increase in population (adding more annoying citizens and voters). It would certainly be expected goals and desires of elected officials and administration differed from time to time, and this is documented in more split votes with a now record number requiring the Mayor to cast the deciding ballot. And no matter what, making a decision that pleases everyone all the time is near impossible.
Frustration still rules. This is seen in the public outcry over Council asking for the resignation from an employee who had already interviewed for another local job, while also doling out a bonus (over and above routine pay outs for employees who chose to leave for personal reasons). But no one will find any severance terms on the town's web site, as the Employee Handbook or any agreements on the year-to-year at-will employment between Council and Terpenny are absent. Even though this is public information.
So this gift was deemed offensive and possibly illegal by some taxpayers -- including those outside of Christiansburg's boundaries -- especially since it was given when Council had been wrestling with a $2.2 million dollar deficit and increased meals taxes again (making eating a luxury in Christiansburg).
This public frustration can be seen on several social networking sites and in response to Dan Casey's column (focus on the comments that don't address his typing skills) or today's Roanoke Times editorial about golden parachutes on the public's dime.
Some folks in Floyd are getting nervous, too. Why weren't citizens involved in the hiring process, and maybe this all began sooner than they were told (the last Floyd Town Manager attended a Christiansburg Council meeting a few months ago)? Since Floyd is flush with cash yet raised taxes anyway, will this be where the extra dollars go?
While there appears to be plenty of frustration to go around, there's probably better words to explain this mess. Regardless, from citizen perspectives it wasn't personal. It was political, with Christiansburg still needing to get serious about its Comprehensive Plan, having a legal and current Town Code and Charter, with responsive elected officials and administrators. And a balanced budget.