Our view: Walking out on citizens

Imagining the scene at last week’s Saltville Town Council meeting, you could almost hear Johnny Paycheck singing in the background announcing to the world, “You better not try to stand in my way as I’m walking out the door. Take this job and shove it. I ain’t working here no more.”
The 1970s’ song typically just fuels the fantasies of millions of working people who at one time or another have the urge to walk out the door. Thinking rationally, though, most people resist the desire. They understand the consequences. Last Tuesday night, while the council was in the middle of a closed session, four of its members, including the mayor, disregarded the outcome and apparently gave into anger and frustration and walked out.
The remaining three councilmen were left in the unenviable position of having their hands tied from a legal perspective. Without a majority present, they couldn’t end the closed session, much less adjourn the council’s regular public meeting. In relative terms, the legal quagmire isn’t a huge deal. The council can take the necessary votes next week when it reconvenes.
However, the embarrassment to the town and the questions the hot-tempered walkout raise about the council’s professional conduct is a big deal.
Undeniably, elected public service ratchets up anyone’s stress level. In this case, the stress is compounded by the contentious nature between the four longer-serving councilmen who walked out and the three newly elected members, who believe voters charged them with more diligent oversight of the town.
Nonetheless, it is inexcusable for elected leaders to walk out of a public meeting in essence turning their backs on the town and the constituents who put them in office.
For months now, the Saltville Town Council has been under intensifying scrutiny for possible violations of Virginia’s Freedom of Information laws. Simultaneously, a growing number of citizens have begun questioning policies that make it appear that cronyism is at work in the town.
True or not, the council walkout gave more credence to those accusations.
Saturday, the Museum of the Middle Appalachians in Saltville dedicated a new research library that is linked with Emory & Henry College. In the media and on the street, publicity about council actions marred the news of that positive advancement, as has happened to so many other good developments in Saltville.
That’s a shame.
Walking out on any job has consequences. In the private sector, termination would likely follow such a move. By the nature of elected service, the Saltville Town Council members will get another chance. We hope they use it judiciously. They would be wise to begin by apologizing to their constituents and promising never to walk out on them again.