Rolfe fired

After a special-called evening meeting on a county government holiday adjourned, county supervisors emerged from closed session and voted 3 to 2 to terminate Orange County Administrator Bill Rolfe’s employment with the county-effective immediately. None of the supervisors chose to discuss the issue after voting, and the tone of the Gordon Building meeting room was that of a war room following an executive decision to launch a nuclear attack.
District 1 Supervisor Mark Johnson, District 2 Supervisor Zack Burkett, voted in favor of District 4 Supervisor Teri Pace’s motion to terminate Rolfe’s employment; District 3 Supervisor Teel Goodwin and Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lee Frame cast the dissenting votes. Both men’s disapproval with the board’s action created a palpable tension.
The action came soon after Rolfe sent an e-mail to supervisors on June 15 which made a recommendation to locate a proposed Walmart supercenter on an alternative site. Johnson said the June 15 e-mail brought about the board’s decision to terminate Rolfe, but additional, unspecified issues were a factor.
Walmart planners announced plans to build on a Route 3 site owned by JDC Ventures last year, and have already submitted site plans and filed a special use application for development of that parcel. Additionally, the Orange County Planning Commission has already held a public hearing, several meetings, and recommended supervisors approve the special use permit for development at the JDC Ventures site.
Johnson said Rolfe sent an e-mail to supervisors endorsing the location of a Walmart on Route 3 property owned by Chip King, rather than on the nearby site, owned by JDC Ventures.
Rolfe’s June 15 e-mail was sent not only to supervisors, but to Kenny Dotson, a representative of King. In the message, Rolfe suggested locating commercial development on the King property would result in a “win-win” for the county.
Johnson said he considered the “substance” of Rolfe’s e-mail “highly dubious,“ and additional concern came from Rolfe’s inclusion of Dotson among the messages recipients but not members of the planning commission. Further, according to Johnson, it was curious that Rolfe recommended only the King/Dotson tract as a more suitable location for development and no other property.
Johnson said Rolfe’s “win-win” proposal for preservationists, developers and county economy with a King/Dotson-Orange County partnership didn’t add up: the same potential traffic concerns, proximity to Wilderness Battlefield area, and the very existence of a supercenter in the county are present on the King/Dotson property, just as they are on the JDC Ventures site.
But it wasn’t just the recent e-mail that brought supervisors to this point, Johnson said.
“The Walmart e-mail is not the only reason, or even the primary reason,“ Johnson said. Additional issues, including those involving county personnel had been brought to supervisors’ attention during Rolfe’s tenure, he explained. 
Burkett, too, said Rolfe’s June 15 e-mail was the final straw, not necessarily the precipitating factor in the board’s decision to fire Rolfe. Overall, Burkett said “issues” eroded the majority of the board’s measure of Rolfe’s trustworthiness.
“One of the big questions was ‘Where was his loyalty in the way he handled that e-mail?’“ Burkett said.
Supervisors had harbored concerns about Rolfe’s performance for a while, Burkett said, and after one review of Rolfe’s performance back in January, supervisors had scheduled a follow-up job performance review for July.
“There had been a number of issues that had built up,“ Burkett said. The issues, he continued, were “little things,“ but for Burkett, a harsh spotlight was cast on Rolfe when it became clear that Dotson had been on the receiving end of the “win-win” Walmart e-mail, not to mention what could be interpreted as questionable timing of the message.
“It was imprudent for [Rolfe] to send out that e-mail at that time,“ Burkett said, when the discussion over Walmart has been the center of discussion-certainly locally, if not nationally-for more than a year.
Burkett said last week’s Free Lance-Star front page interview in which Rolfe “had basically gone public” combined with Rolfe’s choice of the e-mail’s recipients “brought into question both motive and judgment.“
But that doesn’t mean it was an easy decision, Burkett said.
“I regret it. I like Bill,“ Burkett added. And although he said Rolfe contributed a great deal to Orange County, Burkett said supervisors’ trust in Rolfe had been irreparably compromised.
“The entire board has to have confidence in the county administrator,“ Burkett said. “The majority of the board felt like we had lost confidence in [Rolfe].“
Frame said he thought firing Rolfe at this time could prove to be a critical error for a county facing serious issues and decisions in the near future.
It is within the right and ability of the county administrator to make recommendations-popular or not-to supervisors, Frame continued.
But Rolfe had acted inappropriately by including the private sector in an electronic recommendation to supervisors, Frame said. Additional issues, (none of which were revealed), were “legitimate in terms of bringing into question the county administrator’s performance,“ Frame reasoned.
Orange County Assistant County Administrator Julie Jordan will act as county administrator until a replacement for Rolfe is hired, according to Frame. Prior to Friday night’s decision, Jordan was already acting as director of tourism, director of economic development and director of parks and recreation in addition to assistant county administrator.
Both Frame and Goodwin expressed apprehension that Jordan would be “substantially overloaded.“ In particular, Frame said he worried about overloading Jordan with some of the county’s major pending issues like the zoning ordinance overhaul, active county lawsuits and possible Walmart planning work if the special use permit is approved.
Frame said Jordan is meeting with county department heads and constitutional officers and working with county staff to maintain government operations. No decisions have been made by the board about filling Rolfe’s position, he added.
Burkett said it would be his preference to defer hiring a new county administrator until after November’s election, in which the District 1 and District 4 seats on the board of supervisors will be contested.
“To me, that just makes sense,“ Burkett said. But both Frame and Burkett said it’s too early for any decision on the procedure and timeline for replacing Rolfe to be made.
“We will discuss this in the next few weeks to determine whether to recruit before or after the election,“ Frame said.
Per the terms of Rolfe’s contract, he will receive three months of severance pay and benefits.
“I have enjoyed serving the citizens of Orange County.  It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as county administrator for the last four and one-half years,“ Rolfe said. “The staff of Orange County is excellent and the county is in good hands.  I wish nothing but the best for Orange County.“