Thursday, July 15, 2004
Blacksburg town attorney resigns
Kathleen Dooley, who advised town council and town officials on the legal ramifications of their actions, will become the city attorney in Fredericksburg.
Blacksburg Town Attorney Kathleen Dooley announced Wednesday that she is resigning to become Fredericksburg's city attorney.
"It was a difficult decision," said Dooley, Blacksburg's attorney since 1995. "It's really been a privilege" to represent Blacksburg.
Councilman Tom Sherman praised Dooley, saying, "She's been a good and faithful servant to the town."
As attorney, Dooley advised town council and town officials on the legal ramifications of their actions. The town's announcement of Dooley's resignation noted that she helped revise Blacksburg's zoning and subdivision ordinances, including drafting provisions for rural residential zoning categories to preserve open space. She drafted ordinances for historic preservation and to regulate adult businesses, and helped create a rental inspection program and defend it before the 2003 General Assembly.
The announcement also noted Dooley was co-counsel in the town's successful defense against a lawsuit from the family of Maurice Taylor, who was shot to death after pulling a BB pistol on police officers in a much-publicized 1995 incident.
Last year, in a step that would lead to the town's most recent high-profile legal involvement, Dooley advised council that it could act under the Virginia Public Finance Act rather than under the town charter to issue bonds for the Toms Creek sewer. Acting under state law let council issue bonds with just four votes on the seven-member council, while the charter required five votes. With council split 4-3, the question of which authorization to use seemed likely to decide the fate of the long-debated sewer project.
Blacksburg, like many localities, tends to turn to outside lawyers for specialized expertise. Outside counsel was hired to advise the town on the ramifications of using the finance act instead of the charter, and later to represent the town after two residents sued to stop the bond issue. That lawsuit was dropped in May after council elections overturned the majority support for the sewer and council voted to stop the project.
Dooley said she expected that in Fredericksburg, like in Blacksburg, much of her work would center on issues related to development.
Town Clerk Donna Boone-Caldwell said council would discuss the search process for finding a new town attorney at a work session on Tuesday.
Dooley said she expected to finish in Blacksburg in late August and would start in Fredericksburg in mid-September.
