Tuesday evening’s Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting River agenda was routine business, but the meeting’s most significant moments came from the public comments of angry citizens.
One of those citizens, Hugh B. Henry, is the Vice Chair of the Warren County Planning Commission. The Fork District resident was sharply critical of the board’s lack of oversight on the budgets of some Warren County agencies.
Henry stated that the board had done a poor job of properly vetting some budgets, but he called the Warren County Sheriff’s Office budget the most concerning. He told the panel that the budget line items such as $10,000 for “dog toys” and $24,000 for “miscellaneous janitorial services” were unacceptable.
Only South River Supervisor Cheryl Cullers had “the strength to question the man (Sheriff Butler) on his incorrect budget” Henry stated.
Henry also told the board that “bundle budgets” were unacceptable and likely led to the EDA embezzlement scandal. He suggested that department heads with line items that could not be explained should not be approved.
He lambasted the board for “taking the word of a dishonest man, which is our sheriff,” citing the credibility issues that led Commonwealth’s Attorney John Bell, in May, to declare Butler as ineligible to testify in court cases.
Henry also called out Chairwoman Vicky L. Cook, who ran on a platform of transparency and budget oversight, to resign for supporting an unvetted budget and for “using (her) political platform to launch an inappropriate candidate.”
Henry addressed Cook directly, telling her that he “had enough support” to get her removed from her seat on the board.
Elected in 2021, Cook’s term ends 2025.
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