Purcellville Mayor Christopher Bertaut, Vice Mayor Carl Nett, and Council members Susan Khalil and Carol Luke are all targets of the recall effort.
Town residents have had problems with the Council before but said they were caught off guard when they voted 4-2 earlier this month to begin dismantling the police department, which has been in service since the town was created in 1908.
A final vote is set for April 22.
“This department is a continual drain on our town’s financial resources, and it’s time the hemorrhaging come to a stop,” Khalil said before voting in favor of eliminating the 16-member police department, which has an annual budget of around $3 million.
Councilwoman Erin Rayner, one of two holdouts, called the vote “reckless and ignorant” as it was taken without a public hearing.
Rayner told NBC Washington that the leaders were in favor of dismantling the police department because they needed money to lower water prices, a promise they ran on.
Resident Christie Morgan showed up at a town hall meeting the day after the vote to give Council members a piece of her mind.
“You are defunding the police that protect this town!” Morgan yelled. “No! I am not going to stop talking. This is ridiculous.”
She later told ABC7 that she was frustrated that the Council came to a decision with little to no transparency.
“To see them throw out they’re going to defund the police without any conversation with the minority Council members nor anybody in the public, they haven’t spoken to anybody about this,” Morgan said. “You can’t make a decision like this, taking away this type of service to your town, without speaking to your constituents.”
Justin Otley, one of the residents who signed the petition, echoed Morgan’s sentiment.
“We’re not OK with [dismantling the police department],” he said. “So we’re going to try to make an impact.”
Councilman Caleb Stought, who opposed the plan but was out of town for the initial vote, told DC News Now that “residents are furious, and rightfully so.”
The Purcellville Police Department recently received accolades and a reaccreditation from the Virginia Professional Standards Commission. Only about 25% of Virginia law enforcement agencies have earned the distinction. Purcellville was declared the safest city in Virginia last year.
The three Council members who voted in favor of scrapping the force said there was overlap in services and that the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, which already patrols the town, can afford to meet the town’s needs.
“They cover the off hours that cover 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. when a most serious crime is likely to occur,” Bertaut said.
Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said there had been preliminary talks about how his office could provide full-time services, but nothing was set in stone.
Rayner argued that besides getting the go-ahead from Chapman, there are other factors to consider.
“We have a leased facility with the contract,” she said. “We have leased vehicles, we have leased equipment. We have a lot of things that go into what makes a police department.”
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Another twist in the small-town scandal is Nett used to be a Purcellville police officer but was fired. He then voted in support of eliminating the department.
Calls to Council members and the mayor were not returned.
