Pay cut, sheriff's wife stays

Madison County Sheriff Erik Weaver’s wife, Terri Weaver, will apparently continue to work full-time at the sheriff’s office, but with a big cut in salary and change in title. Her pay has been cut by more than a third – reduced to $22,400 a year from $34,910 – and she is now a “secretary one” instead of an “office manager.” County officials OK’d the changes after receiving advice from the state auditor of public accounts and a special prosecutor.

“The state auditor of public accounts issued an opinion that if the sheriff’s wife made less than $22,500 it was not a conflict for her to be employed in that office,” Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman Eddie Dean said at the supervisors workshop last week. “When (Sheriff) Erik (Weaver) received that opinion he made the decision, or he and his wife made the decision, that he would be reducing Terri (Weaver’s) salary to $22,400 and so informed the (Compensation) Board and (Madison County Finance Director) Teresa (Miller), so he is now in compliance and we will not be supplementing that salary from this point on.”

Supervisors had initially stopped county supplemental funding for the position at their regular Jan. 12 meeting. At their Jan. 28 workshop, they decided that the freeze would continue. Although the sheriff was present at the workshop, he left before the topic was discussed.

An initial finding by a special prosecutor said there was a conflict of interest in the sheriff’s wife working in his office, County Administrator Lisa Robertson said at last week’s workshop. But she added that second ruling made by the state’s Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts found that if Terri Weaver’s salary was less than $22,500 there was no conflict.

“There’s a letter from a special prosecutor who was acting as a commonwealth’s attorney for that purpose responding to the sheriff’s request indicating that in his opinion there was a conflict and that there were no exceptions that applied,” Robertson said. “The sheriff has gotten a second opinion from the auditor of public accounts that indicates that there is an exception that applies so long as the person in that position makes $22,500 or less.”

Questions about a possible conflict of interest led Sheriff Weaver to last year request an opinion from Madison County Commonwealth’s Attorney George Webb. Webb passed the request on to a special prosecutor – Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert, because Webb worked with Weaver.

“I gave an opinion … (and I am) going to write another opinion,” Ebert said in a phone interview with the Eagle this week. “The facts of the case (are that the) sheriff’s wife worked there a number of years prior to his election and continued to work after his election, but in my opinion she cannot work in that capacity if she makes over $22,500 and he’s her immediate supervisor – I will write a second opinion (but I) don’t have an idea what (will happen) after that.”
The second opinion comes after the reduction in Terri Weaver’s salary and reassignment from office manager. The reduction of pay was partly retroactive, meaning that it applied as of Jan. 1 and has “ended” the issue, according to Supervisors Chairman Dean.

“(Weaver) responded (to questions) with an interpretation that he had gotten from the auditor of accounts that would satisfy the order,” Dean said. “He made this retroactive to Jan. 1, 2010 so at that time (Weaver) satisfied the office of public accounts and his office is in compliance.”