This concern can involve many different city departments, including Public Works, Public Utilities, Planning, Emergency Communications and Citizens Services, the Virginia Beach Police Department, and Animal Control. To be clear, I am not suggesting that all city employees or departments operate this way. There are many dedicated employees who do their jobs well and serve our community every day. However, I have encountered situations where city employees or departments have done things they should not have done, and when those actions were brought to someone's attention, there appeared to be little or no accountability.
Accountability - the obligation or willingness of an individual or organization to accept responsibility for their actions, decisions, and result
What concerns me even more is what happens when these issues are brought to the attention of elected officials. In my experience, there have been situations where City Council was made aware of accountability problems but chose to do little or nothing about them. When people believe that improper behavior will have no consequences, it can create a situation where a small number of individuals learn that they can continue to act improperly without being held responsible.
I first became particularly aware of this problem when I had to deal with a convicted felon in our neighborhood. What began as a community concern gradually escalated into what I would describe as a small "lynch mob." The situation became increasingly hostile, and I believe the lack of accountability contributed to allowing the behavior to escalate. When people see that bad behavior is tolerated, they can become emboldened to take matters into their own hands.
As I became more involved in the community, I began encountering similar concerns involving other city departments.
One relatively small example involved a request I made for documents concerning a planned development. For those who may not be familiar with the process, many city records and development documents are available to the public. When I initially requested the documents, my request was denied. I was surprised by this and immediately raised the issue with the city and submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the records.
As soon as a department head became aware of what had happened, the office was instructed to provide me with the documents. I was also told that Virginia Beach taxpayers have a right to access public records. Ironically, I received the documents through the FOIA process before I received them through the original request.
That is only one example of the situations I have encountered. There have been others.
The larger issue is not simply whether one employee or one department makes a mistake. Mistakes happen. The real issue is what happens after a problem is identified. A healthy city government should have systems in place to recognize problems, correct them, and hold people accountable when necessary.
Accountability should not depend on how persistent a citizen is, whether someone knows the right person to contact, or whether a department head happens to become aware of the problem. Residents should be able to trust that city policies and procedures are being followed consistently.
When accountability breaks down, it affects more than the individual involved. It can undermine public trust in city government and create the perception that some people or departments are operating under a different set of rules.
Virginia Beach is a large city with many employees, departments, boards, and elected officials. No system will operate perfectly. But when problems are identified, the response should be to address them openly and fairly—not ignore them and hope they go away.
Accountability is not about attacking city employees. It is about making sure that our city government works for the people it serves.