Reality may bite effort at restraint

Political ceremonies are choreographed events, meaning that attempting to cull substance from them can be like trying to pull pulp from a hollow oak. This would figure to apply to talk of bipartisanship amid Tuesday’s Waynesboro City Council coronation of a new majority led in the robust physical form of new Mayor Tim Williams and in spirit by Vice Mayor Frank Lucente. Still, the famously divided council managed to amuse in the shadows of larger challenges.
Williams won the backing of all five council members, including newcomer and political ally Bruce Allen as well as the new minority pairing of councilwomen Lorie Smith and Nancy Dowdy. The latter called for Smith to be named to vice mayor and was rejected by a margin all too familiar, 3-2. It was the new regime’s first official exercise of power and one with appropriate symbolism, nudging Lucente into a position second in title only.
The event, of course, was preceded by the group’s first unofficial exercise of power, which accomplished the removal of a perceived thorn in former City Manager Doug Walker. The effort to replace him could provide an intriguing case study in the Lucente bloc’s larger endeavor to fashion action from conservative ideals. The concept appears simple enough, but it is one over which politicians in government’s upper ranks frequently stumble.
Though Walker’s office has been cleared, residue from his tenure lingers in the mind of Lucente. It takes a rectangular shape, that of the severance check written to Walker in the amount of $128,437.66.  The deal included six months’ severance, which accounted for about half of the payout sum. The rest came primarily from accrued benefits, including $41,956 in annual leave time.
“I have no problem with the six months’ severance package,” Lucente told The News Virginian’s Alicia Rimel. “But the benefit package was a little excessive.”
Considered against severance terms accorded most American workers, Lucente’s description fits. Those holding typical jobs in the private sector generally lose unused sick time and pick up only unused vacation pay based on how much of the current year they have worked. For people of conservative bent, severance deals for top government executives appear to be cut from the same cloth as golden parachutes handed private sector CEOs whose fat payouts commonly are decried by liberals.
Lucente hopes to cut a deal with the city’s next manager that will reduce the benefits. This could require an act of negotiating bordering on the miraculous, depending on the job applicant. The International City/County Management Association says it recommends managers seek a one-year severance. The marketplace dictates terms in the public sector as well as the private. Finding a qualified candidate willing to accept terms that vary significantly from those accorded peers figures to be daunting in the extreme.
We would lead the applause if Lucente and his conservative allies were able to hire a strong manager to a contract that deviated significantly from the norm. But we are skeptical about their chances.
A commitment to guarding against spending excesses helped drive the Lucente bloc into power. We admire and support that group’s evident desire to back campaign talk with action. But on this point, the conservative faction’s desired reach might well extend beyond the market’s limits. Realism is a hallmark of conservatism. In this case, it figures to restrain a well-placed fiscal idealism on the part of our new city leadership.