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LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — Lynchburg Councilman Martin Misjuns held a press conference Sunday night, just days after Mayor Larry Taylor removed him as chair of the city’s finance committee.
Misjuns believes his removal from the committee was a violation of the rules of procedure and due process.
He also said he believes this is a part of a concerning pattern, saying leadership positions are being stripped from those who question spending and call for oversight.
“The mayor has removed the one finance chair who refused to be a rubber stamp for the bureaucracy,” Misjuns said during the press conference.
Mayor Taylor was not available for an interview, but he did provide us with the resignation request that he sent to Misjuns.
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The mayor wrote, “After much thought and prayer, I believe this request is necessary for the good of our city and our organization. There have been ongoing concerns that I can no longer overlook.”
The reasons listed included the councilman’s involvement in personal matters, threats of city staff and employees, bad behavior after previous censures, and misstatements regarding financial matters.
Councilwoman Stephanie Reed was appointed to fill Misjuns’ spot on the finance committee.
ABC13 reached out to multiple members of the city council for comment. Councilman Sterling Wilder said he feels like the move was justified.
“I think it felt like Mayor Taylor had to make a decision about some action that needed to be taken to address some of his behaviors on the city council,” Dr. Wilder said.
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Dr. Wilder also said that he hopes the city council can come back to a place of unity.
During the press conference, Misjuns also said he believes the city has a surplus of $47.4 million after completion of an audit.
However, the city said that the statement is inaccurate. The city said that $13.6 million of this balance is in the FY 2026 Budget for pay-as-you-go capital projects, and about $24.3 million was allocated to their rainy day fund, leaving just over $9.5 million to be used on one-time capital improvement projects in the 2027 budget.
In response to Misjuns’ claims about the surplus, Councilman Chris Faraldi said in a statement, “After nearly a full calendar year as finance chair, Marty was finally removed, and he still has no grasp of how city finances operate.” Faraldi also said that the surplus is more likely to be around $2.4 million.
Council will be holding a special meeting on Monday.
We will keep you updated as we continue to follow this story.