PORTSMOUTH — City Council members voted Monday to rescind the appointment of the next permanent city assessor only days after making the hire.
Council members took the vote in a special called meeting following a closed session. The unanimous vote on Monday rescinds the appointment made at last week’s regular council meeting, where members voted 4-3 to hire Anthony George to the position, along with a salary of $130,000 and start date of April 1.
The city assessor is one in a handful of positions in the city appointed by City Council.
Attempts were made last week to defer the appointment as the city attorney’s office looked into concerns with the new hire. Though not discussed at the meeting, issues raised about George’s previous management in other offices in Washington, D.C., and Fulton County, Georgia, were detailed in a 2012 Washington Post article, which states concerns about his attempts to lower property values without justification that led to his termination in Georgia. He also was the subject of a federal discrimination lawsuit brought forward by several female appraisers, according to the news report.
Also at last week’s meeting, council members appointed a new interim, Victor Edwards, to replace outgoing interim city assessor Janey Culpepper after council members raised allegations of unspecified questionable behavior made against her. Culpepper had held the interim role since March.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
