by Joe Fitzgerald

Deb and I, encouraged by someone who’d lost a spouse to Covid and assisted by those who wanted to help share information, created TSAHarrisonburg on Facebook a few years ago to report on infection and mortality statistics in the Shenandoah Valley. We’re pivoting the site to respond to another community crisis, just as dangerous in a different way: the disappearance of media resources and resulting drop in coverage of local news.

In order to effectively own and operate your local government, you have to know what it’s doing.

To that end, we’ll be reporting on Harrisonburg government discussions and decisions, specifically City Council, School Board, and Planning Commission meetings, to be published simultaneously on Substack and Facebook, as soon as feasible after the meetings conclude.

We view this work as a complement to local sources such as The Citizen, WHSV, WSVA , WMRA and the DNR – not a substitute. They provide breakfast, lunch and dinner; we’re the vitamin supplement to make sure you get all your trace nutritional requirements.

The posts are free, though we’ll occasionally put up links to donations to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank so you can show your appreciation for the work in a concrete way that matters to the community.

The appointment of a Harrisonburg mayor on Thursday, the first in a series of reorganization meetings for city government, will be the first post.

The meetings, often abbreviated as “reorgs,” feature the election of a new chair from among a government body’s members. Planning Commission and School Board appoint a chair annually. The five City Council members choose a mayor every two years following the November election.

Most bodies choose their chair at their first regular meeting of the year, while City Council holds a meeting specifically for reorganization at 10 a.m. on Jan. 2. The five City Council members also choose a vice mayor, as well as appointing one or more of their members to various city boards and commissions, particularly Planning Commission and the Liaison Committee for School Board and City Council.

Joe Fitzgerald is a former mayor of Harrisonburg.