BROADWAY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – It was standing room only at Broadway’s Town Council meeting as dozens showed up last night demanding answers about the town’s finances.

Council members dismissed rumors of a missing 200-thousand dollars from the town’s budget in an interview with Rocktown Now last week, but the matter dominated a heated public comment period.

As outgoing Deputy Town Manager Cari Orebaugh explained there was a straightforward reason behind the perceived deficit.

“What has happened – and we have traced this – there’s no missing money, it went directly from our reserves into our checking account,” Orebaugh said. “What happened was, over the last several years, we drew from reserves to pay for projects and to pay for bills. It’s as simple as that.”

Those rumors began circulating shortly after long-time Town Manager Kyle O’Brien retired in March.

Several speakers believed there was more to the story behind O’Brien’s departure after he retired earlier this year. Some even insisted that he had been fired.

While the details behind O’Brien’s exit are private, council member Douglas Harpine claimed that he left a mess after his last several months as town manager.

“If Kyle [O’Brien], had a fault, it was that he couldn’t say ‘no,'” Harpine said. “And if you’re in that job – or, in our job – you have to learn how to say no.”

O’Brien’s temporary successor, Bob Holton, quit after just a couple of weeks on the job. Council member Beverly London said Holton resigned after a disagreement over the draft of a job posting for the next town manager.