The Purcellville Town Council voted Tuesday, July 14, to appoint Michael Rogers as interim town manager, effective Aug. 3, 2026, pending the finalization of a contract between the town and the Robert Bobb Group, the Washington, D.C. consulting firm that proposed Rogers for the role.
In a companion motion, the council placed Town Manager Anthony “Tony” Sabio in the role of consultant to the town manager, also effective Aug. 3. Both motions were seconded and approved. The votes came immediately after the council certified a closed session in accordance with Section 2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia, affirming that only lawfully exempted public business matters were discussed.
Rogers will be the fifth person to lead the town’s administration in the past two years, following Rick Bremseth, Kwasi Fraser, Diana Hays and Sabio.
A Firm With Virginia Turnaround Experience
The Robert Bobb Group, or RBG, responded to the town’s solicitation for a local government executive staffing firm under RFQ HR-2026-07, issued in July 2026. The minority-owned firm, headquartered in Washington, D.C., specializes in government turnaround, financial consulting and interim executive management, and has provided interim leadership for the Virginia cities of Charlottesville, Hopewell and Petersburg, as well as East Point, Georgia.
The firm is led by President and CEO Robert C. Bobb, a former city administrator and deputy mayor of Washington, D.C., who previously served as city manager of Richmond, Oakland, Santa Ana and Kalamazoo. Bobb will serve as engagement executive for the Purcellville work, with RBG Principal Heather Ness as project manager.
Who Is Michael Rogers
Rogers, who holds a master of public policy and a law degree, served as interim city manager of Charlottesville from February 2022 to July 2023, an engagement that followed a tumultuous period of turnover in that city’s manager’s office. Since August 2023, he has served as interim city manager of Hopewell as part of RBG’s fiscal turnaround engagement there, and he previously served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Petersburg.
In its presentation to the town, RBG highlighted Rogers’s record of balanced budget development without tax increases, operational improvements including updated personnel policies and compensation alignment, and a reputation for strengthening relationships among councils, staff and community partners.
