Friday afternoon, the Rockingham County Circuit Court judge suspended Harrisonburg City Treasurer Rebecca Neal from office. In her place, Harrisonburg's Chief Deputy Commissioner of Revenue Jeffrey Shafer was appointed as acting city treasurer.

This comes after a hearing in court on Wednesday, but Neal still faces the possibility of being permanently removed from office.

In Judge James Lane's order, he says, "Based upon the gravity of the allegations, coupled with the fact that the acts alleged strike directly at the heart of the duty and function of, as well as the public trust in, the office of the treasurer, it is adjudged and ordered that Rebecca Byrd Neal, effective immediately upon entry of this order, is hereby suspended from the office of the Treasurer of the City of Harrisonburg pending a hearing for removal, scheduled for June 12, 2008."

Before the court made its decision, Neal's attorney had the opportunity to submit further evidence. He submitted the issue of proof, trying to prove that the court cannot use grand jury indictments as evidence to try to suspend Rebecca Neal.

In the document, Attorney David O'Donnell states, "Other than what information might be gleaned from one sided media accounts of disgruntled employees and disappointed office seekers, the Court has no information on to what degree, if any, the conduct of Treasurer Office has been materially affected by any potential misusers, the Court has no information on to what degree, if any, the conduct of Treasurer' Offices has been materially affected by any potential misuse of office."

However, one resident who signed the petition says Neal got what she deserved.

"If her finances were bad, it was her fault, not her job's, and I feel that she ought to be removed," says Robert Fletcher, who signed the petition to remove Neal from office.

Fletcher says he also didn't agree with what Neal did by demoting one of her co-workers and firing another.

News 3 called Rebecca Neal to get a response and we spoke with a woman who said she was a friend of the family.

That woman said, "The suspension that they gave Becky was without a hearing, and without evidence, based on an unproven criminal charge. That's unprecedented."

Friday afternoon, Neal's vacancy was filled when the clerk of court swore in the Chief Deputy Commissioner of Revenue Jeffrey Shafer. Shafer took over the position of Acting City Treasurer immediately, and he says stepping up to this position is a challenge, but Shafer says if he wasn't prepared, he wouldn't accept the position.

"Create some sense of normalcy, try to get things back to where they were before. That's probably job number one, and number two is to re-establish the trust of the taxpayers of the City of Harrisonburg," says Shafer.

Shafer says he doesn't know whether or not he'll reinstate Diane Nardi. However, he did say he will put Cynthia Fitzwater back in as chief deputy treasurer.

In the meantime, Neal is suspended without pay, but on June 12, she has another hearing where the court will determine if she should be removed from office permanently.

If she is not removed, she will be compensated for the time she was suspended. Neal still faces a criminal trial, which is scheduled for August 4. When asked if he would run for treasurer in the next election, Shafer said he didn't know for sure, but it was definitely a possibility.