Dumfries, Va. –– Nestled within Prince William County is the Town of Dumfries, and so is the Dumfries Magisterial District – an area that has nothing to do with the town at all.
On Monday, county leaders will have the option to change the name of the Dumfries District to the Potomac District, a name that’s fitting because the district sits along the Potomac River.
You see, Dumfries is a small town with its own mayor and town council ¬¬–– each are elected by the residents of the town.
Prince William’s Dumfries District is headed by Supervisor Maureen Caddigan, who serves the residents who live in neighborhoods outside the town’s boarders, like Brittany, Montclair and Southbridge.
The name change option comes as officials are wrangling with the mandated redistricting process, where every 10 years political boundaries are redrawn to accommodate –– in Prince William’s case –– population growth.
After some residents last week appeared at a public hearing to voice concerns about the newly drawn maps, Prince William Supervisor Marty Nohe drew a new one and on it proposed the Potomac District name.
“The Board was getting a lot of feedback from citizens who thought it was confusing that we had a Town of Dumfries and a district called Dumfries, with many people having problems telling people they lived in the Dumfries district but not in the town,” said Nohe.
While he doesn’t know if the Board will approve name change, he drew the new map with the blessing of Caddigan who in the past has fielded questions from many confused residents, said Nohe.
Caddigan could not be reached for comment Thursday morning.
But there are some who don’t want to see the name of the district changed, like Dumfries Vice-Mayor Nancy West. She’s first opposed to the name change because Dumfries, as Virginia’s oldest charted town, says the name is backed with historical significance.
She also just plain doesn’t like the idea.
“Another reason for my opposition to the name change is that we have too many things with the name “Potomac” –– a high school, a hospital, a shopping mall –– we don’t need another Potomac anything,” said West.
Other notable changes on Nohe’s map: The Town of Occoquan is once again included in Prince William’s Occoquan District (other maps under review have placed the town in the Woodbridge District), the Neabsco Creek again becomes the diving line between the Neabsco and Coles districts, and that it only has seven magisterial districts as opposed to eight as shown on some other maps that have been presented during the redistricting process.
Creating an additional district would cost taxpayers $1 million, officials say.
The final redistricting plan for Prince William will be voted on Monday.
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