The Board of County Supervisors appointed Christopher Martino as the County Executive during their meeting this afternoon. Martino has been serving as Acting County Executive since Jan. 16, 2016, when the previous County Executive, Melissa Peacor, retired.
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"The Board is very pleased to make this announcement," said Corey Stewart, chairman of the Board of County Supervisors. "Chris is a great asset to this organization. He has a proven track record of working with the Board to get things accomplished, including overseeing the County's achievement of the AAA bond ratings from all three of the major credit rating agencies. He oversaw the budget process this year as Acting County Executive, and continues to provide great knowledge and insight with regards to financial and organizational leadership." Â Â
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As County Executive, Martino will manage the day-to-day administration of the government. The Board of County Supervisors is the policy-making body for Prince William County, and appoints the County Executive to execute its policies.
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"I am humbled that the Board of County Supervisors has placed their confidence in me to be the County Executive," Martino said. "It is a great honor to be able to work with the citizens of this county, the Board of Supervisors and the staff. Together, we've been able to accomplish a lot of great improvements and changes over the past few years. I look forward to carrying on that work and the strategic priorities of the Board to continue to make Prince William County a community of choice for businesses and residents alike."
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Martino came to Prince William County in February 1996 as the Director of Finance, serving as the chief financial officer responsible for the administration of the financial affairs of the county. He was promoted to Deputy County Executive in March 2010, where he provided oversight for several departments, including Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance, Budget and Legislative Affairs. In that role, he also served as the Deputy Emergency Operations Director, as well as the liaison with the Prince William County Schools.
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Martino has a Master of Business Administration Degree in Finance from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. He and his wife live in Prince William County. They have three adult sons. Â
More than 30 people who live in homeless camps on about 80 acres of property behind Bungalow Alehouse in Woodbridge will be forced to leave, according to Woodbridge Homeless Outreach.
Prince William County officials tell us that's because the owner of the property posted "No Trespassing" signs, and now police will enforce the owners wishes.
From Prince Willaim County spokesman Jason Grant:Â
Stafford Rock Hill District Supervisor Wendy Maurer will collect 300 signatures before moving forward to fix to failed dams in the county's Lake Arrowhead neighborhood.
"I want to have the general consensus of the residents before we move forward with this," said Maurer.
Maurer and volunteers are working to collect those signatures by going to door to door and talking with neighbors about Stafford County's offer to loan Lake Arrowhead residents $542,010 to repair the two dams that make up the community's two lakes: Big and Little Lake Arrowhead.
Ryan Sawyers, Prince William County's School Board Chairman, says he will tell the " Superintendent that he is to not change the current regulations and practices regarding bathroom and locker room use" on Wednesday when he aims to update the division's non-discrimination policy.
Sawyers posted this to his Facebook page:Â
Sawyers
As you likely know, I proudly support adding "sexual orientation and gender identity" to our non-discrimination policy. This is not a bathroom or locker room issue for me but a fairness issue when it comes to employment, work environment, school environment, and of course, education.
SCHOOL FUNDING: Everyone's talking about it so what's the best way to do it? What do the schools need for success and how do we measure that success?
Please join the Prince William Committee of 100 for our first forum of the '16-'17 year and hear a timely discussions about our schools. Come join us for dinner if you can and renew old acquaintances as well as your membership! It's bound to be an exciting evening you won't want to miss!
Prince William Supervisor Jeanine Lawson will ask county leaders to extend the meetings of the 2016 Strategic Plan Committee because the group has not focused on land-use policy.
Residents at a Lawson town hall meeting Thursday night in Bristow said discussing land use -- new residential, commercial, agricultural, and municipal developments -- should be a topic discussed by the committee.
Lawson's Strategic Plan Committee appointment Daniel Varroney told the crowd that committee members were barred from discussing land use policy because that is reserved for members of a separate committee, the group that authors the county's Comprehensive Plan.
Manassas police announced the arrest of a man suspected in "several recent shootings in the Georgetown South Community" about 24 hours after three people were shot in the neighborhood.Â
Police spokeswoman Adrienne Helms stated she did not "have any evidence to confirm or deny" that the suspected charged Thursday night, David Mendoza, was the shooter in Wednesday night's shooting.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe will attend the unveiling of a new statue for the long-serving Charles J. Colgan, according to George Mason University Science and Technology Campus Director of Campus Relations Molly Grove.
Colgan, of Manassas, now retired, was the longest-serving Virginia State Senator in Richmond.
The statue of his likeness will be unveiled at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, at Colgan Hall on George Mason University’s Science and Technology Campus, 10900 University Boulevard near Manassas.
The Prince William Science Accelerator will be the recipient of a new $50,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.Â
The awarding ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, at the accelerator located at 9385 Discovery Boulevard just outside Manassas.
Less than 20 miles from the nation’s capital sits Innovation Park, which houses the Prince William Science Accelerator a premier life sciences start – up incubation facility. These facilities house the only public-private, and commercially available wet lab space in Northern Virginia.
