Chair Wheelers State of the County Address

Click here to view Prince William County State of the County 2022

(Prince William County, VA) – Prince William Board of County Supervisor Chair-at-large Ann Wheeler delivered the annual State of the County address on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, to open the first Board meeting of the year. A copy of her remarks is below.  

In other business, the Board chose Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Angela Franklin to serve as Vice-Chair of the Board for 2022. The Board also chose Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny Boddye as Chairman Pro-Tem for 2022.

More information about the Board of County Supervisors is available at pwcva.gov.

Board Chair Ann Wheeler 2022 State of the County Remarks

Good afternoon and welcome to the 2022 State of the County Address. This long-standing tradition – the third address of my tenure as your Board Chair – is an annual opportunity to provide Prince William County residents and community stakeholders with an overview of our current physical and financial health, while setting our goals for the year ahead in alignment with our adopted Strategic Plan.

• As always, I wish to begin by thanking my colleagues on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors for their steadfast support in service to the 482,000 residents of our community as we navigate these unforeseen times.
• I would like to recognize our county staff, who work tirelessly and never fail to recognize the deep correlation between the financial health of our county government and its impact on the physical health and social well-being of our residents.
• I wish to acknowledge recently retired County Executive, Christopher Martino, for his staunch leadership and commitment to our community. Prior to his retirement at the end of last year, Mr. Martino spent 26 years in Prince William County government as the driving force behind the strong financial well-being of our county.  Pioneering changes during Mr. Martino’s leadership include securing our triple-A bond rating for ten consecutive years, retooling the county workforce to empower employees at every level of government to play an active role in meeting outlined Board goals and priorities and last, but not least, implementing classification and compensation studies to aid in the recruitment and retention of county employees across all departments in order to best serve our community.
• While Mr. Martino will be missed, the county remains in a strong financial position and has a wonderful workforce.  This includes Acting County Executive, Elijah Johnson, who has decades of experience and will continue the strong working relationship between county staff, and the Board of County Supervisors, in order to prioritize the needs of our residents.  Please know that the recruitment and retention of our workforce to serve our residents is paramount in the upcoming year.  Our talented and committed workforce is the backbone of our good governance.

Remarks:

In order to define where we are going, we must acknowledge the road traveled thus far.

Over the past year, the Board of County Supervisors

• has made countless investments in environmental stewardship,
• we have prioritized school funding to aid in implementing measurable goals to ensure equitable access to student achievement opportunities and success beyond graduation,
• we have continued investments in road safety and mobility measures, and
• we have reaffirmed our commitment to decrease the financial tax burden on residents

All of this was accomplished while expanding access to county resources as well as remaining lightning focused on our local response to the ongoing global pandemic.

This is a universally challenging time, but it is important to note that our community remains one of the most desirable localities to live, work and raise a family in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

1. Environmental Stewardship:

Let me begin by speaking of environmental stewardship. At a time when access to water, air, and green space are at a premium, your Board of County Supervisors continues to showcase good environmental stewardship and planning for future generations who will one day call Prince William County home.  

• Firstly, to engage in practices that preserve and restore resources for the future, while mitigating our environmental impact, the Board made the conscious decision to wisely and effectively manage the County's waste through proper disposal and recycling practices.  Your Board of County Supervisors voted to extend the life of our landfill by 30 years simply by requiring seasonal yard waste be placed in biodegradable bags and separated from trash and recycling.
• Additionally, your Board unanimously voted to establish a partnership with the Prince William County School System with the formation of a Joint Environmental Task Force
• In our adopted Strategic Plan, we pledged to pursue the Metropolitan Council of Government’s (COG) clean energy goals of:

• 100 percent of Prince William County’s electricity from renewable sources by 2035.
• Achieve 100 percent of renewable electricity by 2030 for government operations; and
• 100% carbon neutrality for the county by 2050.

Please know we are serious about meeting the outlined goals. Firstly, we have formed an Office of Sustainability. Secondly, we are in the midst of establishing a Sustainability Commission comprised of eight citizen appointees tasked with guiding the county on energy efficiency, sustainable building practices, and greenhouse gas and carbon emissions reduction. In addition, as we continue to grow and develop as a county, the Sustainability Commission will assist us as we make intelligent growth decisions and choices, that reflect accepted sustainability practices and ideas.  An example of those is the recently installed electric vehicle charging stations in front of the James J. McCoart Building for unrestricted use by the public.

2. Public School Investments:

Next let me talk about Public School Investment. In addition to the strong partnership regarding environmental stewardship with our school system, your Board of County Supervisors is committed to educating the workforce of tomorrow while working to help address learning loss during this unprecedented time. 

Our teachers and students have showcased resilience and deserved to be commended. Since her arrival, our new Prince William County Schools Superintendent, Dr. LaTanya McDade has ushered in change and is committed to meeting the needs of Prince William County School families and community members through a transparent process. I look forward to assisting our world class school system in the execution of their strategic plan.

3. Road Safety and Mobility Measures:

Thirdly let me cover Road Safety and Mobility Measures.  In coordination with regional partners as well as state and federal agencies, your Board of County Supervisors worked closely with the Prince William County Department of Transportation to implement a multimodal transit program. This program seeks to mitigate transit concerns in alignment with the transportation mobility report.

The County remains steadfast to its ongoing commitment to provide safe roads and sidewalks to the traveling public. Tragically, over the course of the last year, 32 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in the county. One life lost is too many.

My colleagues and I are committed to improving pedestrian safety across the county and are working with transportation partners to do so. Most recently, your Board of County Supervisors authorized a project agreement for the expansion of the Horner Road Park and Ride Lot to increase capacity and walkability.  This example, of the Board working to ensure the safety of commuters and pedestrians who travel one of the largest and most used Park and Ride lots in the region., is just one of the many actions necessary as members of our community begin to plan their return to the office,

There are also two major road projects which continue to move forward in an effort to ease traffic flow through the county:

In the I66 corridor we have the Balls Ford Realignment under construction. At its completion, the nearly two-mile stretch of Balls Ford Road between Doane Drive and Devlin Road will be realigned into a split four-lane road with an elevated median. The realignment plan also includes the creation of a sidewalk and multi-use path.

In the I95/Route 1 corridor, the Southbound Interstate 95 Auxiliary Lane, which spans from Gordon Boulevard to the Prince William County Parkway, is under construction and is scheduled for completion this fall. The added lane will ease congestion and aid in the marketing of Prince William County as a desired destination for business and tourism.

Prince William County continues to be a regional player in transportation matters with seats on the Potomac Rappahannock Transportation Commission, the Virginia Railway Express Operations Board, and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.

As the second most populous locality in the Commonwealth of Virginia, my colleagues and I are constantly seeking traffic relief measures. Just last month, we submitted a request to NVTA for $440 million for potential projects that will benefit the Greater Prince William Area.  For example, here are just a few that we submitted for consideration:

• $96 million to widen Old Centreville Road from the Fairfax County line to Route 28
• $80 million to extend Van Buren Road north from Route 234 to Cardinal Drive
• $67.5 million for an interchange at Prince William Parkway and Minnieville Road
• $61.2 million for a new interchange at U.S. 1 and Route 123

Each project was selected based upon needed improvements to road safety and traffic congestion relief to best serve our residents.

4. Eliminating the Financial Burden of Taxes on Residents:

Lastly, let me speak about the finances of the county as well as eliminating the financial burden of taxes on residents and diversifying our tax base.  Financial services are an important form of community development and as we continue to navigate the ongoing pandemic, we must be strong financial stewards of county funds.

During 2021, Prince William County applied for and received $91.4 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) relief in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. We have until December of 2024 to obligate these funds and the projects must be completed December 31, 2026.

Given the ongoing nature of the pandemic, Prince William County continues to refine the plan for distribution of funds, but the focus remains on providing a lifeline beyond the impact of COVID-19 to individuals and businesses in need. This includes continuing support for county emergency response operations and ensuring residents receive necessary county services.

As we continue to obligate ARPA funds, current investments have already included:

• honoring through compensation our essential at-risk County workers, which included our first responders, who faced heightened exposure to COVID-19 through emergency response and COVID-19 testing and vaccinations; and
• Issuing economic relief grants to businesses most hard hit during the pandemic to include small businesses, hotels, restaurants, event spaces, and storefront retail businesses.

As we move into the future, we will continue to invest in our infrastructure to best serve you- the residents and community stakeholders who choose to do business in Prince William County.

The ongoing pandemic has served as a great revealer of sorts. Your current Board will continue to prioritize investments in social services and mental health with great emphasis on equitable access to resources as well as multilingual transparent communication.  As the 10^th most diverse county in the nation, we must realize we are stronger together.

For 2022, we will continue to focus on your needs. As local residents, business owners, and community stakeholders, we are here to serve you and be attentive to your needs.

Over the coming year, you can anticipate continued efforts to mitigate the residential tax burden, efforts to increase commercial business expansion across the region, and continued prioritization of the safety and wellbeing of our community while embracing the globally diverse community which chooses to call Prince William County home.  Lastly, if we can all work together, we will continue to move our community forward in the coming years as Prince William County takes its place as a premier community to live, work and play.

Thank you!