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| From Your Prince William Chamber |
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August 2016 |
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Chamber Advocate,
See what the Chamber has been up to over the past few weeks and what has been happening in the community. From policy to politics there is plenty to choose from when trying to figure out how to be more engaged with our advocacy efforts.
Please remember that there will be no August Policy Committee meeting. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 20 at 9:30 a.m. in the Manassas Chamber office.
If you have any questions about legislation or are just generally interested in what we are working on at the Chamber, please get in touch with me by sending an email to [email protected]. I am happy to discuss!
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Virginia Secretary of Administration Nancy Rodrigues Discusses Procurement with Chamber Members
On Tuesday, August 9, the Prince William Chamber of Commerce was joined by Virginia Secretary of Administration, Nancy Rodrigues, to discuss the Commonwealth's online procurement portal - eVa.
eVa facilitates over $6 billion a year in business with the state. This web-based vendor registration and purchasing system allows state agencies, colleges, universities and many local governments to use eVA to conduct all purchasing and sourcing activities for goods and services.
Secretary Rodrigues spoke to Chamber members about the benefits of the system and how businesses can use eVa as a marketing tool. Kim Madison, who is in charge of marketing and outreach for eVa, also conducted live, real-time demonstrations of how to best utilize the procurement portal.
Please
click here to attend future eVa outreach events.
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City of Manassas Receives AAA Bond Rating
Standard and Poors Global Ratings has raised its long-term rating on the City of
Manassas'
general obligation debt to AAA from AA+. The City of Manassas al
so received a AAA rating
on long-term 2016 general obligation
public improvement and refunding bonds. S&P Global stated that the outlook on all of the City of Manassas ratings are stable.
"I am very proud of the improvements that the City has made over the past three years. These have resulted in this upgrade of our bond rating," said City Manager W. Patrick Pate. "This rating is an affirmation of the economic vitality of our community along with the positive changes that have been made in our financial and budget policies, practices and performance. These efforts are having the intended results of providing tangible savings to our citizens and show our continued commitment to our residents."
The AAA bond rating helps the City of Manassas save money both with new bonds and potential refunding bond sales. The AAA Bond Rating is the highest bond rating given by S&P and the first time the City of Manassas has received this designation. The City plans to use proceeds of the bonds sold to finance the costs of capital improvement projects, including the acquisition, construction, extension, renovation and equipping of public school, public safety, utility and general governmental improvements.
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Regional Chambers Announce Northern Virginia Chairs and Mayors Economic Forum
The event will feature The Honorable Sharon Bulova, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman At-Large; The Honorable Libby Garvey, Arlington County Board Chair; and The Honorable Corey Stewart, Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman At-Large. The Chair of Loudoun County and the Mayor of the City of Alexandria have also been invited. Bruce Potter, Chief Operating Officer, Northern Virginia Media Services, will act as facilitator.
This forum will offer Northern Virginia's business leaders the opportunity to learn about the economic climate in each jurisdiction, hear about new and ongoing initiatives aimed at fostering economic growth, and discover how each jurisdiction in Northern Virginia can work together for the betterment of our regional economy.
"We hope that this first of its kind event will provide our region's leaders with a unique platform to discuss opportunities for collaboration and growth across jurisdictional boundaries" said Debbie Jones, President and CEO of the Prince William Chamber of Commerce. "We are excited to partner with fellow Chambers and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission to facilitate this important discussion."
"We are thrilled to co-host this new event with our fellow chambers and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission," said Jim Corcoran, Northern Virginia Chamber President and CEO. "We look forward to hearing from the elected leaders of the largest jurisdictions in Northern Virginia on how they are working to grow our regional economy."
The event will be held on Wednesday, August 31st, 2016, at the Northern Virginia Chamber offices in Tysons. Registration is available
online. Entry is $35 for co-hosting organization members and $50 for
non-members. To learn more about the Northern Virginia Chairs and Mayor Economic Forum, please visit the website.
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Prince William School Board must appoint interim replacement for deploying Naval Officer
By: Uriah Kiser, Potomac Local
The Prince Willaim County School Board must decide who will become a temporary replacement for one of its eight members.
Brentsville District representative Gil Trenum, a Naval Commander, will deploy for duty to Djibouti, Africa this month. It's the first time "in many years" Trenum has been deployed, he told the School Board in July, adding that the Navy gave him only a short notice to pack his bags.
Trenum named three potential replacements - any one of which would serve in his place on an interim basis - that the School Board needs to approve. To date, the School Board has not approved any of Trenum's handpicked temporary replacements - proxies he would confer with about School Board matters during his deployment.
Instead, the School Board waited for an unofficial opinion on the matter that arrived Thursday from the Office of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, that states the School Board is legally required to fill the seat, and then return the seat to Trenum when he returns from service. The unofficial opinion comes not from Herring but from G. Timothy Oksman, who works in the Attorney General's office.
On Thursday, Republican lawmakers gathered outside Prince William County Public Schools to put pressure on the School Board to appoint one of the three candidates picked by Trenum.
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Upcoming Elections
Get paid to work the polls as an election officer this November
It is never too early to begin thinking about the November Presidential election and the Prince William Office of Election is looking for officers to work the polls. Election Officers receive a stipend of $125.00 for working a full Election Day. Experienced Officers selected to serve as an Assistant Chief Officer or Chief Officer will receive $150.00 or $200.00, respectively. All officers receive $15.00 for each training class they attend.
To check your voter registration with the State Board of Elections,
click here.
Are you unable to vote in person in November? Vote absentee!
Follow the below links for absentee voting information from each locality.
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Get Involved:
NO AUGUST MEETING
We encourage members to attend the Northern Virginia Regional Elected Leaders Summit on Wednesday, August 31 from 8:00am-10:00am. Click here for additional information and to register!
This first of its kind event will offer Northern Virginia's business leaders the opportunity to learn about the economic climate in each jurisdiction, hear about new and ongoing initiatives aimed at fostering economic growth, and discover how each jurisdiction in Northern Virginia can work together for the betterment of our regional economy.
The next policy committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 20 at 9:30am at the Prince William Chamber of Commerce headquarters. The committee typically meets for an hour.
It is that time of the year again! We will begin discussing the Chamber's 2017 Policy Priorities when the group meets again in September. Stay tuned for more announcements next month!
As a reminder, "Membership Time" is held at the beginning of every policy committee meeting. We are continuing to ask that members help identify areas where we can work together and initiate change on various levels of government. If you are interested in participating please come prepared to address your issue and we will do our best to assist!
I hope you can join us for what is sure to be a productive meeting.
Director, Government Relations
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Special thanks to Advocacy Vision Partner
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