Bill Ashton is set to become the third Stafford County administrator in four years. He will face a bevy of challenges, and a significantly larger budget and population.
Over the past four years, Stafford County has gone through two county administrators — Fred Presley (2020 – 2022), Randall Vosburg (2022 – 2024). Now, the county has hired Bill Ashton as its third administrator since 2000.
Ashton comes from Herndon, Virginia, where he has been the town manager since 2017.
It’s a big step for Ashton. He moves from a town of just under 25,000 citizens to a county of approximately 160,000 people. Moreover, Herndon’s annual budget is about $75 million; Stafford’s just breached the $1 billion mark.
While the scope of the job is larger, Ashton walks into a community that shares some things in common with his employer. Herndon is a majority minority community, with whites making up less than 35% of its population. Stafford is currently majority white, with about 55% of its citizens so classified. But demographic trends suggest that whites will soon be in the minority. Also, Herndon is dealing with escalating real estate prices and the new to build more affordable housing to aid those who can’t afford the over-half-million-dollar price that is the average for single-family homes in Herndon and Stafford.
Exit a Changing Herndon
Recent years in Herndon have led to some difficult changes that Ashton had to usher the town through. None more prominent than the decision to end the popular Herndon Festival, which had a 43-year run.
Ashton provided many reasons for the cancellation in his presentation to the Herndon City Council. These were summed up in this piece by InsideNova.
In a video statement explaining the change, town officials said the decision was made due to a combination of issues like increased logistical challenges, security and accessibility concerns, and lack of volunteers to maintain and support what has been a cornerstone event in Herndon for 43 years.
Ashton also was the manager this year when council improved significant jumps in both water and sewer rates. As reported in RestonNow:
[T]he water service rate is set to increase from $3.47 this year to $4.08 per 1,000 gallons of water consumption in the next budget year, which starts July 1. The sewer rate is set to increase from $8.27 to $8.93 per 1,000 gallons of water consumption in fiscal year 2025.
The real estate tax rate in the new budget was unchanged.
Enter a Changing Stafford
Ashton enters at a time when the Board of Supervisors and the School Board have sparred over the placement of a new elementary school, questions have been raised about mid-year raises to senior staff, and development issues along with a challenging transportation environment have sparked controversy.
For all these issues, however, Stafford continues to attract people for its variety of outdoor activities, diverse communities, respected public schools, high standard of living, and abundance of commuter options to Washington, D.C.
Board of Supervisors’ chair Meg Bohmke expressed optimism about the hire:
Bill’s extensive educational background, professional experience, and remarkable accomplishments perfectly align with our community’s vision. The Board is eager to collaborate with Bill on pivotal County and community initiatives to enhance our overall operations and service delivery.
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