CITY MANAGER
306 Cedar Road, Sixth Floor
P.O. Box 15225
Chesapeake, VA 23328

Phone: (757) 382-6166
Fax: (757) 382-6507
Email: citymanager
@cityofchesapeake.net

City Manager's Office

William E. Harrell,
City Manager

William E. Harrell is the City Manager of Chesapeake, Virginia (population approximately 220,000). As the top administrator of Virginia's third largest city, Harrell oversees the day-to-day operations of the City, manages an operating budget of more than $900 million and leads 4,000-plus full and part-time municipal employees. Born and raised in Chesapeake, Harrell continues to develop his reputation for successful local government leadership in his hometown.

Under Harrell's tenure, Chesapeake has seen its general obligation bond rating upgraded to "AA+" from "AA." This achievement, coupled with Chesapeake's solid financial performance and strong reserve levels, puts the City on a solid financial footing.

Harrell is committed to seeing that Chesapeake move forward, and one major indicator of this is the City Hall energy retrofit project, which aims to bring the building more in line with the City's green initiatives. This in turn will save considerable money for taxpayers for years to come. For the effort, the City was honored with a Green Government Certification from the Virginia Municipal League in 2008.

For other cost saving measures, Harrell looked to the employees of Chesapeake, challenging them to look beyond the norm and find new, better, more efficient ways to serve customers, the citizens of Chesapeake. In the past year, Harrell has enhanced the City's staffing in several key areas.

Prior to taking on the role of City Manager in Chesapeake, Harrell served as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the City of Richmond, Virginia. As CAO, Harrell managed City operations, including more than 20 departments and agencies, and a total budget in excess of $800 million. His administration attracted more than $450 million in investment in the City of Richmond. Harrell was also responsible for transitioning the organization and staff into a new, strong-Mayor form of government.

Harrell began his work in Richmond as Deputy City Manager, with responsibility for the City's operations portfolio, which included the departments of Economic and Community Development, Real Estate, Public Works and Utilities. He was serving as Interim City Manager prior to being appointed Interim City Administrator by Mayor L. Douglas Wilder. The Mayor and City Council subsequently confirmed him as the City's first Chief Administrative Officer on March 24, 2005.

He went to Richmond after three years as Assistant City Manager in the City of Greensboro, North Carolina, where he played a key role in the City's business development and strategic planning efforts. His responsibilities included coordination of the infrastructure departments — Water Resources, Transportation, Planning, Environmental Services and Parks and Recreation.

Harrell's experience in Greensboro was preceded by 10 years in the City of Suffolk, Virginia, where he served as Director of Public Utilities and eventually Assistant City Manager. His accomplishments for the City included the implementation of a $6.8 million desalination plant for water purification, a first in Virginia, and the revision of a comprehensive land use plan involving community input in the City's future.

A rising leader in public administration, William Harrell was honored by the Virginia Chapter for the American Society for Public Administration with the G. Robert House Young Public Administrator Award.

A 1980 graduate of Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Harrell earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Virginia. Additionally, he earned a second master's in Public Administration from the University.

Harrell's wife of 20 years, Johnna, is a 1981 graduate of Chesapeake's Western Branch High School. They have a 17-year-old daughter, Charity Majette. Both William and Johnna's parents reside in Chesapeake.