The top administrator for James City County has announced he will take a position in Northern Virginia in January.
County Administrator Bryan Hill will step into the role of county executive for Fairfax County starting Jan. 2, according to a James City County news release.
“Bryan Hill has been an asset to James City County and we are very proud of our accomplishments over the last three years,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Kevin Onizuk said in a prepared statement. “I am confident Bryan’s hard-charging leadership style, his finance and budget expertise and his forward thinking mindset will benefit the County of Fairfax for many years to come.”
Hill will replace former Fairfax County Executive Edward Long, Jr, who retired on Sept. 15, according to the Fairfax County website.
Hill has served as James City County administrator since September 2014. He came from Beaufort County, S.C., where he previously served as deputy county administrator.
Hill was hired in James City County under a three-year contract with a $170,000 annual salary.
Hill said Tuesday he didn’t expect to leave James City County “anytime soon,” but decided to take the opportunity in Fairfax.
“It’s a microcosm of a bunch of people who have put their heart and soul into it to make it a greater community,” Hill said.
Onizuk said Hill’s achievements made him an “exceptional” leader, including returning the county to a “citizen-focused county with transparency in what the board, county leadership, and all county staff are doing.”
Hill told the Board of Supervisors Tuesday he was leaving his position, Onizuk said.
“The first step is to find an interim county administrator, someone to hold down the fort,” Onizuk said. “It could be someone inside James City County, it could be someone outside of James City County.”
The Board will discuss finding an interim county administrator and making a hiring plan during a closed session item to the Nov. 28.
While Onizuk’s term on the Board of Supervisors will end at the end of the year – just one day before Hill’s last day on Jan. 1 – he said he expects supervisors to look for a new administrator similar to Hill.
“I would think they would look for some of the same characteristics we had in Bryan,” Onizuk said. “You look for someone who is motivated, someone who is hungry, someone who is a high performer.”
Hill said he and the Board of Supervisors have an agreement that his departure is “just a momentary pause” while they continue to work on bettering the community and state.
“You’re only as good as your staff, and luckily for me, I’ve had great staff in James City County,” Hill said.
WYDaily archives were used in this story.
