Norfolk city manager plans to stay

NORFOLK

City Manager Regina V. K. Williams wants to remain in her job for three more years, and it seems the council, which has been critical of her in recent years, likes the idea.

Williams, 62, came to Norfolk nearly 11 years ago from San Jose, Calif., where she was also the city manager. She is second in longevity among city managers in Hampton Roads only to Virginia Beach's Jim Spore, who was hired in 1991. Spore recently signed a two-year contract extension.

Williams does not have a written contract but seems to enjoy unanimous council support.

"We remain very supportive of her," Mayor Paul Fraim said.

Williams had indicated to council members in recent years that she expected to retire in late 2010, Fraim said. However, he said when the issue was raised in a closed session at the recent retreat in Smithfield, members learned she plans to stay.

"If she was going to retire next year, we wanted to make sure we had plenty of lead time" to hire a replacement, Fraim said.

Williams told council members she has projects she wants to finish, including the startup of light rail and the construction of a new $100 million courthouse and of a new downtown library, Fraim said.

She also said she wants to lay the groundwork for transforming the Tidewater Gardens public housing project, located on downtown's eastern edge, into a mixed-income community.

Williams declined to comment.

Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot said he's happy Williams wants to stay longer. He said he was especially impressed with how she handled last spring's budget.

Williams was able to balance the budget without tax increases, layoffs or pay cuts, he said.

"She did a remarkable job," Burfoot said. "There's nobody in the business better than Regina when it comes to the budget."

Burfoot said that Williams "had a couple of difficult years" prior to 2009. In 2007, she was under fire for hiring a convicted felon to help lead a crime-fighting agency and for her tardiness in filling executive positions.

Then, in January 2008, her husband of nearly four decades, Drew, died after a long illness. Since his death, Burfoot and others said she has thrown herself into her work.

Once-lukewarm support of some council members appears to have solidified.

"The job of city manager has a lot of ups and downs, and she seems to have weathered most of the storms," Fraim said.

Williams is paid $213,276 per year.

Fraim and Burfoot said Williams was asked by the council at the retreat to fill two vacant assistant city manager positions. Otherwise, council members gave her a good review.

"We're knee-deep in projects she started, from the Slover Library to light rail," Burfoot said. "She has her hands on the pulse. It would be foolish to change leadership during the middle of these projects."

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com