County roundup

By Staff

Published: June 22, 2008

Prince William wins NACo awards

Prince William County government received four Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo). The awards were given for the Universal Design Education Program, the Project Administrators Handbook and the Human Rights Commission's Mediation Swap and Robbery Suppressio

Initiative.

The NACo Achievement Award is given to recognize county governments on a national level for hard work in promoting quality, efficiency and responsibility in county government management and administration.

The Universal Design Education Program is a cooperative effort by both county staff and the Greater Prince William Coalition on Universal Design. Universal home design incorporates principles, features and concepts that allow individuals to be more comfortable and safe in their home

throughout the course of their life.

The Project Administrators Handbook is a reference guide for Prince William County staff involved in implementing the Capital Improvement Program. It provides a ready reference to all project managers to ensure that projects are properly coordinated and that no steps of the process are missed. The aim of the handbook is not to teach engineers and architects how to be engineers and architects, but to teach engineers and architects how to navigate the organization. The handbook is meant to satisfy the needs of all types of projects including roads, buildings and landscaping, and provides some clarification as to the differences in administration between the types of projects.

The Police Department's Street Crimes Unit was tasked with conducting a Robbery Suppression Initiative to reduce the number of robberies. Members conducted street level enforcement in the identified areas by being highly visible, initiating contact with subjects seen in the area and adhering to a "zero tolerance" policy. Members also established a rapport and level of trust within the largely victimized Hispanic community, in particular the business community. The initiative resulted in an increase in the robbery clearance rate, led to money and weapon seizures, hundreds of criminal charges and a reduction in the number of robberies in 2007.

The Prince William County and Alexandria City Human Rights Commissions began a mediation swap in October 2005. The purpose of the swap was to maintain a firewall between mediation and charge investigations, a new contractual requirement by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Other agencies throughout the nation have addressed this requirement by establishing a mediation unit separate from its charge management division. This has resulted in hiring

additional staff and requesting additional resources from the local general fund. The Prince William and Alexandria agencies are small and have limited staff and funds to conduct its charge management program. The idea of creating and staffing a mediation program within the confines of their existing budgets was problematic. This project exemplifies the way collaboration can result in innovative and cost-effective programs that can be modeled in local governments throughout the

nation.

Prince William Edition for this week

This week's Prince William Edition features news and information happening in Prince William County in the upcoming weeks. The show airs today through Sunday, June 29.

Prince William Edition is a five-minute, weekly public affairs program featuring the latest news and information on Prince William County government. Prince William Edition airs on CNN Headline News, which is Channel 29 for Comcast Communications East subscribers and Channel 28 for Comcast Communications West subscribers. The program can be seen seven days a week at various times.

Prince William hosts Navy's Country Current band

Prince William County is hosting the Navy country band, the Country Current, on the Sean T. Connaughton Community Plaza on June 26 at 7 p.m.

The U.S. Navy Band's "Country Current," a country-bluegrass group, is the Navy's premier country

music ensemble. They have performed with a veritable "Who's Who" list of country and bluegrass music artists, including Brooks and Dunn, Charlie Daniels, Vince Gill, Toby Keith, Alison Kraus, Kathy Mattea and Nickel Creek, as well as many

others.

The Sean T. Connaughton Community Plaza is located off the Prince William Parkway at the County Complex, which is located between the James J. McCoart Administration Building and the Development Services Building. For more information about events on the Sean T. Connaughton Community Plaza, please visit http://www.pwc

gov.org/plaza or call 703-792-8070.