County Board to Elect New Chair, Vice Chair Jan. 4

Published on December 22, 2020

The Arlington County Board will elect its 2021 Chair and Vice-Chair during its Monday, January 4 virtual Organizational Meeting, and Board Members will lay out their priorities for 2021. The new Chair will succeed 2020 Chair Libby Garvey and will serve for one year.

"The County Board begins its work each year by choosing our new Chair and Vice-Chair," Libby Garvey said. "Immediately following our Organizational Meeting, we will continue our recent tradition of joining the Civic Federation's first General Meeting of the year, kicking off 2021 by taking their questions. Although we still must meet virtually and must forgo our traditional New Year's reception, my colleagues and I are looking forward to a new year. 2021 promises to be both challenging and hopeful, as we work to end the pandemic and recover."

The Board also will adopt its 2021 meeting procedures at the Organizational Meeting, which will begin at 6 p.m. The Organizational Meeting and the Civic Federation Meeting will be live-streamed on the County Board website and in HD on Arlington TV's YouTube channel. The meeting also will be broadcast on Comcast Xfinity 25 or 1085 (HD), and Verizon FiOS 39 and 40.

The first Regular Board Meeting of the year will be held on Saturday, January 23.

About the Arlington County Board

The five-member Arlington County Board is the legislative body of Arlington County. Board Members are elected at large and serve staggered four-year terms. As the official County head, the Chair sets the Board's meeting agendas and presides over the meetings.

The County Board makes County policy decisions, and the County Manager administers them. Among its many responsibilities, the Board makes land use and zoning decisions and sets real estate personal property and other tax rates. Each year the Board provides guidance to the Manager for the preparation of the County's annual budget, reviews the Manager's proposed budget and adopts it in April. The Board appoints community members to dozens of advisory commissions and appoints the County Manager, the County Attorney, the Clerk to the County Board and the County auditor.

About the Civic Federation

The Arlington County Civic Federation, founded in 1916, is a non-profit umbrella organization representing more than 90 member organizations committed to advocacy and community involvement in Arlington.