Council honors two long-serving officials and reviews 50th anniversary events

The Manassas Park governing body used part of its Dec. 16 agenda to honor two long-serving public officials and review the city's 50th anniversary celebrations.

The governing body read and adopted a resolution recognizing Debbie Wood for 34 years of service, citing her work as Commissioner of Revenue, assistance with IT improvements in 2018 that supported audit readiness, and management of vehicle licensing and business-tax workloads. The resolution "extends sincere gratitude for the dedication and commitment shown throughout this remarkable career."

A second resolution honored Patricia (Patty) Dellinger for 32 years of service, including her role as elected treasurer. The resolution credited Dellinger with collecting delinquent taxes, increasing collection rates from below 90% to approximately 98%, arranging short-term loans in 2017–18 to address cash shortfalls, consolidating utility billing responsibilities, and improving bank reconciliations.

Staff also summarized the city's 50th anniversary calendar of events, noting a kickoff event in February, a March craft fair with roughly 35 vendors and 350 attendees, a September flag raising, and an Oct. 4 Fire & Fiddle Fest at Costello Park. Staff reported about 1,100 attendees across the day of the festival with a peak around 2 p.m. of approximately 592 people. The governing body allocated $25,000 to anniversary events; staff reported $88.50 in sponsorships and said the events came in about $11,000 under the city allocation.

Council members thanked the honorees and congratulated staff on the celebrations.