Virginia Beach, Virginia

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Virginia Beach, Virginia
VirginiaBeachcityseal.png
General information
Bob-dyer.jpg
Mayor:Bob Dyer
Mayor party:Nonpartisan
Last mayoral election:2020
Next mayoral election:2024
Last city council election:2020
Next city council election:November 8, 2022
City council seats:11[1]
City website
Composition data (2013)
Population:448,479
Gender:Female 50.9%
Race:White 68.9%
African American 20.0%
Asian 6.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone 0.5%
Two or More 3.9%
Ethnicity:Hispanic or Latino 7.5%
Median household income:$65,980
High school graduation rate:93.1%
College graduation rate:32.3%
Related Virginia Beach offices
Virginia Congressional Delegation
Virginia State Legislature
Virginia state executive offices


Virginia Beach is an independent city located in Virginia. It is considered a county-equivalent. The city's population was 448,479 as of 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[2][3]

Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County combined governments in 1963.[4]

Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...

City government[edit]

See also: Council-manager government

The city of Virginia Beach utilizes a council-manager system. In this form of municipal government, an elected city council, which includes the mayor and serves as the city's primary legislative body, appoints an executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement the council's policy and legislative initiatives.[5][6]

Mayor[edit]

See also: List of current mayors of the top 100 cities in the United States

The mayor is a member of the city council. He or she presides over council meetings and official city ceremonies. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[5] The current Mayor of Virginia Beach is Bob Dyer (nonpartisan). Dyer assumed office on November 20, 2018.

City manager[edit]

The city manager is the city's chief executive. The responsibilities of the city manager include overseeing the city's day-to-day operations, planning and implementing the city's operating budget, and appointing departmental directors and other senior-level positions.[6][7]

City council[edit]

See also: List of current city council officials of the top 100 cities in the United States

The Virginia Beach City Council is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for approving and adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[5]

The city council consists of 11 members including the mayor. Three members and the mayor have no residency requirements, while the other seven council members must live in the district that they represent. They all serve four-year, staggered terms.[8]

Virginia Dare Soil and Water Conservation District Board[edit]

Other elected officials[edit]


Mayoral partisanship[edit]

See also: Party affiliation of the mayors of the 100 largest cities

Virginia Beach has a Republican mayor. As of November 2021, 63 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 26 are affiliated with the Republican Party, four are independents, six identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and one mayor's affiliation is unknown. While most mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.

Elections[edit]

2021[edit]

See also: City elections in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2021)

The city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, held general elections for commissioner of revenue, commonwealth's attorney, sheriff, and treasurer on November 2, 2021. A primary was scheduled for June 8, 2021. The filing deadline for the primary election was March 25, 2021, and the filing deadline for independent and minor party candidates was August 13, 2021.

Before 2021, Virginia Beach voters elected all city council members at large. In March 2021, the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia ruled that, by holding at-large city council elections, Virginia Beach had violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, denying minority voters equal access to the electoral process. The ruling prohibited Virginia Beach from electing city council members on an at-large basis in future elections.[9] The city appealed the decision in May 2021.[10]

2020[edit]

See also: City elections in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2020) and Mayoral election in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2020)

The city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, held general elections for mayor and four city council seats on November 3, 2020. The filing deadline for this election was June 9, 2020.

2019[edit]

See also: City elections in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2019)
The city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, held general elections for soil and water conservation director and clerk of court on November 5, 2019. The primary was on June 11, 2019. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was March 29, 2019.

2018[edit]

See also: Municipal elections in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2018) and Mayoral election in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2018)

The city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, held general elections for mayor and city council on November 6, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in seven city council races was June 12, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in the special election for mayor and one city council race was August 17, 2018. Click here for more information about the mayoral election.

2017[edit]

See also: Municipal elections in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2017)

The city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, held elections for commissioner of revenue, commonwealth attorney, sheriff, and treasurer on November 7, 2017. A primary election took place on June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in the primary was March 30, 2017. The filing deadline for independent candidates was June 13, 2017.

2016[edit]

See also: Municipal elections in Virginia Beach, Virginia (2016)

The city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, held elections for mayor and four city council seats on November 8, 2016. Candidates interested in seeking these offices had to file with the city's voter registrar by June 14, 2016.[11][12]

2014[edit]

See also: Virginia Beach, Virginia municipal elections, 2014

The city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, held elections for city council on November 4, 2014. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 10, 2014.[13]

Six of Virginia Beach's eleven council seats were up for election. These included two at-large seats and the Districts of Bayside, Beach, Lynnhaven and Princess Anne.

Budget[edit]

The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30 of the next year.[14] The city manager is responsible for drafting a proposed annual budget, while the city council is responsible for revising and adopting the budget after holding a public hearing.[15]

Fiscally standardized cities data[edit]

The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[16]

FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[17]

—Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[18]

The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.

Revenue in 2017
Revenue type Amount
Total Revenue $2,196,802,241
General Revenue $2,096,419,969
Federal Aid $135,304,709
State Aid $617,298,412
Tax Revenue $948,125,463
Charges & Misc. General Revenue $395,686,874
Utility Revenue $94,810,742
Liquor Store Revenue $0
Employee Retirement Trust Revenue $5,576,041

Expenditures in 2017
Expenditure type Amount
Total Expenditures $2,138,754,572
General Expenditures $2,016,090,693
Education Services Expenditure $854,803,470
Social Services and Income Maintenance Expenditure $202,072,837
Transportation Expenditure $122,745,083
Public Safety Expenditure $232,569,631
Environment and Housing Expenditure $393,665,785
Governmental Administration Expenditure $107,117,732
Interest on General Debt $30,054,680
Miscellaneous Expenditure $73,061,475
Utility Expenditure $119,456,301
Liquor Store Expenditure $0
Employee Retirement Trust Expenditure $3,207,577
Intergovernmental Expenditures $0

Historical total revenue and expenditure[edit]

To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[16]

Virginia Beach, Virginia, salaries and pensions over $95,000[edit]

Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.

Contact information[edit]

Mayor's office
2401 Courthouse Dr.
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Phone: 757-385-4581

City Clerk's office
2401 Courthouse Dr. Suite 281
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Phone: 757-385-5669

Click here for city council contact information.

Ballot measures[edit]

Virginia Beach is a charter city, and its initiative process follows state law. Click here for details on laws governing local ballot measures in Virginia.[19]

Noteworthy events[edit]

2020: Events and activity following the death of George Floyd[edit]

See also: Events following the death of George Floyd and responses in select cities from May 29-31, 2020

During the weekend of May 29-31, 2020, demonstrations and protests took place in cities nationwide, including Virginia Beach, following the death of George Floyd. Events in Virginia Beach, Virginia, took place on Sunday, May 31, 2020.[20] Protests in the larger Hampton Roads area began on Friday, May 29, 2020.[21] No curfews were issued in Virginia Beach over the weekend. The national guard was not deployed.

2015: Study on city's nondiscrimination laws[edit]

See also: Employment nondiscrimination laws in Virginia

In July 2015, the Movement Advancement Project described Virginia Beach, Virginia, as a city or county that did not prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity via ordinances that apply to public and private employers. At that time, a total of 71 of America's largest 100 cities prohibited private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, while 69 of those cities also prohibited discrimination based on gender identity. This did not include those jurisdictions that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for government employees.[22]

Nondiscrimination laws can cover a variety of areas, including public employment, private employment, housing, and public accommodations. Such laws may be enacted at the state, county, or city level.

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. The mayor is included in this number as one of the city council members.
  2. U.S. Census, "QuickFacts," accessed August 12, 2014
  3. Virginia Beach, "About the City," accessed December 4, 2011
  4. City of Virginia Beach, "Historical Summary," accessed August 26, 2021
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 City of Virginia Beach, "City Council," accessed November 27, 2018
  6. 6.0 6.1 City of Virginia Beach, "Form of Government and City Officials," accessed August 25, 2021
  7. City of Virginia Beach, "City Manager," accessed October 30, 2014
  8. City of Virginia Beach, "City Council," accessed April 23, 2020
  9. 13 News Now, "Court declares Virginia Beach's at-large city council election system illegal, says it disadvantages minorities," March 31, 2021
  10. WAVY.com, "Virginia Beach will appeal ruling in which federal judge found voting system ‘illegal’," May 26, 2021
  11. City of Virginia Beach Voter Registrar, "Elected Offices and Terms," accessed August 13, 2015
  12. The Virginian-Pilot, "Find out who's running for Virginia Beach mayor and City Council," June 14, 2016
  13. Virginia State Board of Elections, "November 4, 2014 Elections Candidacy Requirements For Local Offices," accessed May 15, 2014
  14. Municode, "Virginia Beach Code of Ordinances Article VI Division 1 Sec. 2-186," accessed September 9, 2021
  15. Municode, "Virginia Beach City Charter Chapter 5," accessed September 9, 2021
  16. 16.0 16.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed June 4, 2021
  17. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  18. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed May 26, 2021
  19. Municode, "Code of Ordinances Virginia Beach, Virginia," accessed July 29, 2021
  20. WTKR, "Protests continue in Hampton Roads over George Floyd’s death," June 2, 2020
  21. WTKR, "Local groups organize protests in Hampton Roads after death of George Floyd," May 29, 2020
  22. Movement Advancement Project, "Local Employment Non-Discrimination Ordinances," accessed July 7, 2015

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Status: cached on November 18 2021 12:05:57
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