Surrounded by city leaders, Alexandria’s new Police Chief Tarrick McGuire was sworn in on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
McGuire is the third permanent chief of the Alexandria Police Department in three years. The city’s Chief Circuit Court Judge Lisa Kemler swore him in onstage at the amphitheater of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Old Town.
Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon has hired Tarrick McGuire as Alexandria’s new police chief.
McGuire, the assistant chief of police in Arlington, Texas, has been with that department since 2003 — just three years before Parajon started working in that city government in 2006. There was no mention of their relationship or knowing each other in the release to the public.
Personal property taxes, also known as car taxes, are due today in Alexandria, and new penalties make late payments pricey.
City Council approved City Manager Jim Parajon’s proposal in the spring to increase the late payment penalty from a flat rate of:
Cupcakes, music and fireworks punctuated Alexandria’s 275th birthday on Saturday.
It was a clear night for a party at Oronoco Bay Park (100 Madison Street) along the Potomac River. Mayor Justin Wilson and city leaders spoke onstage before handing out thousands of birthday cupcakes.
Alexandria is experiencing a shortage of mental health staff, and City Manager Jim Parajon is asking City Council for $900,000 to solve the problem.
Tonight Council will consider releasing the funds from contingent reserves to pay for strategies to hire and retain the city’s mental health staff.
Alexandria Interim Fire Chief Jim Schwartz has put a departmental redeployment on hold that would have replaced fire engines with ambulances.
Former Alexandria Fire Department Chief Corey Smedley announced his AFD Forward plan in September. The plan would have replaced fire engines at Station 204 (900 Second Street) in Old Town North and Station 205 (1210 Cameron Street) in Rosemont. Using 2022 data, AFD found that 72% of their calls for service (out of more than 27,000 incidents) were medical and rescue-related, while just 15% were fire alarm and fire-related.
Alexandria residents and businesses are facing a large increase in financial penalties for zoning violations.
On Saturday, City Council will consider a recommendation by City Manager Jim Parajon and the Department of Planning and Zoning to increase violations by hundreds, and, in some cases thousands of dollars.
It’s about to get a little more expensive to live in Alexandria.
On Saturday, City Manager Jim Parajon will present City Council with proposals to increase:
Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon is asking City Council to increase penalties for late personal property tax payments.
The news comes as City Council considers a real estate tax increase to fund a significant budget request from the Alexandria School Board.
Alexandria’s Interim Police Chief Raul Pedroso has been on the job a little more than a month, and tells ALXnow that he wants the permanent position.
Pedroso was hired as an assistant police chief last October, and took the reins of the Alexandria Police Department last month after the retirement of former Chief Don Hayes.
Alexandria School Board Members went all-in Wednesday night in asking City Council to fund its budget by approving a massive tax increase.
Mayor Justin Wilson told the Board at a budget work session on Wednesday night that its fiscal year 2025 $384.4 million combined funds budget request would result in a historic tax increase. The Board, in turn, said that the funding could stem the school system’s staffing crisis.
