Council accomplishments

These accomplishments represent work done by City Council, city staff, and community partners since Mark took office in 2022. Mark is proud to have contributed his experience and judgment to help move these initiatives forward, and is committed to continuing this progress in his next term.

Good governance is a team effort.

EDUCATION

  • Increased City contribution to Portsmouth Public Schools (PPS) from $63.7M in 23-24 school year to $82.9M in 25-26 school year and returned end-of-year budget surpluses year over year

  • Returned PPS budget surplus funding and supported Capital Improvement Project funding to create the PACE Center for Career and Technical Education

  • Pursuing design/construction of new Kindergarten-8th grade school

  • Funding five-year growth plan for Starbase Victory STEM program from City general fund

  • Installed GOTEC STEM program in PPS middle schools

  • Participated in PPS effort to define “Traits of a Graduate”

  • Improved transparency into PPS budget creation and execution

INFRASTRUCTURE

  • Completed Churchland bridge project

  • Completed Court Street bioretention project

  • Completed Churchland Rail to Trail project

  • Acquired Hampton Roads Regional Jail and approved demo of city civic center

  • Participated in public meetings to develop Innovation District (The LINC) plan

  • Began overhauling sewer transfer stations and advocating for state funding to assist

  • Painted two City water towers

  • Increased the amount of street paving funded year over year

  • Completed Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot (DCIP) project to add a third lane entrance to Navy Medical Center Portsmouth in collaboration with the Navy; pursuing collaboration with Navy and Coast Guard for future DCIP opportunities; participated in Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation resiliency study

  • Approved homeless shelter construction

  • Pursuing a Public-Private-Partnership to construct a new city hall and associated parking facility

  • Pursuing design/construction of new public safety complex

PUBLIC SAFETY

  • Reduction in overall crime, violent crime and homicides for the past three years

  • Overhauled 911 system

  • Restored comparable pay for Police, Fire, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

  • Filled Fire, EMT & dispatcher staffing vacancies & invested in fire and ambulance equipment 

  • Invested in new technologies for Portsmouth Police Department; funded installation of Fusus real-time intelligence platform for public safety, Flock license plate reader system and creation of Real Time Crime Center

  • Supporting Portsmouth United and stood up Crime and Gun Violence Commission

  • Implemented summer hiring programs for our teens

  • Approved an ordinance to address more stringent conditions for entertainment-related use permits 

  • Portsmouth CARES team has begun regular compliance visits to businesses

Economic Development

  • Added funding to Portsmouth@Work to fund expanded training opportunities for people looking to gain trade skills or to up-skill

  • Approved several new housing developments to increase housing stock by more than 1100 units

  • Approved collaboration with Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA) to build a new AI-driven trash sorting facility

  • Spearheaded visit to Greenville, SC to gather downtown revitalization ideas

  • Collaborated with Portsmouth Main Street team and Dominion Power to relight High Street corridor

  • Collaborating with the Economic Development Authority to define the desired development of the “former Holiday Inn site”

  • Participated in the stand-up of the Maritime Industry roundtable discussions, aimed at bringing maritime opportunities (and jobs) to Portsmouth

  • Rivers Casino opened and adjacent hotel is under construction

  • Portsmouth has become a hub of small business growth in Hampton Roads – more than 700 new businesses started here in the past year

  • Stood up Minority and/or Women-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) office to review and improve MWBE participation in City procurement

  •  Working with planning department to implement more rigorous oversight of short-term rentals

TAXES

  • Reduced real estate property tax rate from $1.30/$100 of assessed value to $1.24/$100 of assessed value

  • Carefully scrubbing city budget for opportunities to save/repurpose funding annually

  • Pressing federal legislators to extend Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) to Portsmouth to relieve burden of untaxed federal property

Council liaison assignments

  • Crime & Gun Violence Reduction Task Force

  • Personnel committee

  • Planning Commission

  • Economic Development Authority

  • Portsmouth Port & Industrial Commission

  • Portsmouth Parking Authority

  • School board liaison

  • Legislative committee

  • Ports and Virginia Maritime Association

  • Mayor’s Military Affairs Committee