The Dumfries Town Council convened on Tuesday, December 3, to reflect on its achievements and challenges as it celebrates its 275th anniversary. The meeting highlighted the town’s growth and a controversial gala event to honor the historic milestone.

A gala celebrating Dumfries’ 275th anniversary in May at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, originally envisioned as a three-day extravaganza, became a financial debacle. Despite the council approving a $100,000 budget for the event, planners overspent by $28,000, resulting in a cost overrun of more than 130%.

The gala, expected to host hundreds of guests, sold only 12 tickets, leaving planners scrambling to secure funds for entertainment. The town’s government posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the event was “sold out,” but town officials later revealed that this was far from reality.

One of the primary contributors to the budget overrun was the decision to serve a menu of braised beef tips and salmon. Catering company Aramark was paid nearly $40,000 for the meal, with plans to prepare 350 plates, despite the low ticket sales. Vice Mayor Monae Nickerson expressed sharp criticism of the overspending during a council meeting held in May. “To be $28,000 over budget seems pretty fiscally irresponsible to me,” Nickerson said. “Did it ever occur to anyone that a $40,000 menu was too much to spend on food? We’re a local non-profit government.”

Responsibility for the financial mismanagement became a contentious topic among council members. Both Nickerson and Councilman Tyrone A. Brown placed the blame squarely on Mayor Derek Wood, who oversaw the citizen committee tasked with planning the event. “You are a chef; you should have known that braised beef and salmon is more expensive than chicken,” said Nickerson, referencing Wood’s experience running a barbecue food truck.

Wood, in response, sought to redirect the discussion toward finding a resolution. “We can go back and forth,” he began before reiterating the importance of focusing on the community’s future.

On December 3, Wood emphasized the town’s progress and unity, saying, “This year has been meaningful for us as the town we’ve been celebrating 275 years, and this holiday season really just offers us an opportunity to showcase the spirit and the unity that makes Dumfries such a wonderful place to live and to do business.”

The town has planned additional events to mark the milestone, including a holiday house lighting contest and a grand parade, which Mayor Wood described as “more than just a parade…a reflection of the strong bonds and the things that unite us as a community.” Vice Mayor Nickerson echoed the sentiment of growth, urging the council to ensure that future projects and celebrations maintain fiscal responsibility.

As Dumfries reflects on its history, the council faces the dual challenge of preserving the town’s heritage while building an inclusive and sustainable future. Despite the setbacks, Mayor Wood remained optimistic, urging the community to “spread joy, give generously, and look ahead with hope and determination.”

Honoring Outgoing Councilman Tyrone Brown

Also, at the December 3 meeting, Councilman Tyrone Brown was recognized for his four years of dedicated service. The Council presented a formal resolution honoring his leadership during the pandemic and his contributions to the town’s transformation, including his instrumental role in the $460 million Rose Gaming Resort project.

The resolution highlighted Councilman Brown’s efforts, stating, “Councilman Brown played a pivotal role in navigating us through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing his steady leadership to protect public health and support economic recovery.” It continued, “His contributions were instrumental in advancing major economic projects, including the development of the Rose Gaming Resort…creating hundreds of jobs and enhancing town revenues.”

Fellow Council members paid tribute. Vice Mayor Nickerson admired Brown’s ability to spark deep discussions, saying, “Your ability to bring about thought-provoking questions that pushed us further into deeper conversations…forced a greater conversation. It’s appreciated.”

Councilman Fields reflected on their collaboration, stating, “It’s been a pleasure working with you…appreciate our good talks, wisdom, and just working together to get things done.”

Community members also shared their gratitude. Russell Young, who will soon replace Brown on the council, remarked, “Thank you for your wisdom and compassion for this town and community. I truly appreciate all the hard work you’ve done.”

In his remarks, Councilman Brown expressed pride in the town’s progress, stating, “Significant things that haven’t happened in 40, 50 years in this town…I’m very proud of that.” Reflecting on his time in office, he acknowledged the collaborative nature of the Council and emphasized his commitment to the community. “If there’s a need for me to come back and run again, I will do that.”

Brian Feilds and Shuan Peet won re-election to the council, while Young was elected to his first term in the November 2024 General Election.

In an ongoing legal battle with the town’s Mayor, Dumfries issued new fines to Mayor Derrick Wood’s business Dyvine BBQ in Motion on Acts Lane.

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In an unusual move, the Town of Dumfries sued its Mayor because it alleges his business, Dyvine BBQ on Acts Lane, has consistently failed to comply with the ordinances the Mayor had voted to enact. The manager plans to take further action soon.

In a February 2024 complaint to Prince William Civil Court, the town of Dumfries says Mayor Derrick Wood’s business, Dyvine BBQ, violated 12 separate ordinances regarding permitting, signage, customer seating, trash removal, and insurance requirements.

Prince William General District Court Judge William E. Jarvis agreed with the Town and issued an order requiring Mayor Wood to pay a $400 fine and comply with the Town’s Ordinances.

Mayor’s Ordinance Violations Spark Controversy

The Town code was first adopted in 1995 and updated and approved by Mayor Wood in 2018 to specifically prohibit temporary food vendors from operating more than 12 hours a day at any one location and prevent food trucks from remaining parked overnight with all trash and signage removed daily—something the Town says Mayor Wood’s own business has not abided by.

The Town claims that Dyvine BBQ has violated the ordinance for some time. In an October 2023 Town Council meeting, Councilmen Tyrone Brown and Brian Fields motioned to remove parts of the ordinance that Dyvine BBQ was not compliant with.

Town Council Rejects Exemption for Dyvine BBQ

At the October 2023 meeting, Mayor Pro-Tem Selonia Miles said, “We have to be very intentional about how we grow Dumfries, to amend this zoning amendment for one business is not the way to do that. That business should probably just pursue another avenue.”

After consultation with the Virginia Ethics Board, Mayor Wood recused himself from the discussion and did not participate in the vote. Ultimately, the council voted against changing the zoning in favor of the Mayor’s business, and the Town advised Mayor Wood to correct his company’s deficiencies.

Local Business Owners Protest Unequal Treatment

Other business owners claim Mayor Wood’s business has violated town ordinances for years, and it wasn’t until business owners threatened to quit complying with town ordinances that the town finally took action against the Mayor. Kay Vickers, owner of Kay’s Citrine Soul Food, said she got fed up and told town officials that she would no longer “pay for a permit until the Mayor pays for a permit.”

Vickers said her civil disobedience forced the town to begin enforcement actions against Mayor Wood’s business. “My husband and I had a vision to grow our business in Dumfries, but my biggest fear is investing more money into my business in a town where the Mayor can do whatever he wants and can block my ability to do business because he’s the mayor and I’m a competitor to his business,” she adds.

County records show Dyvine BBQ’s landlord, Johnson Commercial Realty, purchased the property once occupied by Reid Funeral Home in October 2019. The funeral home owner, Shaun Reid, was accused of using the property to store human remains and perform embalming without a license illegally. A cursory look at historical street views shows that Mayor Wood’s food truck appeared at the property sometime between the 2019 purchase and 2021. Judge Jarvis tossed out a separate fine from the Town against the landlord.

Town Manager Tangela Innis said she “can’t speak for what happened before her tenure,” but under her watch, “all businesses will be held to the same standards.” Innis, who came to Dumfries in April 2023 after over a decade in multiple roles at the city of Petersburg, vowed to run the Town of Dumfries professionally.

Mayor Wood has paid his fine and said he’s “corrected all the Ordinance violations, and [he’s] in full compliance.” Town officials say that assertion is false, and the original violations still exist at the property on Acts Lane.

In an email statement, the town is resolute in bringing Dyvine BBQ into compliance with Town Ordinances: “The Town of Dumfries is anticipating issuing new citations this coming week, as we have allowed [Dyvine BBQ] some time to rectify the violations after receiving payment of the fine issued.”

Town Ordinances allow the Town to treat the violations as new violations each day, allowing the fines to accrue until the Ordinance violations are corrected. So far, the town has only issued the $400 fine from the February inspection. Outside counsel was hired explicitly to remove the appearance of impropriety as town officials navigate the unusual process of holding the Mayor accountable.

Previous Lawsuits Highlight Mayor’s Financial Troubles

This is not Mayor Wood’s first brush with civil action against him or his businesses. In February 2024 R&A Design Studio obtained a judge’s permission to garnish the wages Mayor Wood received from the Town Council to pay $14,564 in past rent on his defunct events center. A recent filing in the Prince William Civil Court states that although garnishments started in February, Mayor Wood still owes nearly $13,000. The Mayor was not present for his court date on October 23 to respond to the latest garnishment request, and Judge Che C. Rogers dispersed the previously collected garnishment to the legal counsel for R&A Design Center without Mayor Wood or his representative being present.

In August 2023, Dyvine BBQ was sued for $25,000 after a 53-year-old customer from Springfield claimed a 23-year-old employee assaulted her after the customer attempted to get burned chicken remade. The claim resulted in a non-suit because the plaintiff failed to secure legal representation before the hearing. In a phone interview, the customer, Monica Souter, was frustrated because she felt that lawyers did not want to represent her everywhere she went after hearing that Wood was the defendant.

“They told me I’d never see a dime from him,” Souter said. Souter alleges the assault has left her with a rotator cuff injury that still affects her today. “I’m a grandmother. I didn’t go there to fight. I had my granddaughter and her friend with me. I thought it was a professional business, but the way I was treated said something completely different.” Souter said she’s hopeful an attorney would pick up her case. “It’s not right, the way I was treated,” she said.

In September 2020, a debt collector sued Mayor Wood on behalf of Paul Davis Design of Ashburn to collect money owed after Mayor Wood contracted the company to repair a leak in his basement. The suit was dismissed without reason, but a representative of Paul Davis Design said they still have not received the $414.51 payment for the work they performed in 2019.

Ebony Lofton, a candidate for one of four candidates vying for three council seats up for election this November, said, “It is concerning that someone with so many lawsuits filed for monies owed can be in charge of the budget of our town.”

Overspending Scandal Adds to Mayor’s Challenges

The town’s budget is $11 million. In Dumfries’s system of government, the Mayor does not have direct control of where the money goes, but he does have the power to suggest how the money is spent, and ultimately, he and the council vote for the expenditures.

The Mayor’s ability to suggest how money is spent was on full display earlier this year, and our report showed that the town overspent an eye-popping 135% of its allocated $100,000 budget for the Town’s Anniversary Gala.

Days before the event, the council had to approve $35,000 in emergency funds for items Mayor Wood and the Gala contractor had agreed to outside the council’s vote. During that meeting, council members argued over who was responsible for the overspending.

Vice Mayor Monae Nickerson and Councilman Tyrone Brown pointed fingers at Mayor Wood, who claimed to have overseen the citizen committee responsible for the celebration and worked closely with the planning contractor hired to plan the event.

“You are a chef; you should have known that braised beef and salmon is more expensive than chicken,” said Nickerson, citing Mayor Wood’s personal business at Dyvine BBQ.

Mayor Wood is serving his second term as Mayor of Dumfries. He was first elected to the Town Council in 2014 and as Mayor in 2018.

Mayor Wood lobbied to bring The Rose, a soon-to-open gaming resort, to the town. Most recently, he’s been a fixture at White House parties and is featured in a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee urging people to vote for Kamala Harris and down-ballot Democrats who will support gun control.

During his tenure, Mayor Wood used the council chambers as a private broadcast studio for a YouTube show titled “Spotlight Dumfries,” where he interviewed Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Fairfax) and Prince William County Supervisor Andrea Bailey and promoted sponsorship opportunities on his show. For $1,200, a podcast sponsor could receive a “key to the city” of Dumfries, part of three different sponsorship packages available.

The Dumfries Town Council seeks to amend the town’s charter, which dates back to 1749, making Dumfries the oldest continuously chartered town in Virginia. The proposed changes were discussed during the council’s July 3 meeting.

According to a town spokeswoman, the amendments, which must be approved by the Virginia General Assembly in Richmond, are primarily administrative and aimed at promoting greater clarity concerning the existing text. One substantive proposal would empower the Mayor to declare a local emergency if neither the director of emergency management nor the town council is available.

The council’s agenda packet for the July 2 meeting did not include supporting documentation to provide residents with more information about the proposed changes.

The proposed charter amendments came after recent criticism of Mayor Derrick Wood. Last month, a fallen tree onto a power line trapped residents of the Prince William Estates neighborhood for 14 hours. During this time, Wood visited the neighborhood before attending a gala at the White House.

“The Town Council, as part of its unwavering commitment to a well-managed government, has pledged to make periodic reviews of the Town’s Charter and ordinances,” the town spokeswoman said. “This ensures that these sources accurately reflect the powers given to the Town by the state and remain transparent and effective for Town residents. This is the Council’s first review of the Town Charter to further its strategic plan goals and provide a clear direction for the changes.”

The town’s state representatives, State Senator Jeremy McPike and Delegate Candi Mundon King were informed of the council’s intent to propose amendments during a legislative meeting on July 9. Each representative may sponsor duplicate bills in their respective legislative bodies.

Vice Mayor Nickerson commented on the proposed changes during the town council meeting, stating that the council had worked on them during a working session and continued to do so towards the end of the meeting. She emphasized the importance of the changes in reflecting the community’s needs and values.

The proposed changes also include:

• The Town Clerk will be supervised by the Town Manager while assisting the council with administrative tasks.
• A civil penalty of up to $5,000 for civil or criminal misdemeanors will be enforceable.

Nickerson raised the issue of recourse if a council member fails to attend meetings but continues to collect their stipend, which the Town Attorney suggested should be addressed in the Code of Conflict rather than the charter.

Sarah Romero contributed to this report.

While more than 100 Dumfries residents were trapped inside their neighborhood without electricity, their mayor was partying at the White House.

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By Alan Gloss and Sarah Romero

Dumfries is celebrating its 275th anniversary this weekend, amid budgetary woes as it prepares for a three-day extravaganza to mark the occasion. Originally, the town council approved a $100,000 budget for the celebration, but it was revealed Tuesday that planners had overspent by $28,000.

The result is a cost-overrun of more than 130%. Meanwhile, they were only able to sell 12 tickets to the gala and still needed more money to hire a local musician to entertain gala guests.

In a post made to X this afternoon, the town government maintains the gala event is “sold out.”

One of the main contributors to the budget overrun was that planners approved a menu of braised beef tips and salmon without regard to the cost of catering such a meal, said town officials. The catering company Aramark is being paid nearly $40,000 for the meal and is expected to make 350 plates.

During a town council meeting held Tuesday, May 7, 2024, Vice Mayor Monae Nickerson, expressing frustration at the overspending, raised numerous questions during council discussions. “To be $28,000 over budget seems pretty fiscally irresponsible to me,” Nickerson said. “Did it ever occur to anyone that a $40,000 menu was too much to spend on food? We’re a local non-profit government.”

Responsibility for the overspending was a matter of contention among council members. Vice Mayor Nickerson and Councilman Tyrone Brown pointed fingers at Mayor Derrick Wood, who they claimed not only oversaw the citizen committee responsible for the celebration but also worked closely with the planning company hired to plan the event. “You are a chef; you should have known that braised beef and salmon is more expensive than chicken,” said Nickerson, citing Wood’s personal business running a barbeque food truck.

In response to the criticism, Wood attempted to shift the focus to finding solutions. “We can go back and forth for 30 or 45 minutes [placing blame], but town manager, do you have any solutions for this?” Mayor Wood asked.

The town manager, Tangela Innis, offered ways to cut spending, such as not hiring musician Marcus Johnson, who commands a rate of $5,000 an hour for his performances, or cutting the fireworks planned for Saturday at nearly $11,000 for the 20-minute display. Councilman Sean Peet asked for ways to keep the fireworks “for the children” so as not to disappoint them. Ultimately, none of Innis’s suggestions were adopted.

“I work in the hospitality business and understand how expensive food has become,” Wood told Potomac Local News when pressed on the cost overruns.
Adding to the budget woes, planners had originally thought they could sell 300 tickets at $100 each for the gala, to be held Friday, May 10 at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The town could only manage to sell 12 at that price, then distributed the remaining 288 tickets for free the week before the event.

“It doesn’t make sense to me,” Nickerson stated. “Why would we use taxpayer money to entertain them in the celebration but then charge them to be a part of it?”
The council did not cut any events from the schedule and ultimately authorized an additional $35,000 for the event, with Nickerson voting against the measure.

The town council announced the three-day celebration in January. Among the many promises made at the time, officials said gala attendees could expect a well-orchestrated evening featuring a cocktail hour, musical performances by either the Army or Marine Corps bands, a buffet dinner, VIP recognitions, presentations, and keynote speeches.

The celebration, taking place this weekend, May 10-12, will include a series of events and activities designed to bring the community together to honor the town’s history, in addition to the gala. According to what little information is posted on the town’s website, there will be activities on May 11 and 12 at Garrison Park behind the town hall.

The 1.5-square-mile town in Prince William County is home to 6,000 residents and a soon-to-open The Rose gaming resort. The resort includes a hotel and restaurant and several video slot machines. It will be the first gambling business of its size to open in Northern Virginia.

Dumfries Town Government: Derrick Wood, Mayor of Town of Dumfries, VA, has been elected as the 2024 first vice president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO), a constituency group of the National League of Cities (NLC). NBC-LEO serves as a forum for communication and networking among African-American municipal officials and their colleagues to share ideas and develop leadership experience. Mayor Wood was elected in November at NLC’s 2023 City Summit conference in Atlanta, GA.

“NBC-LEO plays a crucial role in connecting leaders and also in empowering us to work collaboratively to bring effective change and innovation to our respective communities.” – Mayor Derrick R. Wood.”

“Established in 1970, NBC-LEO provides a platform for municipal leaders to connect, share best practices, and advocate for the needs of their communities. The group also contributes to NLC’s leadership development, policy formulation, advocacy, and program activities.”

Wood won a second term as mayor in November 2022 and has served on the town council since 2012.