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2012 SPECIAL SESSION I

12200199D
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 514
Offered May 14, 2012
Commending William E. Echelberger, Jr.
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Patrons-- Stosch, Barker, Blevins, Colgan, Deeds, Ebbin, Favola, Hanger, Herring, Howell, Locke, Marsden, Marsh, McDougle, McEachin, Miller, J.C., Miller, Y.B., Newman, Norment, Petersen, Ruff, Saslaw, Vogel, Wagner and Watkins
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WHEREAS, William E. Echelberger, Jr., will retire from the Senate Finance Committee Staff on June 1, 2012, having entered state government service in 1977 and having served the Commonwealth of Virginia faithfully for 35 years; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger is a native of Richmond, Virginia, a 1975 graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with a degree in urban affairs, and a 1989 recipient of the master of business administration degree from Virginia Commonwealth University; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger was employed as a budget analyst with the Virginia Department of Planning and Budget from 1977 to 1986, where he became an expert in all matters relating to the compensation of state employees and state employee benefits, including health care and retirement policy; and

WHEREAS, based on his demonstrated capabilities in state budgeting, Bill Echelberger was recommended for a temporary assignment to assist the Senate Finance Committee during the 1986 Session of the General Assembly, and shortly thereafter was offered a permanent position with the committee staff; and

WHERAS, Bill Echelberger has served as the acknowledged expert on the committee staff on compensation, health care and other employee benefits, retirement policy, workers’ compensation, the Line of Duty Act, and the creation and continuous oversight of the State Lottery Department, and has served with distinction in that role for 26 years; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger has provided professional staff expertise to the Subcommittee on General Government, including the detailed, technical mastery of all matters related to the Central Appropriations and General Provisions in the state budget, and the intricacies of state financial support for Virginia’s constitutional officers, including sheriffs, attorneys for the Commonwealth, clerks of the circuit courts, treasurers, and commissioners of the revenue; and

WHEREAS, with his many years of experience, Bill Echelberger has served as an important voice for the effective administration of the central agencies of state government, without which the Commonwealth of Virginia could not have achieved consistent recognition as the best managed state in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger has in recent years taken on the responsibilities of coordinating the capital budget and debt financing for the committee, and has worked tirelessly with the Department of General Services, the presidents of Virginia’s institutions of higher education, the Department of the Treasury and the Treasury Board, and agency directors to focus attention on the highest capital outlay priorities for the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger has provided technical support and wise counsel to the great efforts over the past decade to restore the Executive Mansion and the Capitol of Virginia and to protect and preserve Capitol Square and the seat of government for future generations; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger’s work was critical to the reform of the sickness and disability program of the Commonwealth, which has led to the more efficient administration of this program and improved benefits for state employees and their families; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger’s work in developing the Workforce Transition Act has provided critical assistance to untold numbers of state employees, in their time of need, when painful decisions were required to reduce the size of the workforce; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger has been involved in every significant policy study affecting the Virginia Retirement System in the past generation, and was instrumental in designing the most recent reforms in VRS as adopted by the 2012 General Assembly; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger’s work throughout his career has been based on an unshakeable faith in the importance of recruiting, compensating, and developing a high-quality workforce dedicated to public service and to meeting the essential needs of the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger’s knowledge and experience for the past 26 years have been essential to the successful development each year of the Senate budget and successful negotiation of the final conference committee report on the budget; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger’s love of Virginia history, and his respect for the traditions of the Senate and for the Constitution of Virginia, have added immeasurably to the Senate Finance Committee; and

WHEREAS, Bill Echelberger has earned the personal respect and admiration of his friends and colleagues in state government and in local governments across Virginia; and

WHEREAS, after 35 years of distinguished service to the Commonwealth, Bill Echelberger looks forward to a well-deserved retirement and many enjoyable years of traveling and the pursuit of his many hobbies; now therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That William E. Echelberger, Jr., hereby be commended for his exemplary and faithful service to the Senate of Virginia; and be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to William E. Echelberger, Jr., as an expression of the Senate of Virginia’s gratitude for his outstanding service to the Commonwealth.