Welcome!
The Department of Public Works
serves the community of Colonial Heights by
providing essential
facilities, infrastructure and
services for site development, capital improvements,
street maintenance, water distribution, wastewater
collection, stormwater management, solid waste
management and recycling.
Director of Public Works and City Engineer
William E.
“Chuck” Henley, P. E. has thirty-one years of
professional experience in the public and private
sectors. In June 2007, he was appointed to the
consolidated position of Director of Public Works
and City Engineer for Colonial Heights. Prior to
his current appointment he managed the Richmond
office of Stantec Consulting Services Inc., a
multinational consulting firm, for a year and a
half. Previously, he served the City of Richmond,
Virginia (pop. 200,000) for five years in the
positions of Deputy Director and Interim Director of
the Department of Public Works. Before that, he
held various positions with
Multnomah County, Oregon (pop. 660,000), which
includes the City of Portland and five other
incorporated cities. He concluded his 21 years of
employment there after serving as the County
Engineer for five years.
Chuck is currently Vice President of
the Virginia/District of Columbia/Maryland Chapter
of the American Public Works Association, an
820-member organization. Most recently, he was
appointed to serve on the Federal Emergency
Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region III Advisory
Council.
He received his Bachelors of Science
in Civil Engineering from Portland State University
and his Master of Business Administration from the
University of Portland, both located in Portland,
Oregon. He is a registered professional
engineer in Virginia and in Oregon.
In his executive roles, Chuck has
provided leadership, policy direction and management
support to staff providing public works services,
facilities and infrastructure. In addition, he has
been responsible for the marketing, operations and
management of consulting services provided to
clients in local, state and federal government. He
has served as director of a full-service Public
Works Department of 600 employees with an operating
budget of $75 Million and a capital budget of $200
Million. His experience also includes
executive-level management of transportation
programs at both the city and county levels of
government.
While with the City of Richmond, he
was part of a team of local public works officials
that advised First Cities, the state advocacy
coalition comprised of 14 of Virginia’s oldest and
most historic cities, on legislative changes to the
Commonwealth’s transportation policies. The changes
enacted by the Virginia General Assembly in 2002 and
2005 provide localities with more flexibility in the
use of state transportation funds and allow for
payments directly to those localities that choose to
administer their urban construction programs.
Throughout his career he has worked
closely with citizens, business representatives and
officials at all levels of government to improve
community livability and economic vitality. His
experience includes supporting public policy
formulation and implementing the key initiatives of
elected and appointed chief executives. Chuck has
worked collaboratively with professionals and the
public to develop policies, standards, and
guidelines to achieve community development goals
including environmental sustainability and
multi-modal transportation programs. He has
negotiated and administered cooperative agreements
for the public-private financing and construction of
major facility and infrastructure projects. He has
also directed emergency response and recovery
operations to restore facilities and infrastructure
damaged by natural disasters including earthquakes,
floods and hurricanes.
