Bryan Foster has been named the acting City Manager of Fairfax City. The announcement was made after a closed, special meeting of the City Council on Jan. 21. It was convened so the Councilmembers could discuss interviews for various City boards and commissions, as well as other personnel matters – including the hiring of an acting City Manager. 

At that time, the Councilmembers unanimously approved Foster’s appointment to the position and revealed their decision following their meeting. He was hired through a contract agreement with Baker Tilly Advisory Group LP, a public-sector executive-recruitment firm. Foster began his new job on Monday, Jan. 27.

He has 28 years of local government experience, most recently serving as deputy city manager for the City of Manassas until his retirement in early 2024. He previously served as director of public utilities for the City of Portsmouth, Va.; county administrator for Halifax County, Va.; and town manager of Altavista, Va.

“After questioning him, he aligned with the City’s values, so we’re happy to have him,” said Fairfax Mayor Catherine Read. “The vote was 6-0 to approve his hiring. And I think, now that we’ve settled on an interim acting City manager, the mood in City Hall is so much lighter – and I like it.”

Foster will lead Fairfax City through its FY 2026 budget process, which is currently underway. He’ll officially present the proposed FY 2026 budget to Council on Feb. 25. Then, after a series of work sessions and public hearings that’ll begin March 4, City Council will adopt the final budget on May 6. 

Fairfax needed a new person to assume the role of City Manager after the previous City Council fired Laszlo Palko, Fairfax’s former City Manager, on Dec. 10. Before him, Rob Stalzer held the post for five years, retiring in March 2024, after a 43-year career in public service. Palko took over the reins the next month, serving for nearly eight months.

However, in December, Palko was officially terminated “without cause” via the “convenience” clause in his contract, meaning that an employee may be let go when he or she is seemingly no longer a good fit for the job. Read later explained it by saying, “The City Manager serves at the pleasure of the Council.”

The reasons for his firing have not been made public. But cities don’t take such actions lightly and, indeed, Palko was the first City Manager in Fairfax’s history to ever be terminated.

Still, following his departure, Fairfax’s Deputy City Manager Valmarie Turner was only able to serve as Interim City Manager for about a month. That’s because – even before Palko’s firing – she’d already accepted a position to become the City Manager of Roanoke and began her new job there in mid-January. 

As a result, Fairfax needed someone for its Acting City Manager as soon as possible, and Foster filled the bill. As of Jan. 23, Read said the search for a permanent City Manager had not yet begun.