Fairfax County Officials to Vote on Silver Line Tuesday

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday on the county’s participation in Phase II of the Dulles Metrorail project.

Anthony Griffin, later this month, is recommending the board while remaining vigilant in its pursuit of additional funding for the $2.7 billion extension. Failure to participate could mean significant changes to the direction of the project.

Some Fairfax County residents think the project is too expensive, and are worried about drastic increases on the Dulles Toll Road, which is funding much of the project.

The Virginia State Senate included $300 million in its budget specifically for Metrorail, but the Washington Post reports the money was removed during budget negotiations this past weekend.

The board will also vote on the approval of recommended station names for the names of Silver Line stations coming to Fairfax County. Residents deemed previously recommended names too confusing, so the county opened the matter up for public input and received more than 16,000 survey responses about station names.

Innovation

County Fiscal Year 2013 Budget

Tuesday afternoon, the board will hold a public hearing on the fiscal year 2013 budget and a separate hearing on the effective tax rate increase. (A video Q&A with Griffin on his proposed budget is available in the media box above.)

The current rate is $1.07 per $100 assessed value, but the county has been advertising an increase of one cent to $1.08.

The tax rate hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the budget hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday. Two more budget hearings are scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday in the Board Auditorium in Fairfax County Government Center.

Patch will be at this week's board meeting and will also be covering all public hearings live, so be sure to check back for full coverage throughout this week.

Is the County Executive Search Over?

The Washington Post reported Saturday the board has settled on a successor for Griffin come his retirement at the end of April. According to a document obtained by the Post, the board plans to appoint Edward Long Jr., a former deputy county executive and chief financial officer, and could do so as early as the Tuesday meeting.

Board Chairman Sharon Bulova would not confirm or deny the reports, according to the Post.

Click here if you wish to speak at any of this week's hearings.

The full agenda for the Fairfax County board's April 10 meeting can be found here.