Monday, April 8, 2013
The first of three public hearings on FY 2014 plan is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday. Speakers can sign up in advance.
A series of public hearings on Fairfax County’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget package will kick off Tuesday evening, giving residents a chance to advocate for changes to funding allocations and other issues. County Executive Ed Long’s advertised $7 billion budget, unveiled in late February, proposes raising the county's real estate tax rate and making cuts to some county programs and services in an effort to close shortfalls. The 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate, from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095, is expected to raise approximately $42 million in revenues. But on top of new, higher real estate assessments, the increase would burden the average resident with approximately $262 more in taxes each year. Some officials have…
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Officials will highlight successes, challenges in full report to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on April 10.
Fairfax County’s homeless population has declined 12 percent in the last year and 26 percent since 2007, according to a new report from the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Connection reports that according to agency’s annual “point-in-time” survey, the number of homeless people in the county has decreased by 184, from 1,534 in 2012 to 1,350 in 2013. The number of homeless has also decreased by 463 since 2007, down from 1,813. The count was conducted over a one-day period in January, per requirements from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Only people who are literally homeless and living in shelters, transitional housing or on the street are counted in the survey. This …
Sunday, March 31, 2013
The deadline for Supervisor John Cook's new exercise is Monday, April 8.
Fairfax County residents who want to know if they’re as smart as their supervisors have a week left to build their own Fiscal Year 2014 county budget. Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) introduced the tool, which allows residents to sit down and construct a budget based on the proposed package from County Executive Ed Long. The deadline for the exercise is Monday, April 8, before the first budget public hearing on April 9. Using Long’s list of reductions to agencies and another list of reductions not taken, residents are asked to make funding increases or reductions to nine different areas of spending, including schools, public safety and compensation for county employees. Residents also choose a tax rate based on the changes they make. …
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Prison inmates will remove signs — including campaign boards — Tuesday through Friday beginning later this year.
Fairfax County now has the authority to clean up illegal signs placed on roadway medians thanks to an agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation. This week, the Board of Supervisors approved an agreement that has been in the works for months, allowing the county to clear signs from public rights-of-way and issue fines to residents who post them. The program which supervisors signed off on in an 8-2 vote, will cost the county $150,000. Non-violent prisoners on the Sheriff’s Office Community Labor Force will perform cleanup duties four days a week, Tuesday through Friday, starting later this year. Putting up signs on any state road is illegal, including advertisements and – especially – political signs, which all but took over …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Superintendent Jack Dale, some school board members say lower-than-expected increase in transfer from the county won't meet classroom needs.
Fairfax County schools officials said Tuesday they were surprised at County Executive Ed Long's lower-than-expected proposed increase in transfer to the school system, which will leave school board $62 million short on their own Fiscal Year 2014 budget. Just more than half of the county's revenues go toward Fairfax County Public Schools each year; nearly three quarters of the school system's annual budget relies on a transfer from the county. Long's proposed $7 billion budget includes an increase of 2 percent in transfer to Fairfax County Public Schools, or $33.7 million. Schools officials requested $95 million, a 5.7 percent increase in transfer, for a total of $1.78 billion in FY 2014, largely to fund what is expected to be an …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
County attorneys will explore legality of measures to discourage county employees from smoking.
What can Fairfax County legally do to discourage employees from smoking? That’s the question Fairfax County Supervisor Gerry Hyland (Mount Vernon) wants answered. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion from Hyland on Tuesday directing the county’s lawyers to look at the legality of smoking bans on county property, required courses that would encourage quitting and the consideration of tobacco use in a person’s hiring. Hyland tossed around the idea of stop-smoking classes during the Oct. 30 Board of Supervisors meeting and got quick media attention. Hyland said the public’s reaction so far has been passionate, but not always positive. While some people agreed with the idea, others thought he was “the devil incarnate,” he …
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Providers must attend more training hours, get TB screenings and comply with fire safety codes.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved changes regulations on home day care centers, requiring more hours of training and fire safety measures. During its meeting last week, the Board voted to adopt amendments to the Home Child Care Facilities Ordinance. Providers will now have to attend 16 hours of training instead of 12 and undergo tuberculosis screenings, as well as install carbon monoxide detectors to comply with county fire safety codes. “These amendments reflect recommendations and input from a variety of county agencies and outline the best practices in the field,” said Monica Jackson, speaking on behalf of the Child Care Advisory Council. “The proposed amendments are intended to support the health and …
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
The Board of Supervisors identified $24.8 million to fund more programs.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors identified $24.8 million that will fund county employee compensation, human services, longer library hours, and other programs during a Tuesday mark-up session of the county’s fiscal year 2013 budget. The adjustments passed by a vote of 8-2. Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, on his first day back after recovering from successful open-heart surgery, and Braddock District Supervisor John Cook voted against the $6.7 billion budget. "Today, while not entirely out of the woods, we are beginning to see evidence of a recovery — a slow and sluggish recovery, but a recovery nonetheless," Chairman Sharon Bulova said. "Hopefully, we are beginning to see the dawn of a new day." For the first time …
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The board voted unanimously to participate in the rail extension to Dulles Airport.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday morning to confirm the county’s participation in Phase II of the Dulles Metrorail Project. Board members said though the funding scheme was not perfect, supporting the project was making an investment in the county’s economic future. The county is responsible for anywhere from $433 to $498 million of the $2.7 billion extension past Wiehle Avenue in Reston to Dulles Airport. Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said citizens’ concerns about increased toll rates on the Dulles Toll Road are “very legitimate.” But “‘Participation,’ in this case, means three stations – Reston, Herndon, and Innovation,” Foust said. “Fundamentally, tolls will go up to bring rail to Dulles …
Friday, February 10, 2012
In 7-5 vote, some members say request to supervisors reflects need, others say it's unrealistic
The Fairfax County School Board voted to approve a $2.4 billion fiscal year 2013 advertised budget at its meeting Thursday, forwarding a plan to supervisors that asks for $202.3 million more than last fiscal year to accommodate unprecedented student growth and the staff levels and compensation needed to address it. The budget asks the supervisors for a transfer increase of $135.4 million, 8.4 percent more than it received last year. While some board members said the strategy allowed them to be upfront about the school system's priorities and needs, others called the approach backward and disrespectful of what supervisors had warned was realistic. "This is an incremental budget. That’s one approach. I would advocate for a zero-based budget…
Carol Swift
6:42 pm on Monday, April 1, 2013
Fairfax County needs to cut out the money for inhumane deer management. more ›