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| Monthly Newsletter from Chairman Sharon Bulova |
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| Stay Connected |
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Email
Website
Office
(703) 324-2321
Please contact my office with any comments, questions, concerns or ideas.
I look forward to hearing from you!
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| Did You Know? |
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March is Developmental Disabilities Inclusion Month in Fairfax County. I am proud that our community celebrates and welcomes people of all abilities, and offers great services and opportunities in education, employment and well-being.
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Greetings,
The words "Never Waste a Crisis" can be attributed to a number of people, past and present. It can be attributed to me in my June 2009 Byline when I reported on the adoption of a Budget for Fiscal Year 2010. Despite the challenge of adopting a budget during the throes of the Great Recession, our Board of Supervisors' vote on April 27th was unanimous.
A lot of brave words were spoken during that period of time, words about taking advantage of the opportunities the severe downturn presented, the impetus to identify better,  smarter and more cost effective ways to deliver quality services with less tax revenue. Efforts to streamline services and reduce duplication took place through a School Board-Board of Supervisors Smart Savings Task Force and intensive Community Dialogs were held throughout the County that engaged our residents in the budget challenge. A Lines of Business (LOBs) Review was conducted to scrub through county programs and services with an eye toward "right sizing" spending with a significant downturn in local and state revenues.
Fast forward
to calendar year 2016. The
Board of Supervisors is once again facing a tough budget as we prepare for Fiscal Year 2017. We are working with our partners on the School Board to plan a full day retreat this June where we will discuss our respective priorities and explore opportunities to work together most effectively.
Recovery from the recession can be described as sluggish and tepid. Homeowners are still feeling the pinch from the recession and its aftermath, as is local government.
Our Board is once again engaging in a LOBs Review - this one even more thorough than previous exercises. Themes throughout the LOBs process reflect the results of those recession era "brave words" as County staff have responded to the "crisis" through creative and innovative approaches to maintain the quality County residents value, under conditions that have been vastly different from pre-recession years.
The work of local government is not easy. It is, however, gratifying to be able to work with a motivated and talented workforce and a community that is willing to be involved and engaged.
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Sincerely,
Sharon Bulova
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
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| Improvements in Store for I-66 Inside the Beltway |
Governor McAuliffe and members of the Virginia General Assembly announced a bipartisan agreement to move forward on a plan to reduce congestion on I-66 inside the Beltway by widening a four mile stretch from the Dulles Connector Road to Ballston, improving transit, and adding new options for single drivers. Construction on widening I-66 eastbound inside the Beltway will start in 2017 and the new lane will open to traffic in 2019. The widening construction will take place within the existing right-of-way and will not take any homes.
Plan to transform I-66 Inside the Beltway:
- Converts I-66 inside the Beltway to Express Lanes during rush hours in the peak directions and improves transit options.
- If you carpool today (two or more people in a vehicle), you will continue to ride the lanes for free when tolling is scheduled to begin in 2017 during morning and evening rush-hours (5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. eastbound and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. westbound). Solo drivers can ride the lanes in exchange for paying a variable toll based on the distance they travel. Average toll is expected to be $6 a trip.
- In 2020, lanes will be free to vehicles with three or more people during rush-hours (carpoolers, vanpools and buses) and motorcycles per adopted regional policy. All others will pay a variable toll.
- The lanes will remain free to all traffic during off-peak periods. There will be no tolling in the reverse commute.
- All of the revenues raised from the tolls will be used by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission for improvements in the corridor such as new transit service and carpooling incentives. Estimated toll revenue in 2018 is $18 million.
- Attend Design Public Hearings on March 7, 8, 9.
- A separate plan is under consideration for I-66 outside the Beltway to Gainesville.
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| FY 2017 Budget Process, Now Through April |
On Tuesday, March 1, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors advertised a potential tax rate of $1.13, an increase of 4 cents from the current rate of $1.09 per $100 of assessed value. This advertised tax rate is the upper threshold for what we can eventually adopt in April. We could adopt a tax rate that is lower, but not higher, than what was advertised.
The Board also asked for more information regarding putting a meals tax on the ballot. The Board's legislative package has long supported diversifying the tax base and taking some of the tax burden off the real estate and personal property taxes, which a meals tax could do if enacted. Under state law, the voters must decide in the form of a referendum whether or not to implement a meals tax.
The County Executive's Advertised Budget, which recommends a 4 cent increase, transfers more than $2 billion to the school system, over 52 percent of County General Fund revenues. An additional $84 million in school related expenditures (School Nurses, School Age Child Care, After School Middle School programs, School Resource Officers, etc.) are funded out of the General County (non school Transfer) side of the budget.
Under the Constitution of Virginia, the School Board, not the Board of Supervisors, has authority over line-item priorities for our school system, including teacher compensation, fourth grade strings, and other school programs.
There are many opportunities for residents to share comments and concerns regarding the County budget between now and April 19. In addition to budget town meetings and forums throughout the County, three days of budget public hearings will be held at the Fairfax County Government Center on April 5-7, 2016.
Formal adoption of the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget is scheduled for April 26. Each penny on the real estate tax rate provides $23 million in revenue and equals approximately $53 on the average taxpayer's annual tax bill.
Budget Process Timeline:
Info on County Executive's Advertised Budget ($1.13 Advertised Tax Rate)
Attend a Town Hall Meeting:
Sign up to Speak at a Public Hearing:
Find Your Property Assessment:
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| Seeking Community Input for Lines of Business Review (LOBs) |
 The 2016 Lines of Business (LOBs) Review looks at the efficiency and effectiveness of every Fairfax County program and service. Our Board sees this process as critically important to ensuring our resources are being wisely invested. The outcome of LOBs will inform the Board on future budget decisions. A
n online survey is available now through March 21, 2016 to incorporate your comments, perspectives and ideas. Please take a moment to let us know what your priorities are for County services.
Agency groupings for LOBS include:
- County Governance
- County Operations
- Courts & Judicial Administration
- Development
- Housing Services
- Information Access & Technology
- Physical & Mental Health
- Public Safety
- Public Works & Infrastructure
- Recreation & Community Services
- Social Services and
- Transportation
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| Buzz about Buses Builds with Free Fares for Students |
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| Student using his Free Fare Fairfax Connector bus pass |
Fairfax County students are enjoying free rides on Connector buses as FCDOT's Student Free Fare Program expands. Since the idea was first piloted last year, we have heard positive feedback from students, school leaders and parents as we provide students with greater flexibility in their transportation options.
With the Free Fare Program, Fairfax County students can more easily attend and participate in extracurriculars and part-time jobs. Students may use their Free Fare passes on weekdays from 6 AM to 8 PM, providing transportation service beyond traditional school buses, including the late bus at some high schools. The Free Fare Program also prepares the next generation to be more engaged with urban public transit options.
FCDOT is making strong headway in addressing their goals for the program, which include: filling gaps for school transportation services, increasing Fairfax Connector ridership, establishing transit as an important component of Fairfax County's transportation systems, and decreasing congestion by reducing the number of trips parents make to and from school, rehearsals, sports practice, and everything else our students are involved in.
Fairfax Connector saw over 52,000 student trips in 20 weeks with as many as 4,000 in a single week. Student outreach efforts continue as FCDOT, FCPS and the County continue to seek increased ridership. Help spread the word by engaging with Fairfax Connector on social media and encouraging your kids to take advantage of this unique program. @ffxconnector
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| Workhouse Arts Center & Occoquan Regional Park Honor Women's History |
In honor of Women's History Month, The Workhouse Arts Center's play Deeds Not Words explores the story of Alice Paul and the women who were imprisoned for advocating for the right to vote.
In 1917, suffragists were arrested and sent to the Workhouse Prison in Lorton for demonstrating and picketing in front of the White House.
These brave, determined women helped spread a sense of urgency and kept public attention focused on the issue of universal suffrage. In 1919, the 19th amendment was ratified, empowering women to vote for the first time in the 1920 election.
Alice Paul became a symbol of the movement, and her spirit and determination inspire many across the country to this day.
The play, written by local playwright and actress Margie O. Tompros, will be performed on March 13 at the W-3 Theatre in Lorton. Call 703-584-2900 or go to workhousearts.org to make a reservation.
In addition, the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association is set to build a national
memorial at Occoquan Regional Park.
The memorial will commemorate the tens of thousands of women from every state, creed, race and nationality who fought 72 years (1848-1920) to win the right for all American women to vote. Occoquan Regional Park was once part of the historic DC prison grounds where scores of suffragists aged 19 to 72 were unjustly imprisoned as retribution for silently picketing Wilson's White House in 1917. The memorial will feature these women who were humiliated, kept in inhumane conditions and severely beaten. When word leaked out about this unconscionable treatment, it became a major turning point in forcing Wilson to speak with Congress about a Constitutional amendment.
Eleanor Clift said it best, "They engineered the greatest expansion of democracy on a single day the world has ever seen, and yet suffrage faded from public memory almost as soon as it happened. The leaders built no monuments to themselves, and too many of their names have been lost to history." It is time to appropriately honor these women.
The goal is to have the memorial completed for the centennial anniversary of ratification of the 19th Amendment, August 2020.
To learn more on how you can "make history" by supporting the project, go to
www.suffragistmemorial.org
or e-mail the Executive Director at [email protected].
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| Fairfax County Noise Ordinance Update |
Fairfax County's new noise ordinance went into effect February 17, 2016 and prohibits or limits the following during certain hours:
Loudspeakers/amplifiers
Noise heard in other homes
Power lawn equipment
Fixing cars
Collecting trash
Loading/unloading trucks
Dog parks
Animal barking, howling, etc.
Athletic fields
Some noises are exempt from regulation, including generators used in emergencies, snow removal, cars on the road, Metro trains and emergency vehicles. Take a look at
the complete and detailed list of new noise regulations:
fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/zoning/noiseordinance/.
Please do not call 911 to report noise violations. During daytime hours, contact the Department of Code Compliance at 703-324-1300. At night, please use the Police Department's non-emergency number at 703-691-2131.
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| Partners in Prevention Fund (PIPF) Offers Grant Opportunity |
The Fairfax County Prevention Unit recently announced that the RFP for the Partners in Prevention Fund Capacity Building Grant program is now available. Under this exciting program funded by Fairfax County's human services agencies, community-based organizations can receive funding, training, and technical assistance to implement prevention programs for children, youth, and families.
This grant opportunity is available to non-governmental organizations offering programs that support five key prevention system goals:
- Children are physically fit with good nutritional habits
- Children enter kindergarten fully ready to succeed
- Children and youth are safe from violence and bullying
- Children and youth are mentally well
- Families have skills and supports needed to raise healthy and thriving children
Proposals are due on April 12 at 2 pm.
An optional (but highly recommended) "pre-proposal conference" will be held on March 8, 2016 at 2pm in the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Conference Room 4/5. The pre-proposal conference is a great opportunity to learn more about the program, and have your application process questions answered. Please submit RFP questions ahead of time to Derek Solomon at
[email protected]
prior to the conference.
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