| Our Community and our Budget |
|
|
| Our Budget Recognizes the Need to Renovate Our Parks and Improve Stormwater Facilities in Older Areas. Brookfield Park is One of Our Recent Renovations |
The County Executive released his proposed budget on February 17 and the Board of Supervisors agreed to advertise a tax rate of $1.09 which is the current rate. That means that the rate cannot go above $1.09 but could drop. Several things factored into that decision. Our assessments are up, increasing the financial burden on homeowners. We are in line to get more revenue back from the state and that will help us to bridge the gap between the schools request and our transfer to them. It also helped that the school superintendent put together a budget that was close to our funding guidelines. This is the smallest gap since 2008. My colleagues on the Board and I will be crunching the numbers, weighing the needs of all our residents, and producing a balanced budget. This will be another year where we've got to make tough decisions. Our needs far surpass the available revenue. Raising revenue is one of our challenges. State law limits our revenue sources, leaving property taxes as our main resource.
While education is our Board's priority with a school transfer of almost 53% of our General Fund, all of our services are important. Our children and the community benefit from our parks, libraries, and social services and we all recognize the importance of public safety. It's our teachers and county employees who provide our excellent services and education and we need to ensure that their compensation remains competitive. I'm a product of our Fairfax County school system and I want all our kids to get the same great education here that I did.
The bottom line is that Fairfax County is expected to assume costs beyond our residents' ability to pay and we're burdening our taxpayers, who through real estate and personal property taxes, fund close to 80% of our General Fund. It's good that our housing market is recovering and that in comparison to other areas of the state, we're financially healthy. We get back only 21ยข on every dollar that we send to Richmond and we need to be able to keep more of our taxpayer dollars here in Fairfax County. Fortunately, our Fairfax County delegation understands this.
Please let me know what's important to you. You'll find detailed budget information here. To testify at a budget public hearing, contact the Office of the Clerk to the Board at 703-324-3151 or online here. Public hearings are in the board auditorium of the Fairfax County Government Center on April 7, 8, and 9.
|
| 2015 World Police and Fire Games Coming to Fairfax County |
|
|
| Getting Ready for the 2015 World Police and Fire Games. |
Pull out your summer calendars and mark June 26 through July 5. Fairfax County is hosting the 2015 World Police and Fire Games -- the second largest international sporting event. More details are available here.
The Police and Fire games showcase the athletic talent of first responders from around the world. We're expecting 12,000 public safety athletes from 70 countries competing in 61 sports and 1,600 sporting events. The games will take place in 53 locations throughout Fairfax County and the National Capital Region, including our own Springfield Town Center. The Springfield Town Center site will host the Ultimate Firefighter Competition, a multi-day competition that tests participants' capabilities in four stages: hose task, weight and strength, obstacle course and high rise.
Not only can you watch these games, you can be part of this historic event. The 2015 World Police and Fire Games Committee is recruiting 4,000 volunteers to assist with games ambassadors, special events, venues and competition, public relations and marketing, and more. Orientation and training will be provided and you must be 18 years of age by July 6 in order to apply. You can get a volunteer application here.
And by the way, there's some good economic news for the County. Hosting these games is a real win for our bottom line. The positive economic impact is estimated to be $30-$35 million.
|
| NVTA Wants to Hear From You |
| The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority is seeking public input on its two-year funding program for transportation projects in the area. The Authority is responsible for managing $300 million annually in public funds for transportation projects designed to provide congestion relief throughout Northern Virginia. Two vital projects in Lee District are recognized by NVTA's but are not currently on its recommended funding list. These projects have been prioritized by our Board and recommended to NVTA for funding. One is the widening of Richmond Highway from Mount Vernon Memorial Highway to Napper Road from 4 to 6 lanes along this corridor of regional significance. The other is the extension of Frontier Drive that is needed to support traffic flow in the Franconia-Springfield Metro Station vicinity in preparation for the possible relocation of the FBI to Springfield. A public meeting will be held on March 31 at 6:30 p.m. at the South County Government Center, Room 221, to outline the project selection process and provide the public the opportunity to comment. This meeting is the only meeting of its kind in Fairfax County and I hope that as many of you as possible attend to show support for these two important projects. |
| Read to Your Kids! |
Every year, I participate in Read Across America Day, a nationwide reading celebration that takes place on March 2, Dr. Seuss's birthday.
This year was no exception and as I read The Lorax to the students at Rose Hill Elementary School, I thought about how big a role reading plays in our kids' success.
|
|
Thank you for subscribing to my monthly e-newsletter. I hope these updates will keep you in the loop with some of the major events in our District.
If you'd like to learn more about something in the newsletter or have an idea for a future edition, please don't hesitate to contact me or my staff.
Sincerely,
|
| Jeffrey C. McKay Lee District Supervisor Fairfax County Board of Supervisors 703-971-6262
|
|
|
|
Did You Know?
|
Question: Why are there so many potholes and what can I do about them?
Answer: Spring is here, and with it, a brand new crop of potholes ranging from minor dents in the pavement to axel-breaking craters. Ever wonder why spring so often brings a new crop of potholes? Our Northern Virginia winters with repeated freeze/thaw cycles are hard on our roads. Water from melting snow and ice seeps into pavement and softens it. During repeated cold spells, the water in the pavement refreezes and expands, breaking up the pavement. When the ice melts, it leaves gaps inside the pavement, and the moisture further softens it. The soft, fractured asphalt cannot support the weight of passing vehicles and begins to break up. Then, as vehicles continue to pass over the weakened spot, pieces of roadway are broken up, creating the hole in the highway. Fixing potholes is part of the Virginia Department of Transportation's responsibility, as most of the roads in Fairfax County are maintained by the state. If you would like to report a pothole to VDOT, you can contact the VDOT customer service center (open round the clock) at 1-800-FOR-ROAD (800-367-7623). You can also report the pothole online here. Of course you can also report potholes to my office and we'll notify VDOT. If you hit a pothole and your vehicle is damaged, you can submit a damage claim to VDOT. Claims are investigated on a case-by-case basis. Investigators review the circumstances, the type and location of the pothole, if VDOT had been previously notified of the issue, and if crews had been given a reasonable amount of time to repair the pothole. If you have questions about damage claims, contact VDOT's Customer Service Center at 1-800-FOR-ROAD (1-800-367-7623).
|
|
|
