Children ages 5-11 are finally eligible to be vaccinated with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine! I'm proud in Fairfax County that over 83% of our residents 18 and up have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and over 85% of our kids ages 12-17 have done the same. It has been great to see lines of excited families waiting to get vaccinated at the Government Center. The vaccine is safe and effective and the best path forward for returning life back to normal.

Yesterday, I was honored to join the First Lady of the United States Jill Biden and the Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy at Franklin Sherman Elementary School to raise awareness about the importance of getting our school kids vaccinated.

In addition, the Board met today. You may review today's full Board package here.

What happened? Today, the Board authorized the advertisement of a public hearing to amend and expand eligibility for the County's senior real estate tax relief program for age and income qualified individuals. The recommended changes and current program are below.

Why? As real estate assessments and the cost of living rise, there are real impacts on those with low or fixed incomes, especially our seniors. Our tax relief program must keep up with the real needs of our community. I'm excited that we can consider making this adjustment, the last time tax relief was updated was in 2006. You can learn more about the proposed adjustments here.

What happened? The Board held a public hearing on the advertisement of all 64 proposed redistricting plans.

Redistricting? Members of the public along with our Redistricting Advisory Committee (RAC) submitted map proposals to be considered by the Board of Supervisors in order to possibly adjust electoral boundaries. As a result of population growth, proposed maps may alter the boundaries of your local Board of Supervisor and School Board districts to ensure proportional representation. Remember local government is your parks, public safety, property taxes, and much more, and (of course I would say this) representation in your local government is important. To be clear however, this committee was not the same as the statewide committee deciding state and federal districts.

Anything else? For decades Fairfax County has carried out redistricting in a transparent and community-led process, with a committee made up of Fairfax County residents. This process is informed by and for the community. Again, this is a County process and is very different than what you are likely reading about at the state level.

What happened? The Board authorized the Fairfax County Police Department to apply for and accept a grant to combat hate crimes. This particular grant is to improve security measures within three organizations that have been targets or are at risk for being the target of hate crimes against the Jewish community.

Anything else? While bias crimes are down compared to last year, our Police Department works proactively to prevent hate crimes and protect all of our religious and diverse communities. For example, Worship Watch is a program that any house of worship may take part in to prevent and reduce the opportunity for crime at their congregation.

What happened? The Board adopted Fairfax County Government and Schools Zero Waste Plan to have zero waste by 2030.

Anything else? At the heart of zero waste is eliminating waste before it starts and reducing our waste in general. We know that education will be crucial to making this plan a success. So much of our waste is generated through daily habits that we don’t readily think about. When our residents have access to this information and knowledge on available alternatives, it makes a major difference in adopting a “reduce, reuse, recycle” mindset. For that reason, the strategies in this plan stress a fourth “r” to become “reach out, reduce, reuse, and recycle.” This is important for the environment and also can save substantial costs, especially the costs of waste collection and disposal.

You can see the plan on page 265 of the Board package.

What happened? The Board adopted the vision, goal, and objectives for Fairfax County's Active Transportation plan.

Active Transportation? Fairfax County's goal is to create a well-connected transportation network that includes walking, biking, scooters, and more. Our goal is to have diverse and accessible transportation options across the community and increase means of transportation that are healthier both for us and the environment. We need to always focus on moving people safely, not just vehicles.

You can see the plan on page 524 of the Board package.

Sincerely,

Jeff McKay