Wednesday, March 13, 2013
“We’re just growing too much,” Superintendent Jack Dale said Tuesday as talks began between county supervisors and school board members.
Fairfax County is facing its own budget woes for Fiscal Year 2014: Property taxes could rise as much as 2 cents per $100 of assessed value, bumping the average homeowner's tax bill, and County Executive Ed Long has said raises for employees aren't likely. But the county's struggles could also make Fairfax County Public Schools come up short on its own $2.5 billion advertised budget, officials said Tuesday as they met to discuss budget issues and priorities. It doesn't appear the county, which gives an annual transfer to the school board, can afford to give the board as much as it asked for this winter. In order to close a $169 million shortfall and prepare for the still-unknown effects of sequestration, County Executive Ed Long has …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Replacement for Superintendent Jack Dale should be in place by May, school board members said Monday as they explored the kind of relationship they wanted with the system's new leader.
Fairfax County School Board members are on track to have a new superintendent chosen by the end of April. After a work session Monday afternoon, School Board Chairman Ilryong Moon (At Large) said the Board was keeping to the schedule outlined in November 2012, hoping to publicly announce the new leader of one of the country's largest school systems in May. “We are having our first round of interviews this week,” Moon said, adding that he and his colleagues were planning to hold interviews Wednesday and narrow the pool down to approximately three finalists by Sunday. Those chosen will interviewed a second time, and the Board will then choose its preferred candidate, Moon said. During the work session, the Board explored the relationship …
Supervisor McKay, Lee District School Board Rep Tammy Kaufax will host the meeting in Franconia.
Lee District Supervisor Jeff McKay, Lee District School Board Representative Tammy Kaufax, and county and schools budget staff will host a presentation and Q and A session on the proposed Fairfax County budget Wednesday night. "Over the past decade we’ve worked hard at diversifying our economy but between 10 and 20 percent of our local economy is related to defense or federal contracting to the tune of about $25 billion," McKay said in an email sent to constituents on Monday. "With a substantial amount of the county’s workforce involved in some way with what happens on the federal side, that’s a lot of potential drop in retail sales, car purchases, home sales, and the like." The budget presentation and Q and A will take place from 7 to 9 …
Monday, March 11, 2013
Tax hike, no employee raises are some of the issues supervisors will tackle in committee meeting for Fiscal Year 2014 spending plan
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will begin to dig into the meat of the Fiscal Year 2014 budget during its first budget committee meeting Tuesday afternoon. Supervisors will gather at 1 p.m. Tuesday in conference rooms 9 and 10 at Fairfax County Government Center to begin hammering out the details of County Executive Ed Long’s $7 billion advertised budget, which features no raises for employees and a slightly higher tax rate. The committee is also expected to go over the $2.5 billion Fairfax County Public Schools budget for fiscal 2014. School Board members requested $95 million from supervisors, a 5.5-percent increase in transfer, for a total of $1.78 billion. But Long was only able to give schools a 2 percent increase in transfer…
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Supervisor Hyland seeks volunteers to serve on Fairfax County boards.
Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland is seeking volunteers to serve on a variety of Fairfax County boards, authorities, and commissions, including the Child Care Advisory Council, Commission for Women, Human Services Council and more. If none of the current openings currently appeal to you, you may submit a resume and your general areas of interest, and you will be contacted if opportunities do arise. To be considered, please send your resumé to mtvernon@fairfaxcounty.gov with "BAC" in the subject line.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Supervisors directed staff Tuesday to examine costs and benefits of a launching another red light camera program, which reduced violations by 45 percent during its first run a decade ago.
Though they've been gone for more than half a decade, red light cameras could return to Fairfax County. The county's board of supervisors asked staff Tuesday to study how much it would cost to bring back camera enforcement for select red lights in the county, and where cameras could be effective. The former red light camera program, implemented at 10 intersections from 2002 to June 2005, was successful, but costly:During the program’s run, the county lost more than $1.3 million. That figure, Supervisor Michael Frey (R-Sully), should indicate this isn't a move to generate more revenue, but instead, make roads safer. “That’s the point,” he said. “Raising revenue isn’t.” Frey’s renewed interest in the program was sparked following the …
Supervisors advertise a higher real estate tax of $1.095 per $100 of assessed value, a 2-cent increase from the current rate but not as high as one supervisor hoped.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has set the FY 2014 budget’s advertised real estate tax rate at $1.095 per $100 of assessed value, a 2-cent increase from the current rate of $1.075. Supervisors approved the rate in a 9-1 vote Tuesday after killing an amendment from Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) to raise it another 1.5 cents to $1.11 per $100 of assessed value. Hyland’s proposal would have hiked the average resident’s taxes $332, but was shot down in a 8-2 vote against the amendment. Once the Board sets an advertised tax rate, it can’t legally adopt one any higher. Hyland argued that with the unknown effects of sequestration on the horizon, the Board should advertise a rate that would give it room to adjust to cuts and …
Friday, March 1, 2013
Prison inmates will remove signs 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 …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
County Executive Ed Long will chat with residents on proposed $7 billion Fiscal Year 2014 county budget.
Do you have questions about Fairfax County’s FY2014 proposed budget? Your chance to get answers from County Executive Ed Long is coming Thursday morning. Long will host an hour-long chat starting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to discuss his proposed $7 billion budget, which he unveiled for officials and the public Tuesday. The advertised package includes a 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095. The increase is projected to raise nearly $42 million in count revenue. But when coupled with increases in real estate assessments, the proposed rate would cost the average county household about $262 more in real estate taxes. The budget also reduces funding for parks and libraries, and allots the …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
No employee pay increases in Fiscal Year 2014 spending plan, which would increase average household taxes by $262 and give Fairfax County Public Schools $62 million less than officials asked for.
Fairfax County Executive Ed Long unveiled Tuesday his $7 billion FY2014 budget proposal, a plan that raises real estate taxes and cuts funds to parks and libraries, among other services. Long’s advertised budget includes a 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095. The increase is projected to raise nearly $42 million in count revenue. But when coupled with increases in real estate assessments, the proposed rate would cost the average county household about $262 more in real estate taxes. Revenue projections are generally flat for the coming year, showing a slight decrease in growth from 2.79 percent in FY2013 to 2.77 percent in FY2014. With sequestration around the corner, Long said the …
T Ailshire
5:04 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013
Where can one find a list of ALL the vacancies (other than "and more"), and focus/requirements of each? more ›