| Greetings, On a blustery Autumn day in 1819, Percy Bysshe Shelley sat down next to a forest near Florence, Italy and wrote one of my favorite poems. The final line, actually, is what I love the most. It expresses my feelings right now, sentiments that I suspect might be shared by most of my constituents: O Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? February and early March have indeed been blustery.
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| Photo by D. Allen Covey, VDOT |
First there's the weather, record arctic temperatures and more than our usual share of snow and ice. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Fairfax County did an excellent job this winter pretreating roads and parking lots and plowing snow throughout and after storm events. My staff and I sent out special Bylines about how to stay safe and report dangerous conditions. It may be helpful for you to know that during significant weather events, my office regularly checks phone and e-mail messages so we can assist you with weather related problems you may be experiencing. Weather-wise, I do hope that March goes out in true lamb-like fashion. *** Along with the challenging weather, our Board of Supervisors has dealt with a number of challenging issues throughout the winter months. Unacceptable delays and lack of transparency involving the Geer police-involved shooting case culminated last Tuesday in a reorganization of the County Attorney's office. Also on Tuesday, our Board endorsed the creation of an Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission. This 25 + member Commission is established to engage the community in the Board's examination of the way Fairfax County handles significant police-involved incidents. This Commission will recommend changes, consistent with Virginia law, that the Commission feels would help Fairfax County to achieve its goal of maintaining a safe community, ensuring a culture of public trust and making sure our policies provide for the fair and timely resolution of Police-involved incidents. The Commission will be chaired by Michael Hershman, president and CEO of The Fairfax Group, and a citizen member of the Board's Audit Committee. Membership of the Ad Hoc Commission will include citizen appointees, representatives of the media, law enforcement, the legal community and academia. Chairman Hershman and I are discussing how to further broaden opportunities for participation in this effort through subcommittees of the Commission. You can learn more about the Commission and follow its work by visiting fairfaxcounty.gov/policecommission. I am hopeful that this process, which will consider best practices and models among states and jurisdictions throughout the U.S., will result in improved and enhanced policies and practices in Fairfax County. It's important to remember that Fairfax County is the safest jurisdiction of its size in the nation, in no small part to the hard work, excellent training and dedication of our public safety personnel. *** On February 17th, the County Executive  released his FY 2016 Advertised Budget. You can watch the presentation and see materials from the presentation by gong to fairfaxcounty.gov/budget. The total budget for All Funds is $7.13 billion. The General Fund Budget, which is funded mostly through real estate and personal property taxes, is $3.8 billion, an increase of 2.61% over FY 2015. The General Fund Budget supports most County services like public safety, health department, libraries, human services, parks, public works, etc., and the School Transfer. The School Transfer is the largest category in the budget, totaling $2.01 billion, a 3.43% increase of $66.7 million over last year. Fairfax County funds about 75% of the School Budget, with the rest coming from the State and a small amount from the Federal government. Thanks to the Governor and General Assembly, this year we will see an increase of $10.5 million in state funds for the Schools and $2.7 million for the County. This is really welcome news. Education is our Board's highest priority. It is not, however, our only priority, and during the weeks ahead our Board will be working to strike a balance that addresses our community's values and needs, while also maintaining taxes that are affordable for our community. Budget Town Hall Meetings and forums have been scheduled throughout the County in all Supervisor Districts.
On Saturday, March 14th, I will be hosting two Community Budget Dialogues that will be a "Deeper Dive" into the County Budget for attendees. The format will include a discussion of the current economic pressures that are affecting our fiscal situation. After a brief "Budget 101" and presentation by both School and County Budget staff, Dialogue participants will break into small group discussions and brainstorming activities. The first Dialogue session will begin at 10 a.m. at the South County Government Center in Room 221 on Richmond Highway in Alexandria. The next session will be held at the main Fairfax County Government Center in Room 9/10 beginning at 2:30 p.m. I hope you will consider participating in the budget process this year. Adopting a budget is the most important thing we do all year. When we adopt the budget, we are investing in the priorities of our community. It is important that the community is at the table with us to shape those decisions. Budget adoption is scheduled for April 28th. *** So, getting back to my friend Percy Bysshe Shelley, Spring will get here. On Saturday, April 25th, Fairfax County will celebrate Springfest, Earth-Day Arbor Day. See further down in this Byline for more information about this family-centered celebration of our environment. This has blossomed into a major community event at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton. It is something to look forward to as we continue to dig out from a challenging winter! |
Join us in Lorton for SpringFest 2015, our annual Earth Day/ Arbor Day Celebration! 
The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton is proud to announce the launch of the military and arts initiative, which will serve veterans and service members with special pricing on visual arts classes at the Workhouse, a new studio space for a resident military artist, yearly military art exhibitions, and a free public concert series featuring military bands this summer. All are welcome to celebrate the launch of this exciting program on March 13, 7-9pm at the Workhouse.
Want to do more on your Home Owners Association or Civic Association property? A new Conservation Assistance Program for Fairfax County community associations can help. 
Many people have vivid recollections of their commute on the snowy morning of Tuesday, January 6, 2015, especially if they slipped and slid their way along snow and ice-covered roads. This was the morning weather predictions underestimated the amount of snowfall and road crews were just as surprised and overwhelmed as the driving public.