We continue to face unprecedented challenges in the investments we wanted to make in our community and in our employees pre-pandemic. While not ideal, this budget attempts to address many of those challenges head on.
Fairfax County employees are essential heroes. We could not get through the pandemic without our nurses, mental health staff, sanitation workers, first responders, or educators.
We need to make sure that our county and school employees can take care of themselves and their families, as they take care of local families.
The County worked on and agreed to establish pay plans for employees. We need to honor those agreements.
This is why we need to pass a meaningful collective bargaining ordinance so that our employees can have a real seat at the table, and so that we can have real contracts.
While we await finalizing that ordinance this year, this budget provides for an interim investment of both a 1% market rate adjustment and a bonus for ALL employees. This is NOT everything we hoped for, nor is it enough. Despite our advocacy and many requests, we did not receive the additional requested flexibility, and this meant that our local tax payers were responsible for the vast majority of the employee pay.
There are still outstanding gaps and investments that we must commit to in future budgets, many of these proposals included in the 2022-23 Budget Guidance. These include employee pay and benefits, adequate early childhood programming, workforce training and readiness, and the capital improvements needs to support these programs. We also need continued support for our small businesses; affordable, accessible, and reliable transportation; safe pedestrian and bicycle networks; opportunities and supports for our most vulnerable students and seniors; and adequate mental health support for those who face additional challenges due to the pandemic.
There are some critical investments that are being proposed through budget guidance and one-time funds:
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an additional full penny on the tax rate to support affordable housing, with the initial half penny included in the 2022 budget.
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increases to our environmental initiatives such as a Green Bank and net Zero Waste, and additional investment proposed by the County and Schools Joint Environmental Task Force
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support for our vibrant immigrant community through our Trust Policy to ensure a truly welcoming community for ALL in Fairfax, including a new position in the office of the Chief Equity Officer.
I will be supporting this year’s budget, and commit to engaging with our partners on the school board, in Richmond, and in Washington to ensure we continue to invest and address these outstanding needs.
We also need to review and update our current Tax Relief Program, that has not seen significant changes since 2006.
Fairfax is a wealthy county, but there is much inequity, and growing need. Our budget needs to commit to ensuring that all services address the needs of everyone in our community. The gaps have only grown larger through this pandemic, and our recovery needs to be an inclusive one that invests in our children, our workers, our retirees, our small business, and ALL who live and work in our county.
