Sunday, April 21, 2013
Spending plan restores a number of cuts that had been proposed.
The Arlington County Board adopted a $1.1 billion budget on Saturday, rejecting a laundry list of proposed spending cuts and raising taxes on the average homeowner here by $277 each year. The spending plan sets aside $3 million to cope with the effects of federal sequestration and pumps $12.5 million into a fund that subsidizes and promotes the development of affordable housing. Another $3.4 million will cover pay increases for the county's 3,500 employees. [More: Arlington County Salary Database] The budget also increases the real estate tax rate by 3.5 cents per $100 of assessed value — a fraction of a penny higher than what County Manager Barbara Donnellan had originally proposed. That rate will cost the owner of a $525,000 home about $…
Monday, April 15, 2013
Parents ask county to grant Arlington Public Schools enough money to implement program.
A group of Tuckahoe Elementary parents who have organized in an attempt to bring foreign language instruction to their children's school have begun taking their case to the Arlington County Board. Eight Arlington elementary schools, including Tuckahoe, feed students into Swanson Middle School. Of those, Tuckahoe, Taylor and Arlington Science Focus do not have a Foreign Language in Elementary Schools, or FLES, program. The others do. Parents have pleaded with the Arlington School Board to fund the program at Tuckahoe — a $450,000 proposition — on the basis that their children are at a disadvantage when they get to middle school because their classmates have had more foreign language instruction. A large part of their argument centers on the…
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Board wants to restore several positions Superintendent Pat Murphy has proposed eliminating.
The Arlington School Board wants to restore several positions Superintendent Pat Murphy has recommended eliminating, including gifted services teachers at the county's three high schools and some teen parenting positions. But the school board has built its budget assuming the Arlington County Board will approve an extra half-cent tax increase to fund those positions — and that's far from a sure thing. School officials made their case for the additional tax increase Wednesday night, putting pressure on the county to fund programs and positions that might otherwise be cut. The extra tax hike would generate a little more than $3 million annually. County Manager Barbara Donnellan's proposed $1.1 billion budget already includes a 3.2-cent tax …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Arlington County has been studying compensation since July 2011.
Since mid-2011, Arlington County has conducted pay studies that have resulted in more than 1,500 of its employees receiving raises. The studies, which are not finished, are part of a broader effort to make the county government a competitive employer among neighboring jurisdictions and, in select cases, competitive with the private sector or federal government. Compensation is projected to account for about 56 percent of county operating expenses for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. With budget discussions well under way, 46 jobs are on the table, about half of them vacant, along with salary increases for the remaining employees. Pay raises for county employees account for about $3.4 million in next year's proposed budget. County…
Cultural arts center has had its share of successes and failures, Arlington Economic Development Executive Director Terry Holzheimer said.
The Artisphere is having something of an identity crisis. Originally conceived as a cultural arts center, county leaders concede that things haven't exactly worked out as planned. The facility didn't bring enough people in to support a bar and restaurant, providing space for area businesses to have a residency didn't work, and it costs the county more than $1 million a year just to keep the doors open. "We're rethinking it now," Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer told Patch. "There's not sufficient funding to create a world-class cultural center." But that doesn't mean arts won't be a part of the Artisphere's future. [More: Artisphere: What Does Success Look Like?] The facility opened in October 2010 under the …
Arlington Economic Director Terry Holzheimer: Scope of project needs to be scaled down and its purpose broadened.
So, what should the Artisphere be? It's the conversation that perhaps started two-and-a-half years late — and it started Tuesday with a few big questions. What does success look like for Rosslyn's cultural arts center? Should the public facility be limited to the arts? Elected officials began wondering aloud as to what the county's end game should be for the Artisphere on Tuesday after Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey questioned increasing the county's subsidy to a struggling facility while cuts are being proposed to social safety net programs. [More: Arlington Leaders 'Rethinking' Artisphere] Arlington Economic Development Director Terry Holzheimer said one thing it won't be is the Strathmore of Rosslyn. "That isn't possible. It…
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Chairman announced the change to next year's proposed budget Tuesday night.
Arlington Board Chairman Walter Tejada announced Tuesday night that the county will continue to inspect child-care facilities and train child-care providers. Tejada made the announcement at the beginning of a budget work session on the county's social safety net programs. “The Board is committed to maintaining Arlington’s inspections of childcare facilities and training for providers,” Tejada said, reading from a prepared statement. “Although most localities in Virginia rely on the State alone to conduct inspections of childcare facilities, Arlington has, for more than 40 years, provided an extra layer of inspections and training for providers – and the Board is committed to continuing both of those elements.” Arlington's local child-care …
Friday, March 29, 2013
Residents speak out about tax increases, fee increases for transit service for the disabled and elderly.
Only a fraction of people showed up at the Arlington County Board public hearing on its proposed tax rate Thursday night compared to a similar hearing earlier this week on budget priorities that drew hundreds. But those who did could easily be divided into three camps: One group that would like to see the county board raise taxes by 5 percent, the most it legally can this year; one group that would prefer to see the tax rate go up commensurate with inflation; and a third group that simply doesn't want fares to increase for a county program that provides transit services for the elderly and disabled. The county board has given itself the authority to raise taxes by as much as 5 cents per $100 assessed value, which translates to about $356 …
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Arlington residents left a heated town hall on the planned Columbia Pike streetcar with mixed reactions Wednesday night.
Arlington residents left a heated town hall on the planned Columbia Pike streetcar with mixed reactions Wednesday night. The Arlington County Board and county staff took questions from anyone who had them about the proposed $250 million streetcar project that would connect Columbia Pike and Bailey's Crossroads. Time constraints forced some to leave without being able to ask their question. They were told to fill out a comment sheet, which prompted an angry outburst just before 9 p.m. [More: Columbia Pike Streetcar Town Hall Gets Heated] “I am very pleased staff and board members invested time and energy into the meeting,” said Dan Dixon, a member of Arlingtonians for Sensible Transit, which opposes the project. "Unfortunately, the setup …
Arlington County Board answers questions about controversial project.
At times, it seems like people who support the planned streetcar for Columbia Pike and those who oppose it are speaking two different languages. Hundreds representing both sides showed up Wednesday night for what turned out to be a fairly heated town hall at Kenmore Middle School. Four of the five Arlington County Board members explained the processes and decisions that have taken place over the last decade and have gotten the county to this point. To them, the discussion has been going on, scores of people have participated, and the streetcar remains the best long-term strategic investment to run along the Pike. To board member Libby Garvey, who opposes the streetcar and seems less concerned about any political consequences of her …
Janet
8:47 am on Wednesday, April 3, 2013
I concur with Libby Garvey's excellent suggestion that the Artisphere could become a community center for Rosslyn. more ›