The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has recently published its annual State of the County report, detailing progress, and challenges faced, in 2009 and plans for 2010.
Read out-takes here from the report that deal with issues impacting the South Fairfax region. The entire report can be found on the county’s website.
Budget Shortfall and Cuts
Our major source of revenue – making up over 60% of our budget – is from residential and commercial real estate taxes. In the current fiscal year, the value of property in Fairfax County declined by 10%. That’s a loss of $244 million.
Had the Board attempted to maintain services, programs and staffing levels at the previous year’s level and provided performance-based salary for our employees, we would have come up $640 million – or nearly 20 percent — short in our $3.3 billion General Fund Budget.
As we prepared for this past year’s budget, I initiated a series of Community Dialogues with residents throughout the County.
We presented information regarding our budget and discussed with you ideas for addressing our fiscal challenges. Together, we examined our priorities and discussed possible service reductions or organizational changes.
Thanks in large part to this inclusive process, and aided by Stimulus funding that provided a bridge for our public schools, our Board was able to unanimously adopt a budget last April that struck a responsible balance. We were able to keep average tax bills steady. We also made a number of cuts and reductions:
- We eliminated all employee pay raises for a savings of $19 million.
- We reduced library hours, cutting 34 positions and saving $3.4 million. We also cut library material by $1 million.
- We delayed buying new vehicles to save $2 million.
- We cut FASTRAN service by more than $3 million and reduced CONNECTOR routes for additional savings.
- We closed the Mason Police Station Lock-up, cutting four positions and saving $250,000.
- We eliminated Police School Education Officers, cutting 8 positions and $62,000.
- We closed the Western Fairfax Outpatient clinic and outsourced some business and personal property tax collections for additional savings.
- We cut back on printed materials, including the County newsletter and closed 2 Computer Learning Centers for more than a half million dollar savings.
- Schools increased the number of students per classroom
- And reduced the summer school program.
We also found new ways to deliver services in a less costly manner:
- 1,300 county employees now work from home telecommuting, saving us money on office expenses, reducing congestion and cutting carbon emission.
- The schools made significant changes to school bus routes and school hours, saving over $4 million.
- Our energy program is saving us millions of dollars in energy costs and operating expenses.
- We consolidated Warehouse Functions between the County and the Schools, and
- Implemented a shared approach between the County and the Schools to save $400,000 on legal resources.
County Goals and Priorities
At our Board Meeting on December 7th, we unanimously adopted a slate of Goals and Priorities to guide us during these difficult years that read:
“By engaging our residents and businesses in the process of addressing these challenging times, protecting investment in our most critical priorities, and by maintaining strong responsible fiscal stewardship, we must ensure” these goals:
- No. 1 — A Quality Educational SystemEducation is Fairfax County’s highest priority. We will continue the investment needed to protect and enhance this primary community asset.
- No. 2 — Safe Streets and NeighborhoodsFairfax County is the safest community of our size in the U.S. We will continue to invest in public safety to respond to emergency situations and to prevent and intervene in destructive behaviors, such as gang activity and substance abuse.
- No. 3 — A Clean, Sustainable EnvironmentFairfax County will continue to protect our drinking water, air quality, stream valleys and tree canopy through responsible environmental regulations and practices. We will continue to take a lead in initiatives to address energy efficiency and sustainability and to preserve and protect open space for our residents to enjoy.
- No. 4 — Livable, Caring and Affordable CommunitiesAs Fairfax County continues to grow we will do so in ways that address environmental and mobility challenges. We will encourage housing that is affordable to our children, seniors and members of our workforce. We will provide compassionate and efficient services to members of our community who are in need.
- No. 5 — A Vibrant EconomyFairfax County has a well-earned reputation as a business-friendly community. We will vigorously pursue economic development and revitalization opportunities. We will support the business community and encourage this healthy partnership. We will continue to be sensitive and responsive to the needs of our corporate neighbors in the areas of workforce development and availability, affordable housing, regulation and taxation.
- No. 6 — Efficient Transportation NetworkFairfax County makes it a priority to connect People and Places. We will continue to plan for and invest in transportation improvements to include comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian initiatives, bus and para transit, road and intersection improvements and expansion of Metrorail and VRE.
- No. 7 — Recreational and Cultural OpportunitiesA desirable community is one where there is a lot going on that residents can enjoy. Fairfax County will continue to provide for athletic, artistic, intellectual and recreational activities, in our communities, parks, libraries and schools.
- No. 8 — Taxes that are AffordableThe property tax is Fairfax County’s primary source of revenue to provide services. We will ensure that taxes are affordable for our residents and businesses, and we will seek ways to diversify County revenues in order to make our tax base more equitable. We will ensure that County programs and services are efficient, effective, cost effective and well run.
Transportation in South Fairfax
A number of major transportation projects are underway, or are being planned in our County – which I would like to share with you:
- HOT Lanes Construction has begun on the Capital Beltway HOT Lanes. This is a public-private partnership that will construct High Occupancy Toll lanes for a 14-mile stretch of I-495. We expect to complete it in 2013. At the insistence of our Board, sound walls will be built along its entire length as well as reforestation and landscaping. As Chairman, one of my top priorities is to include Express Bus or Bus Rapid Transit on the HOT Lanes.
- Congestion will lessen on I-95 as we add a fourth lane in each direction on I-95 between the Fairfax County Parkway and Route 123. This will be done by the end of this year.
- The final two miles of the Fairfax County Parkway, which runs through the Engineering Proving Ground, is under construction. Thanks to federal stimulus dollars, we expect to complete Phase 1 and 2 of this project by the end of 2010.
- We are working with our federal partners to identify other sources of revenue for the hundreds of millions of dollars in additional improvements that will be essential to support the relocation of military facilities to this part of the county.
- During this year, our Department of Transportation conducted public meetings to gather comments and suggestions for a comprehensive 10-year plan for enhanced bus service countywide that includes both the Fairfax Connector and Metrobus.
Redevelopment and Revitalization Projects in our Area
In July, the Board approved the rezoning necessary to allow Springfield Mall to be revitalized into a pedestrian-oriented town center of mixed retail, office, hotel and residential uses. The project calls for a grocery store, dog park, tot lot, athletic courts, fitness center, and state of the art movie center. The application we approved seized an opportunity to enhance the image of Springfield, and transform the mall into a thriving amenity for the community once again.
- The Re-use of the former Lorton Prison into the Lorton Arts Center and the Laurel Hill mixed use community – an exciting new component of our South County area of Fairfax
- Plan amendments for commercial revitalization in the Richmond Highway corridor. This will allow for revitalizing the area in concert with the Defense Department Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process and the relocation of more than 19,000 military jobs to Fort Belvoir and the Engineering Proving Ground in southern Fairfax County. When the relocations are fully realized in 2011, we’ll double the workforce currently stationed at Fort Belvoir. This move will have a transformative effect on nearby communities like Lorton, Mount Vernon, Kingstowne and Burke. It will also be a tremendous catalyst for revitalization in central Springfield and the Richmond Highway corridor.
Accomplishments in 2009
- Our school system continues to be one of the best in the Nation. Our Thomas Jefferson High School was ranked #1 in the U.S.
- We continue to be the safest jurisdiction of our size in the United States. This past year, crime statistics fell.
- We still are among the most sought after address for the nation’s businesses. This year, Hilton Worldwide and SAIC chose to locate their headquarters here in Fairfax County.
- And we have become the new home of the IGNITE Institute, a new biotechnology company for personalized medicine. The addition of this new primary industry sector to Fairfax County’s economy will bring significant improvements in medical treatment and will be a major catalyst in the evolution of health care. Thanks to pioneering research at the Ignite Institute, Fairfax County will be tied to major developments in this field and will become major players in the field of bio-technology.
Watch Board of Supervisors Chairperson Sharon Bulova State of the Country address video here.
