Politics & Government

'We Can't Kick The Can Down The Road Anymore'

Transportation, school capital improvements focus of Hunter Mill Budget meeting

For years, one of the largest questions surrounding Tysons Corner development has been how to fund transportation and the improvements needed to support it.

About a year and a half away from the projected opening of the Silver Line, that question remains and it can't go unanswered much longer, residents said Saturday at a county budget meeting in Vienna hosted by Sup. Cathy Hudgins (Hunter Mill).

"We have to understand we have a real problem with transportation. The metro is going to open in 2013. We can't kick the can down the road anymore," said resident Jenifer Madden. "We need to start to face our fears and our problems. If we don't, it's going to hurt our economy in a big way."

Find out what's happening in Viennawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The $6.73 billion budget includes a $3.6 million increase in county transit funding, but realistically, Madden said, the county needs much more than that, not only for growth around Tysons but for other areas across the county that also need sidewalks, greater frequency of buses and more protected bike facilities for bike commuting. All of these features help reduce volume on roads, she said.

"We have worked really hard to get to the top [of school performance, which makes up 52 percent of the county's budget]," Madden said. "But we are in the top three worst places for traffic across the country, and if you look at the budget, only 1.3 percent is going to transportation. It may be that we have to try to build our reputation there, too We have to understand we have a real problem with transportation. It’s going to come back to haunt us with our economy."

Find out what's happening in Viennawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The proposed budget includes about $3.45 billion in the general fund; a 2.18 percent market rate adjustment (MRA) for county employees, at a cost of $22.34 million, and a recommended transfer of $1.68 billion to Fairfax County Public Schools.

Part of the county's proposed budget for transportation includes $0.76 million for two new positions within the department of transportation, along with funding for previously unfunded positions. These will support Tysons redevelopment in the office of community revitalization, the department of public works and environmental services and the park authority, county staff said.

Hudgins said "our challenge is converting our communities to transit hubs where we can actually think of a bus when we walk out the door rather than our car."

"It means bus stops, it means being able to take me to the bank, to the doctor's, to church, if I choose. That's when we become truly a transit community," Hudgins said.

Others worried about how the Silver Line would be paid for.

“I don’t think the Board of Supervisors has been doing their due diligence to see where this money is coming from," David Swink, a member of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance, said. "Dulles Phase Two and One are going to sink this county."

Human Services concerns

Hudgins said while the county's economy is better than it was at the height of the recession three or four years ago, it is not "out of the woods" yet.

General Fund support for human services has decreased about 3 percent since fiscal year 2008. Among the concerns of county residents were funding for police and library programs, along with services for needy children and their families.

"Our human services safety net is critical," Hudgins said. "All of those programs are critical to someone.”

Hudgins said Reston's library and the Patrick Henry Library in Vienna are the two most frequently used libraries across the county.

"People of all demographics make use of the library. It's the front door of the community; it’s a service people depend upon for various things," she said.

A number of nonprofits and their leaders are calling on the county to preserve resources for low-income and needy residents and families.

Among them (for full PDF, see document in media player above).

  • $4.6M to the Housing Blueprint, including:
    • $2M to acquire 200 affordable units. 
    • Total Blueprint amount is $5M per year, and $3M has been budgeted.
    • $2.6M for rent subsidies for 307 households to address unmet goals in the FY 2012 blueprint, matched by nonprofit organizations that provide both the housing and services for these households.
  • $300,000 to cover the loss of federal Community Development Block Grant Funds
  • $643,000 to cover the loss of federal HOME funds
  • $275,000 to restore cuts to the rent relief program
  • $50,000 to restore cuts to the Adult Dental Program
  • $105,000 to restore funding for the Hanley Shelter Therapist

The threats to social services come not only from tight money in the county  budget, but also from state and federal cuts or loss of funding, Hudgins said.

Schools

The majority of the county’s disbursements, approximately 52.5 percent, go to support Fairfax County Public Schools. The recommended transfer to FCPS is $1.68 billion, an increase of 4.5 percent over fiscal year 2012 but $66.3 million less than the $1.75 billion transfer

Residents at Saturday’s meeting worried about schools’ aging infrastructure, and how Tysons would affect enrollment.

"Whatever we’re spending on capital improvements we need to double," one woman, whose daughter is a freshman at Oakton High School, told officials. "As long as I’ve lived here the schools have been bursting at the seams ... 50 years is a long time to rely on the same building."

"There are 15 trailers outside [Oakton High School]. We're never going to catch up," the woman said.

School Board member Ryan McElveen (At-large) said on Saturday the board asked the supervisors to increase its bond allowance.

The Hunter Mill Budget Committee also shared its recommendations, which can be accessed online here. The Human Services Council budget recommendations can be found here.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will have budget hearings at 6 p.m. April 10, and 3 p.m. 11 and 12 at the Fairfax County Government Center. Sign up to speak here.


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