Sunday, May 12, 2013
Presented by Patch, the theme is 'Fairfax Is Beautiful.'
UPDATE: The deadline for the first annual Celebrate Fairfax Photo Contest has been extended to May 15. Enter today! Your photo could be on display at Celebrate Fairfax! --- Are you a natural photographer or just enjoy capturing snapshots of the world around you? Celebrate Fairfax is looking for the best photographs of the natural beauty of Fairfax County and announces their 1st annual Photo Contest! In order to enter, you must submit a photo of something beautiful you see in nature around Fairfax County. You have until May 1 to get your entry in! Let the county be your inspiration — the top 75 entries submitted will be displayed during the Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, which will be held June 7-9. Individuals will compete in one of two …
Friday, May 10, 2013
Fairfax County Economic Development Authority officials say despite high number, sequestration will cause job growth to slow down.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) helped bring more than 1,400 jobs from 27 different companies during the first quarter of 2013. Salient Federal Solutions, a company that provides information techonology support to government and commercial customers, created the most opportunity countywide, adding 530 jobs in Fairfax, FCEDA officials said Friday. “In today’s environment, any business growth is remarkable,” FCEDA President and CEO Jerry Gordon said in a statement. But the number of new jobs was still down from the first quarter of 2012, when the FCEDA worked with 46 different businesses to bring in nearly 2,000 jobs. Gordon told Patch the slowdown was caused by cold feet from business owners, who hesitated to grow…
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The federal loan program could save Fairfax County and Dulles Toll Road users millions, but the tight timeline is giving some supervisors pause.
Fairfax County transportation officials have asked the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to move on federal loans that could help pay for $1.9 billion of the total cost of the Silver Line. FCDOT representatives presented the Board with a series of recommendations Tuesday afternoon in order to file an application for a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan from the federal government. Joe LaHait, the county’s debt coordinator, said if the funding partners secured such a loan, approximately $1.3 billion would be allocated to the Dulles Toll Road. Toll Road users are currently on the hook for 75 percent of the $5.9 billion rail project and toll prices are expected to increase dramatically in the coming years…
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Trials in other Washington area jurisdictions have residents asking: Why doesn't Fairfax County have text-911 service?
Fairfax County plans to eventually give its residents the ability to text 9-1-1 in emergencies, but it likely won’t be any time soon. In March, Frederick County, Md., launched a pilot program allowing Verizon Wireless customers to text 911 in an emergency. And recent media coverage has Fairfax County residents asking whether the same service will be available to them. During an online chat Monday, county officials said they planned to wait to start any sort of trial program until the service was available on more providers than just Verizon. “Texting to 9-1-1 is one of several new means to contact 9-1-1 that will utilize smart devices (smart phones, tablets, etc.) to communicate,” said Stephen Souder, director of the county’s department of…
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Officials will likely attempt to put a meals tax referendum to voters in future elections, though the proposal has had little success in the past.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is once again considering a meals tax — but the proposal has a long way to go before it is put to voters in a future election. For the eighth time during his tenure, Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) proposed this week that a meals tax referendum appear on ballots during the election. In his resolution, Hyland estimated the tax could generate between $80 and $100 million annually. Such revenue, which Hyland calculated with a hypothetical 4 percent meals tax, might allow the Board to alleviate stress on the county’s real estate base, which just saw an increase in tax this budget cycle. “As was clearly evidenced during our budget discussions, the county is still over reliant on the real estate …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Employees have 8.66 percent less purchasing power than they did six years ago, they said, which may cause them to leave for jurisdictions with better compensation plans.
Fairfax County faces a number of budget challenges in Fiscal Year 2014. But top on the minds of county employees, they said at a public hearing with the county Board of Supervisors: better, fairer compensation. County Executive Ed Long's $7 billion FY2014 budget proposal raises real estate taxes and cuts funds to parks and libraries, among other services. It also includes a 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095, expected to raise millions in revenue. But the budget doesn't include market rate adjustments to county employee salaries. The school system hopes to be able to give employees an increase of just under 2 percent. Randy Creller, chairman of the Employees Advisory Council, …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Fairfax County human services officials say more funds are needed for housing and other programs.
Fairfax County officials have said the impacts of sequestration are largely unknown, but for some of the county's low-income residents that's no longer true: Last week, the cuts forced the county to stop issuing Section 8 vouchers for affordable housing to families in need. Officials say that up to 150 families in the county might not be getting housing vouchers that will help them pay their rent. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides funding to the county for the program, but the budget sequester has put that in jeopardy. The county stopped issuing vouchers earlier this month and while some residents were able to get help at the last minute, others might not be so fortunate. These cuts directly impact organizations…
Monday, April 8, 2013
The first of three public hearings on FY 2014 plan is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday. Speakers can sign up in advance.
A series of public hearings on Fairfax County’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget package will kick off Tuesday evening, giving residents a chance to advocate for changes to funding allocations and other issues. County Executive Ed Long’s advertised $7 billion budget, unveiled in late February, proposes raising the county's real estate tax rate and making cuts to some county programs and services in an effort to close shortfalls. The 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate, from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095, is expected to raise approximately $42 million in revenues. But on top of new, higher real estate assessments, the increase would burden the average resident with approximately $262 more in taxes each year. Some officials have…
Friday, March 22, 2013
Presented by Patch, the theme is 'Fairfax Is Beautiful.'
Are you a natural photographer or just enjoy capturing snapshots of the world around you? Celebrate Fairfax is looking for the best photographs of the natural beauty of Fairfax County and announces their 1st annual Photo Contest! In order to enter, you must submit a photo of something beautiful you see in nature around Fairfax County. Let the county be your inspiration! The top 75 entries submitted will be displayed during the Celebrate Fairfax! Festival, which will be held June 7-9. Individuals will compete in one of two divisions (Youth and Open) with various prizes awarded to the top photographs. The top 25 finalists chosen in the youth division (17 and under) will have their photographs displayed and will be given a free admission …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Electronic ballot scanning machines and other tools could make lines at the polls shorter, Fairfax County Election Commission says.
Last November, some Fairfax County residents reported long lines and wait times of more than three hours to cast their vote at the polls; some abandoned voting all together. But some 50 recommendations from Fairfax County’s new election commission — many of them focused on technology that will speed up parts of the voting process — could solve the problem. How quickly changes are made, though, depends on how much room officials can find in this year's budget to implement new programs in time for the next presidential election. Among the recommendations in a report delivered Tuesday to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors was using Electronic Polling Books (EPBs), which would streamline the check-in process for voters, reduce the number …
Anoneemous
12:09 pm on Saturday, May 11, 2013
With an Obama economy that is barely growing enough to keep up with population growth, and a Fairfax County government that can't stop growing bigger and bigger, Fairfax County will eventually loose it's attraction to businesses. Higher and higher taxes will discourage job growth. Fairfax County residents have to adjust to a low and slow growth economy, so why doesn't Fairfax County government? … more ›