Alexandria is an amazingly generous community, not just during the holiday season. Together we give money, time and things throughout the year to help others. As last year’s Spring2ACTion campaign demonstrated, raising more than $1.3 million for local nonprofits in just 24 hours, Alexandrians love to give back.
This support is what helps organizations like ours provide high-quality, high-impact programs that make a difference in the lives of people every day, from homeless veterans to newly immigrated families. We are proud partners with Alexandria’s public agencies who envision the same city we do: strong, healthy and safe. As City Manager Mark Jinks recently conveyed to his employees, it is their “talent, commitment to service, creativity and teamwork,” combined with that of our nonprofit colleagues, that makes Alexandria a great place to live and work.
But with the start of 2017, we draw our attention to another round of difficult conversations around the city budget. Together as public and private partners we face a potential shortfall of $16 million to maintain current levels of service to Alexandria’s residents. And while the city manager has been given the ability to consider a tax increase to fill this gap, it would require a more than 4-cent increase per dollar to avoid any cuts in service, a rate above any that has ever been approved. What does this fiscal challenge mean for us, our neighbors, our parents, kids and families?
Alexandria’s current financial picture translates to very distressing cuts that will set our community back from its best-practice investments in prevention and stabilization, which also saves significant money in the longer term. As just one example of many, it will jeopardize the Center’s Learn & PlayGroups, the only free and open program for parents and their children under three — so at a minimum, those kids will go back to entering kindergarten with little to no early childhood education exposure, taxing our teachers and schools to meet their needs. At worst, it may lead their family to become entangled in the child welfare system as they struggle with parental stress and other challenges without the tools and strategies needed to stay connected to their children and community.
We are one of many local nonprofits that are seriously concerned about our ability to provide critical programs and services in light of distressing public budget shortfalls, and we are working hard to come together to fill gaps in innovative, effective and efficient ways so that our senior citizens, homeless individuals and families, young children and others do not fall further into desperation and need. Our criminal justice, child welfare, and hospital systems cannot bear the costs they would incur if our safety nets fail or disappear.
As we have seen in the decade since the Center opened our doors, our community rises to the occasion year after year, filling as much of this gap in public services as possible in a small community with a wide diversity of interests — in animal welfare, child protection, homeless services, and others. In fact, the same week that we will celebrate our 10th anniversary alongside many of Alexandria’s most generous donors, the city manager will present a proposed FY18 budget that will demonstrate exactly how high the bar will rise for private citizens to support basic community needs.
Those of us who dedicate our lives to this work feel grateful year-round for Alexandria’s giving community that does not limit itself to the holiday season. We are lucky to be a part of a city with a well-established culture of giving back as well as one that values deep engagement between the public and private sectors. We have no doubt that together we will rise to meet the need again, but we must preserve the deep investments we all have made in public-private partnerships. Best-practice models like the Center and others ensure that we unite all four resources and expertise to serve those who need our help, even in times of financial strain. Stay informed during this important budget season, communicate with councilmembers about the causes that are important to you, volunteer and support our work in whatever ways you can. Thank you to all who engage, give, and share so that together we can continue our work to be a safe, happy and healthy Alexandria.