I am writing to respond to the Connection article of last week regarding the town of Herndon budget (“Two Council Members Challenge the Budget Adoption”). The reporter was not able to speak to me before the Connection went to press.
It is pretty rare that this Town Council has anything adversarial going on because we are able to work collaboratively in the public interest.
The headline "Two Council Members Challenge Herndon Budget Adoption" makes it appear as though there is a lot more going on than there is.
Councilmember Olem and I were hoping to continue the budget for another two weeks to get in some time for discussion before the required budget deadline of June 30. I have seen several councils do this, and was not intending to avoid passing this budget, but to discuss matters my constituents wanted brought forth. My assumption was that this was a reasonable, indeed admirable, request to make. I appreciate that the main problem was a lack of communication before the meeting, which I thought I had addressed in my opening comment on the matter. I dug into my position out of surprise, but eventually helped the budget pass. I saw no point in continuing my request for the two weeks, and we were able to have the discussion I had requested anyway.
I have loved working with this council, which is composed of smart, positive colleagues who are trying to help this town realize its potential. I would certainly not wish to move our well-run council and town to uncertainty, nor to "challenge the budget adoption".
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Signe Friedrichs
Herndon Town Council