At the monthly Inter-Service Club Council meeting in Springfield, Leonard Wales, assistant director of the Fairfax County Department of Management and Budget, heard an earful on real-estate assessments and school spending. After two weeks away with his Naval Reserve unit, it was a brash reintroduction to the county’s woes.
"I flew in from New Orleans last night. I've got three or four scheduled [briefings] this month," he said.
The Springfield council is dominated by service organizations and community groups, with many members being retired seniors. Housing assessments were on everyone's mind. Wales covered himself when individual assessments were brought up.
"I'm not an expert in county assessment process," he said.
Linda Waller, administrative aide in Supervisor Dana Kauffman's (D-Lee) office, was quick to announce that there is a process to challenge the assessment, but there were grumbles on the other end.
"If you think it's wrong, you should appeal it," she said.
Although the council concentrates on service-oriented community involvement, it has a heavy reliance on volunteers. When each group tightening its belt, budget-wise volunteers ease payroll constraints.
"Everybody's getting hit," Wales said.
Wales’ presentation included a pie chart on county expenditures and a possibility to reduce the real-estate tax rate from $1.21 per $100 in value to $1.19, but he also added that it was not something that could be accomplished in his office.
"Obviously it takes six votes [at the Board of Supervisors’ level] to accomplish that," he said, noting that a $22 million reduction this year will be suffered by all except "we're not directing cuts to nonprofits."
One graph reflected 59.1 percent of the county funding coming from real-estate taxes, and on another pie chart, it showed 52.7 percent going to schools.
Crestwood principal Pat Zissios chaired the meeting before school in Crestwood's library, the usual meeting place. She is the current president of the council and seemed to be in the cross hairs when members started in on the school budget. The school budget did not decrease in this years' county budget. Zissios brought up the current No Child Left Behind program as one of the culprits, along with a growing county.
"That's a federal mandate with no money. The impact on schools is greater with the increased population," she said.
"JB" Young, a representative from Del. Dave Albo's (R-42nd) office, was quick to point to the school budget.
"The school system is the thing we need to look at," he said, particularly Superintendent Daniel Domenech's salary. "How can the county justify that?" he asked.
Zissios noted a few areas that could be cut - instrumental music, and a swim and dive team - but also indicated some of the programs contribute to the federally mandated No Child Left Behind program. She thought they could be given as after-school programs, funded by individuals and not the school budget.
Questions on the school budget remained. At the end of the meeting, it was suggested that the council invite members of the School Board to the next meeting, but it fell in the middle of spring break. It was decided that the May 13 meeting at Crestwood Elementary school would present better timing for School Board members as well as supervisors from the county Board of Supervisors, who will also be invited. Albo is still on the schedule for the April 14 meeting at the Richard Byrd Library.
THE INTER-SERVICE CLUB COUNCIL includes service clubs and organizations such as the American Legion, Ecumenical Community Helping Others (ECHO), Boy Scouts, Crestwood Family Center, Rotary Club, Salvation Army, VFW and various county services, to name a few. Pat Gauthier, the executive director of ECHO, noted the impact of assistance from the council.
"They've been very good to us. All the groups work together. We've belonged for eight to 10 years. It's a collaborative group," she said.
One thing ECHO and the VFW are collaborating on is an addition to the ECHO building. Fundraising efforts are being conducted supporting this venture. ECHO helps needy families with clothing, food and funds.
John Ray is on the building expansion committee at ECHO. The plan is either to increase the building by 50 percent or completely double its size.
"It's still being discussed with the engineer," he said.
Koinonia is feeling the economic crunch on the eastern side of I-95, experiencing an increase in needy people and a decrease in contributions. Chuck Torpy represents Koinonia at the council meetings.
"Visits are up 50 percent. We are seriously short of cash donations," Torpy said.