Alex Van Veen (center) was joined by (clockwise from right) Fairfax County School Board Vice Chairman Ted Velkoff and Chairman Tammy Derenak Kaufax, and Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) at the county budget community dialogue held at the South County Government Center. Photo by Tim Peterson.
Despite a damp dreary Saturday morning, several dozen people turned out at the South County Government Center for the first of two community dialogues on the proposed budgets for Fairfax County government and schools. The meeting along Route 1 began in the morning, followed by a similar event at the Fairfax County Government Center in the afternoon. Both were hosted by Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova.
“When we adopt the budget, we are investing in the priorities of our community,” Bulova said in her opening remarks. The format for the event included explanatory presentations of both budgets by county officials, a question-and-answer session, and small group brainstorming.
The breakout groups were a chance for individuals from the community to have a discussion with county representatives about which government services they felt were more or less valuable, as well as long-term ideas for reducing county costs.
Fairfax County’s Chief Financial Officer Susan Datta gave an overview of the FY2016 budget, highlighting the county’s heavy reliance on real estate taxes and underperforming local economy and housing market as factors contributing to the projected budget shortfall.
“Fairfax County is clearly seeing the impact of the Sequester and problems going on at the federal level,” said Datta.
“This is a stalled recovery,” Bulova said. “It’s important to look at all services; are there different ways for us to grow and proceed into the future?”
Bulova and Datta explained the county conducts its own “lines of business review,” an evaluation of all county programs and staff that began in January to attempt to identify “right-sizing” for future revenue growth.
The proposed county budget already includes a reduction package of $26.9 million.
“We’ve reduced effectively nearly every agency in Fairfax County,” said Datta.
Even with the reductions, Fairfax County is still forecast to undercut what the Fairfax County Public Schools board has asked for in its proposed budget: a projected transfer shortfall of $14 million.
Kristen Michael, assistant superintendent for financial services with FCPS, explained the school system has managed to cut over $55 million from its FY2015 approved budget expenditures, as reflected in the FY2016 advertised budget.
However, some of the unfunded, identified needs include lower class size, a family and early childhood education program, and student technology and connectivity.
Community member Alex Van Veen asked if there were more ways the county could “get more bang for its buck,” maybe by consolidating excess properties.
Bulova and Mount Vernon school board member Dan Storck, also in attendance, answered by describing collaborative efforts already taken between the supervisors and school board to eliminate duplicated services. The Smart Savings Task Force and budget development project task force, groups with members from each board, have looked at consolidating legal services, insurance and transportation services.
But they haven’t thought of everything, which is why Datta acknowledged the small group discussions as “a really important exercise” to involve community members and brainstorm.
The school board is scheduled present its budget to the Board of Supervisors April 7, with public hearings on that budget as well as the county’s to be held April 7-9. April 28 is the proposed for the county to adopt its budget, followed by the school board adopting its budget May 21.
For more information on the proposed county budget, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/budget. More information on the Fairfax County Public Schools budget can be found at www.fcps.edu.news/fy2016.shtml.
Citizens are encouraged to participate and speak in the public hearings. To sign up, call the Clerk to the Board’s Office at 703-324-3151 or 703-324-2391, or go online to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/bosclerk/speaker_bos.htm. If a resident can’t attend in person but would still like to participate, email written testimony to the Clerk’s office at clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov.