News

Springfield, VA – Today, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity (Springfield) announced the hiring of campaign manager Kyle Blanchard.

“Kyle comes to us from Northwest Florida with significant experience in government and politics,” said Pat Herrity. “His recent experience building grassroots coalitions for Senator Rubio will allow me to reach more voters than ever before. I am incredibly confident that Kyle’s hard work, leadership and experience will ensure a successful 2023 election season. “

“I could not be more excited to join Pat this year,” said Blanchard. “Supervisor Herrity was my top choice when deciding what to do next. Not only do I think Pat’s common sense policy approach should be nationwide, but I have always loved the Commonwealth of Virginia and could not be happier to be here. I am excited to get to work with the residents of the Springfield District.”

Kyle made his debut into politics in 2022 as the regional director for Senator Marco Rubio in Northwest Florida. He studied political science at Florida State University, and headed the political roundtable at Tallahassee Community College where he was an active political leader on and off campus. Recruiting and volunteering for the Republican Party during his time in Tallahassee gave him vital experience to help win this race.

Kyle can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at (703) 451-5515.

Fairfax County Times

By Taneika Duhaney

Almost two weeks ago today, tragedy struck again on Lee Chapel Road in Fairfax Station. The first non-pedestrian-related fatal crash in the county of the year claimed the lives of two 16-year-old South County High School students, publicly identified by family and friends as Ariana Haftsavar and Ashlyn Brotemarkle-the driver and the rear passenger. A third passenger was rushed to the hospital “with injuries considered life-threatening” and she remains hospitalized according to Fairfax County Police.

The single-car crash occurred in the 7400 block of Lee Chapel Road just before 9:30 p.m. Detectives believe that as the Lexus IS350 traveled northbound, the sedan crested one of the hills along the undulating road and lost control, causing the car to veer off the road and flip on its roof as it crashed into the woods. Preliminarily, detectives do not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash but speed was.

In the days following the accident, the Crash Reconstruction Unit reviewed “evidence from the crash and the vehicle’s airbag control module, [and] determined the Lexus was traveling 100.7 miles per hour before the crash. Detectives from the scene determined the car was airborne for approximately 130 feet.” 

According to state data, since 2011, this half-mile stretch of Lee Chapel Road-between Ox Road and the Fairfax County Parkway-has been the site of 243 vehicle crashes resulting in 148 injuries and three deaths, including the crash that killed 19-year-old Dilbar Noory. In 2015, Noory lost control while driving over the same hill on this road. Community calls to fix Lee Chapel road are at an all-time high, and a petition calling for changes has received more than 13,500 signatures. 

In response to the recent tragedy, the Virginia Department of Transportation–the state agency that owns this road, Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, and county leaders gathered on Jan. 18 to propose improvements to Lee Chapel Road. Herrity acknowledges that changes to fix hills, curves, and turns are needed, and some of these changes were presented in 2015 and again in 2017. However, Herrity admits none of the proposals were implemented due to budgetary constraints and remain on the unfunded priority list. Until changes are funded, “I’m looking for an interim solution right now,” Herrity said.

Some possible short-term solutions include rumble strips, more signage, and improved lighting along the road. However, these changes are not enough for some residents. 

“My family and I had an accident in 2013 on that stretch of road when another driver came across the middle of the road, and we had nowhere to go as there are no shoulders on this part of the road, shared Michelle Motes on social media. “Our vehicle turned over several times and was totaled.” 

Fellow Burke resident Jill Tastrophe had a similarly harrowing experience. “I almost died on the same road in 2018, and I had over 17 surgeries and spent over a month in the hospital,” she said. 

Lee Chapel Road has “optical speed bars” which were installed in 2006. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the series of painted lines are intended to increase drivers’ perception of speed and cause them to reduce speed. Several days after the accident, VDOT updated the optical speed bars. 

“I drive that road a few times a week late afternoon; a week after the accident, I noticed VDOT repainted the lanes closer to the hill on both sides. [They] even added some markers. I believe a street light could make a huge difference,” said Burke resident Vanina Rodriguez.

“This is one of a number of roads in the district and countywide that are left over from Fairfax County’s older, rural past that can be unsafe in modern times with our higher traffic volumes and faster vehicles,” tweeted Herrity. To bring Lee Chapel Road into the modern era, residents are encouraging county leadership to add lights, rumble strips, shoulders and even widen the road from two to four lanes, a project proposal that Herrity backed in previous years. 

After a meeting with VDOT and FCDOT officials, Delegate Kathy Tran (D-Fairfax) and Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck, Herrity proposed a board matter on Jan. 24 addressing the issue. County leadership approved a motion for future changes to Lee Chapel Road but funding is still undetermined. 

“The Board unanimously approved my motion to direct Fairfax County Department of Transportation to look at eliminating the hills on Lee Chapel Road and potential sources of funding for the project,” tweeted Herrity. The motion also “directs the public works department to look at the feasibility of streetlights and the Park Authority to look at clearing the shoulder areas on the adjacent parkland. These interim changes should be designed with the ultimate goal of the four-lane widening currently envisioned in the Comprehensive Plan.”

As residents await long-term changes, Lee Chapel Road is still a necessary route for commuting. Parents are cautioning their teens to be more vigilant drivers. 

“We don’t avoid it or discourage our teens from driving it. We do talk about the risks of speeding on it and being careful with oncoming lights blinding you,” said Heidi Oh. Other parents have noticed how the accident has impacted their teen drivers. 

“My 17-year-old son was devastated by what happened, having lost two of his friends. I believe it has impacted his outlook with driving, especially on that portion of Lee Chapel that we know is notoriously dangerous,” said Stacey Street.

West Springfield, VA – Today, Supervisor Pat Herrity announced his reelection campaign for Springfield District Supervisor on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
 
Herrity said, “Since I last ran for office, we have faced unfathomable challenges; from a global pandemic to historic unemployment, unprecedented obstacles for our business owners, interrupted education and record-setting inflation…we live in a different world than we did four years ago and I can’t think of a more critical time to need strong, experienced leadership on the Board of Supervisors.
 
That’s why I’m announcing today my campaign to run for reelection for Springfield District Supervisor on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.”
 
Pat Herrity has been serving on the Board since 2008 after 25 years of active business, sports, and civic community leadership. He was raised in Fairfax County, a 1978 graduate of West Springfield High School with an accounting degree from Virginia Tech.
 
During his time on the Board, he has time and time again proven that he is a “go-getter” with a singular focus on bettering the lives of Fairfax County residents. From transportation to education to business and responsible development, Pat’s record speaks for itself. Full details of selected accomplishments, key issues, experience as well as his business, community, and civic resume can be found on his website at PatHerrity.org.
 
Herrity continued, “This campaign is about you, the residents of Fairfax County, and the trials we have faced the past four years. We need someone representing us who has the experience and track record to keep getting results for the County. I humbly consider myself the most qualified to serve our community. I proudly stood as a check on the excesses of the Board, and made sure that each decision made considered the impact it would have on every single one of our county’s residents. I look forward to meeting you and your families on the campaign trail the next ten months as we look ahead to continuing the great work we have accomplished thus far.”
 
The election for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will take place on November 7, 2023. Pat will be making himself available for questions surrounding the announcement this afternoon, please contact [email protected] to schedule a time. For more information about Pat Herrity, please visit PatHerrity.org. See his announcement speech below. 
 

###

Pat Herrity
Announcement Speech
January 26, 2023

“Welcome. Thank you for joining me here this morning at West Springfield High School. As most of you know, this is home to me. This is where it all started, I grew up right down Rolling Road on Portree Court.

That is where I learned about the County from one of its great leaders and my Dad, former Chairman of the Board Jack Herrity.  I not only learned about the County and its issues but about leadership and most importantly about public service.
My Dad loved this county – he actually watched Board of Supervisors meetings right up until the day he died. I share his great passion for public service and for the County we so dearly love.

I began my public service early in life and during my successful business career.  I was recognized by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Virginia Technology Council with its highest leadership awards. I organized a sports league and coached a number of sports teams.  I was also a leader in my local civic associations.

Sixteen years ago, I made the decision to take that public service to a higher level and run to become Springfield District Supervisor because I did not like the direction the County was heading.  Taxes had doubled in 8 short years from $2,400 to $4,800, our teachers’ salaries were slipping and we were mired in congestion.

The citizens of Springfield District had faith in me and elected me their Supervisor in 2007. They reelected me in 2011, 2015 and 2019. Since I last ran for office, we have faced unfathomable challenges; from a global pandemic to historic unemployment, unprecedented obstacles for our business owners, interrupted education and record-setting inflation…we live in a different world than we did four years ago and I can’t think of a more critical time to need strong, experienced leadership on the Board of Supervisors.

Over those years we have accomplished a lot to make Springfield District and Fairfax County a better place:

• I led two rounds of pension reform efforts to address the county’s unsustainable pension plans and balance our compensation program.
• I was the only Supervisor to call for reopening schools as other communities were successfully doing across the country.
• I am leading the effort to address rising crime and the public safety staffing crisis by calling for increased pay and recruiting befits for our officers.
• As Chair of the Board’s Older Adults Committee, I led the development of Fairfax County’s award-winning 50+ Committee Action Plan to make the County a better place for our older adults.
• I led the effort that took the first steps toward addressing senior tax relief.
• I initiated the Older Adults COVID Response Plan. With 95 percent of Fairfax County’s COVID-related deaths being adults over age 50, older adults were the most impacted demographic in our community. The plan was developed with feedback from online focus groups to address key issues of social isolation, lack of technology access, and wellness among our older adults. 
• I led the successful effort to stop the 10% tax on meals that was overwhelmingly defeated by Fairfax County voters.
• I am the only Supervisor to recommend efficiencies and budget reductions to address the 50% increase in homeowners’ taxes over the last ten years.
• I led the effort to reduce the County’s Machinery and Tools tax that was four times our surrounding jurisdictions and unfairly taxing our small manufacturers and breweries.
• As I did in 2016, in 2022 I asked the Board to again reaffirm our commitment to the protection of the environmentally sensitive Occoquan watershed.
• I am the only Supervisor to ever receive the President’s Award from the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers for my leadership in improving teachers’ salaries.
• I led the effort to get this very school behind us (West Springfield High School) renovated after it was overlooked in the renovation queue.
• I led efforts to reform the county’s zoning and permitting process to reform siloed processes and a culture of “no”.
• We renovated Pohick Library, we have an exciting new driving range and clubhouse at Burke Lake Park, and you can Go Ape on the ropes course at South Run Park. I am currently funding a number of trail and other improvements at Burke Lake Park that have led to additional investments by the Park Foundation.
• Every year I work with my colleagues on the Board to host Teen Job and Opportunity Fairs across the county.
• I have been honored to be recognized by the Sun Gazette for the last six years as Fairfax County’s Best Public Servant.
• I created and am leading the County’s Sports Tourism Task Force to diversify the county’s revenue stream with tourism dollars and build high quality sports venues for our community. I am looking forward to the county’s first sports tourism facility Patriot Park North which will be opening this year and am continuing to move the indoor downhill ski facility on the side of the I-95 Landfill forward.
• Each summer, I host a free concert series at Burke Lake Park – the largest series of any district in the county.
• I led the effort to remove the blight of illegal signs from our roadways
• I am leading the effort to address Panhandling as a public safety issue in the County.I could list many more.  

I could list many more.

I still have the passion to get things done that make Fairfax County a better place.  Sixteen years later, I also still have the passion to use my business skills and knowledge of the County to get spending under control and stop the ever-increasing tax burden on our residents.  Taxes on the average homeowner have increased over 50% in the last 10 years – 6.7% just last year despite over $1 Billion in federal COVID funding – a rate that is not sustainable. I consistently remind the Board of our policy and the bonding agency’s guidance against spending one-time funds for recurring expenditures. I will continue to provide opportunities to set priorities, improve efficiencies and get cost under control. 

Too many of our graduates and seniors are leaving the county. I still have the passion to grow jobs and our economy so our children will have high paying jobs and will stay and raise their families in Fairfax County. We need to continue to improve our zoning, permitting and regulatory environment so we can create and grow businesses in the County, reduce the cost of living, provide affordable housing and create places that will keep our graduates and seniors here.

I still have the passion to make our school system the best in the nation by funneling resources into the classroom and on the teachers and students, not on administrators and administrative burdens. To support our teachers who are dealing with the impacts of two years without in person learning on our students. To return the focus to academics so that all of our children have the opportunity to succeed in life. We need to be celebrating achievement and excellence not punishing it.

I still have the passion to protect our suburban neighborhoods from blight, crime and gangs.  We have much more to do in battling the increasing crime rates, the opioid/fentanyl public health crisis, human trafficking and gangs. We need to give our police department the resources and support it needs to attract, train and retain the best officers to make our community the safest jurisdiction of its size in the country. I want to lead the development of the follow-on plan to the award-winning 50+ Community Action Plan with achievable, actionable and affordable initiatives to improve the lives of our older adults. I want to continue my efforts with the Sports Tourism Task Force to diversify our tax base, economy and bring the county exciting new sports venues like an indoor track and indoor downhill skiing.

I still have the passion to address transportation congestion that keeps our residents from enjoying the quality of life they deserve. We have over $600M in transportation improvements moving forward in the Springfield District including the widening of Fairfax County Parkway (with a grade separated interchange at the dangerous Popes Head Road intersection); building the Shirley Gate Road extension; widening of Route 28, 29, and Rolling Road; adding turn lanes (including at 50 and Waples Mill Road); the Rolling Road VRE parking lot expansion; intersection improvements (including Post Forrest Drive and Random Hills Road); and safety improvements like the Burke Road curve realignment and Orange Hunt safe routes to school improvements. 

I want to ensure the County focuses transportation funding on projects that relieve congestion for our residents. I want to see through the safety improvements we are working on Lee Chapel Road and the Fairfax County Parkway. I was honored to appointed last year to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority where I will have a voice in where $6B in state and local transportation funds are spent.

I also still have the passion to stand as a backstop and a check on the excesses of the Board majority, and make sure that each decision made considers the impact it will have on every single one of our county’s residents. It is important that all sides of a decision are considered as open honest dialogue always gets you to a better answer.

There is a lot of change coming to the Fairfax County, with the retirement of Supervisor Foust and Supervisor Gross, economic challenges, the possibility of a recession, rising crime rates, falling school enrollment, etc. The need for an experienced voice on the Board is clear.  

As I weighed my decision to run for reelection or to run for Chairman of the Board, I reached out to constituents across the county.  What I heard loud and clear from both Republicans and Democrats was the need for balance, the need for a common sense, fiscal conservative voice, the need for experience, the need for a public servant focused on local issues instead of divisive national issues. 

Public service is not about what you want to do, it’s about doing what is right for the community. 

For me, this county will always be vitally important, but the Springfield District is my home. It’s such an important part of the fabric of my life, of my family’s life, of our past, our present and our future. 

That’s why I will be asking the residents of the Springfield District to give me the opportunity to finish the many things we have underway here in the Springfield District, the opportunity to help shape the direction of Fairfax County by being the common-sense voice on the Board, and to reelect me as their Springfield District Supervisor.

This campaign is about you, the residents of Fairfax County, and the trials we have faced the past four years. We need someone representing us who has the experience and track record to keep getting results for the County. I humbly consider myself the most qualified to serve our community. I proudly stand as a check on the excesses of the Board majority to make sure decisions are made with all sides considered. I look forward to meeting you and your families on the campaign trail over the next ten months as we look ahead to continuing the great work we have accomplished thus far.

Thank you again for being here. And thank you for putting your trust in me. I’m counting on you all to help, and I solemnly promise to be a public servant with your best interest at heart.”

West Springfield, VA – On Thursday, January 26, 2023, at 9:00 AM, Pat Herrity will be making an announcement regarding his political future and the 2023 elections. We will have all details following the announcement available on our website at PatHerrity.org, on all social media platforms, and available to you directly by contacting [email protected].

Fairfax County Times

By Richard H. Hronik III

Senior citizens are struggling to live and retire in Fairfax County, facing difficulties that include rising taxes, increased cost of living, and isolation.

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity raised the issue faced by senior citizens in his newsletter late last month. He referred to concerns voiced by residents at a Springfield SHAPE the Future of Aging focus group, meant to act as a platform for residents to voice the needs and challenges of seniors as well as recommended solutions. Herrity is chairman of the Board of Supervisors’ Older Adults Committee and has been working with county staff on a follow-up to the 50+ Community Action Plan.

 “What I’m hearing from a lot of seniors is, their tax bill is now bigger than their mortgage used to be,” Herrity said. “And of course, most of them are living on a very fixed income. Their taxes keep going up, and their fixed incomes aren’t going up very much…Our taxes are significantly outpacing inflation. Taxes have increased 50 percent over the past 10 years.”

Despite some progress being made, Herrity said there is still a long way to go. “We’ve got an initial round of senior tax relief, passed last year. We’ve got some creative ideas that weren’t part of the 50+ Community Action Plan, things like home share to help keep residents in their homes…Seniors have 401ks that they saved to live on…and of course, our formula for senior tax relief is entirely asset-based, so if you did what we’re trying to encourage our citizens to do and save up for retirement, that ends up counting against you…”

While taxes are a sticking point for seniors in Fairfax, they are far from the only challenge. “When you get older, you have certain things you need to afford, but with a fixed income…that’s just not a good fit for me,” said Gina DiMatteo. 

DiMatteo lived in Falls Church for 58 years with her husband Frank. Now, her husband is in an assisted living facility, and she lives alone.

“I’m spending a lot more money as I’m getting older, not just for me but for Frank…I’m worrying about, if I survive Frank, what’s gonna be left for me?”

“No. It’s not [affordable],” DiMatteo said about the cost of living in Fairfax. “You have to be prepared ahead of time in order to be able to stay in Fairfax County, otherwise you’ll be forced to move out, from what I’m experiencing. [The cost of living] has definitely gone up, many times over.”

However, there are programs in place to help seniors struggling with living expenses. The SHAPE the Future of Aging Program, initially introduced in 2019, is scheduled to be approved in early 2023. According to Trina Mayhan-Webb, division director with Fairfax County Department of Family Services, Adult and Aging Services, the plan has changed a lot over the past two years.

“The initial Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults (CASOA) was administered in 2019,” Mayhan-Webb said. “In 2021, the Older Adults Committee requested that the community be re-surveyed to capture any changes that may have occurred because of the pandemic.”

According to Mayhan-Webb, SHAPE the Future of Aging aims to solve several challenges faced by Fairfax’s seniors today, including caregiver support, affordable housing, mental health, and isolation.

DiMatteo, however, believes there needs to be more than just a government effort to bring aid to senior citizens. 

“The younger generation should be encouraged to be connected with family members that are older,” she said. “If you have a neighbor that you know is elderly and needs a phone call, or someone to hold their hand, that’s up to the communities, not the government. The people in the communities should be amicable to give a helping hand – with their time, not money.”

“The Adult and Aging Division will monitor the progression of [SHAPE the Future of Aging] as approved by the Board of Supervisors,” said Mayhan-Webb. With the plan on schedule to be approved next year, it will remain to be seen whether it meets the needs of Fairfax County’s seniors.

WJLA

By Nick Minock

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — On Thursday, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed $1 billion in tax relief and more spending for teachers, law enforcement, nurses, and behavioral health.

Shortly after Youngkin’s budget presentation to state lawmakers, 7News Reporter Nick Minock asked Youngkin if he would consider scrapping the annual property tax on vehicles that many Virginia drivers dread paying each year.

“As much as I would like to, it is a local tax,” Youngkin told 7News. “And so the counties need to go reflect on the fact that the number one complaint that we get is the car tax, and yet the counties continue to charge it. I think it’s a matter of tax reassessment on behalf of so many counties around the Commonwealth to see what they are doing in order to tax their citizens as well. Taxes are a stack of local taxes, state taxes and federal taxes. The state taxes have overwhelmed companies and individuals [and] I can fix that and I think local government needs to get to work on their own tax structures.”

“What message do you have for the Board of Supervisors in Fairfax County that are thinking about raising taxes as we’re maybe going into a recession?” Minock asked Youngkin.

“Virginia is already too expensive,” answered Youngkin. “We see it everywhere. We are heading into a recession. And I think that government leaders need to recognize that it’s individuals’ money, not theirs. That in fact they we need to find a way to be more prudent in what we’re spending. That’s exactly we’re doing at the state level. Last year, we found $1.2 billion that had been appropriated that didn’t need to be spent and we’re willing to give that back to the people that in fact, let us use it in the first place: the taxpayers. And we’re going to refund it back to them.”

Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity says Fairfax County has increased taxes despite the county receiving hundreds of millions in COVID cash.

“Taxes in Fairfax County went up almost seven percent last year which given inflation, high gas prices, and the stimulus money is really unforgivable,” said Herrity.

Meanwhile, Fairfax County Board of Supervisor Chair Jeff McKay is proposing to spend taxpayer money on building a COVID-19 memorial which “remains a high priority for the county” according to the Fairfax County Park Authority.

This year, Youngkin signed legislation empowering localities to lower car tax rates to help prevent “huge tax hikes driven by dramatic increases in used vehicle values.”

WJLA

By Tom Roussey

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — It’s now been more than three weeks since new I-66 express lanes outside the Beltway fully opened both directions, and as we head into the heavy Christmas travel period there is lingering concern about a lack of signs making it clear to drivers how to use them.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors member Pat Herrity (R – Springfield) told 7News his office has received complaints about a lack of signage indicating how to go from the toll lanes to the free lanes, what the price is to go the full distance on the toll lanes, and where one segment of the toll lanes ends and another begins.

“Overall I think it’s a great project, and I was happy to play a role, and I think it just needs some tweaking,” said Herrity, who added that similar concerns were initially raised when express lanes opened on I-95 eight years ago. “I know that we got signage fixed on 95, I think we can get signage fixed on 66.”

7News asked Nancy Smith, corporate affairs director for I-66 Express Mobility Partners – which VDOT chose to oversee the building and running of the new toll lanes – to talk about the concerns some drivers have.

She says each day crews are working on adding more signage to the express lanes, including debuting more electronic message signs.

“Those will help us control traffic conditions as well as give messages to motorists,” Smith said.

Smith explained that the express lanes on I-66 are divided into three segments eastbound and four westbound, and drivers are charged for each segment they travel on:

Eastbound Segments

• Western terminus at Gainesville to Rt. 28/Fairfax Co. Parkway
• Rt.28/pkway to Rt. 123
• Chain Bridge Road to Beltway

Westbound Segments

• Beltway to Chain Bridge Road/Rt. 50 (ramp in-between)
• Chain Bridge Rd. to Rt. 28
• Rt. 28 to Sudley Road
• Sudley Road to western terminus

Although there are not many signs making it obvious how to do it, Smith says drivers always have an opportunity to go from the toll lanes to the free lanes before paying for a new segment. For example, an eastbound driver wanting to use the Gainesville to Fairfax County Parkway segment, and then get off before the next segment, needs to exit at the parkway and take a bridge and a long stretch of road before signs point them back to the free lanes on 66 East.

When a different eastbound segment ends at Chain Bridge Road, drivers have to turn right at a light and then stay right on to a ramp to get in the free lanes.

One criticism of the signs for the new I-66 express lanes is that most only give the price of one segment at a time. However, drivers can use the mobile-friendly website in order to get an estimate of the current cost of driving more than one segment. Smith warns the price on the website will just be an estimate that is subject to changing conditions. She says fast changing conditions are why the signs on the road itself only show one segment price at a time, and not the price for going a further distance.

“Travel conditions on I-66 can vary greatly from one mile to the next, and certainly over that distance, within a very short period, over 23 miles, the traffic conditions can vary greatly,” she said.

Smith adds that similar to when toll lanes opened on 95, 395, and the Beltway, drivers will eventually become comfortable with how to get around on the new I-66 lanes.

“My friends at VDOT would agree that it typically takes a couple weeks for people to figure out new traffic patterns, and this is no different,” she explained.

FFXnow

By Matt Blitz

Local officials are already preparing for “one of the most challenging” budget talks in years due to inflation, the changing real estate market, and staff retention challenges.

Right before the Thanksgiving holiday, Fairfax County staff offered supervisors and the school board an early look at projected revenues, expenditures, and points of potential discussion as the county and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) prepare to release proposed budgets early next year.

The fiscal year 2024 budget forecast that staff presented on Nov. 22 didn’t paint a particularly rosy picture, however.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay called the forecast “a real mixed bag.” County staff said that generated revenue remained “healthy,” but others weren’t so sunny.

“This is probably going to be one of the most challenging budgets in my 11 years on the [school] board,” Braddock District School Board representative Megan McLaughlin said. “It’s going to be a tough one.”

Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity concurred, saying there wasn’t “a lot of good news in here.”

As is the case across the country, the local real estate market has been slowing due to increasing interest rates and rising prices. While it increased from last year, growth is expected to flatten going forward for the rest of 2022 and into 2023.

Non-residential tax revenue is in even worse shape, at least partially due to the change in work-from-home habits resulting from the pandemic. It’s expected to increase by only 0.6% compared to last year when the growth was about 2.3% compared to 2022.

While hotel, retail, and apartment revenues are all expected to increase next year, office revenue is expected to decline between 5% and 6%, raising concerns among some supervisors and school board members.

Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw said he has talked to companies in the county that have no intention of renewing office leases due to decreased need with more employees now teleworking.

He called it a “slow-moving crisis” that could create a “very significant hole” in terms of missing revenue.

“[This] is very troubling,” Walkinshaw said. “It’s a structural challenge now in our economy…I’m not confident we have our arms around what that challenge is going to look like over the next 5 to 10 years.”

New construction and transient occupancy (or lodging) tax revenue are also expected to grow, but at much lower rates than prior to the pandemic.

Real estate taxes are the largest source of revenue for the county, providing more than two-thirds of generated money. Last year, home values soared, while commercial tax revenue dropped, resulting in a 3-cent decrease in the real estate tax rate.

All told, revenue is predicted to rise by about $266 million, a 3.8% increase from last year, per the presented forecast.

However, revenue isn’t keeping pace with expenditures, due mostly to anticipated staff salary increases.

Between recruitment and retention challenges and inflation, an additional $159 million will be needed for salaries and benefits compared to the current budget — plus another $113.5 million for school staff. Adding in other costs, the county and FCPS are looking at a combined shortfall of about $125 million for fiscal year 2024, which begins July 1, 2023, staff said.

Since this is a baseline forecast, a number of county and school priorities were not taken into account, including infrastructure upgrades, increased investments in affordable housing, and an expansion of early childhood education programs.

As county staff and McKay both reiterated, the forecast is only an estimation subject to change.

“As the economic outlook is uncertain, staff is approaching FY 2024 revenue forecasting very conservatively,” the presentation said.

Adoption of the fiscal year 2024 budget remains six months away. Advertised budget plans for the county and schools will be released in February with final votes coming in May 2023.

WJLA

By Nick Minock

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — Thanksgiving tends to be one of the most dangerous and deadly times on U.S. roads due to increases in impaired drivers and reckless driving.

Going into the holiday season, the Fairfax County Police Department is facing a shortage of police officers – officers who are responsible for enforcing traffic laws and getting drunk drivers off the roads.

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said recruiting classes have gotten larger. However, the Fairfax County Police Department is still facing a staffing crisis.

“When you’re down around 200 officers and you’ve disbanded your specialty units, of course, it’s at a crisis level,” Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity told 7News on Tuesday.

Herrity says The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors needs to focus on keeping current officers by paying them more.

“We’ve seen increases in crime, we’ve seen increased traffic accidents and pedestrians fatalities,” said Herrity. “Public safety isn’t something you can ignore. It will catch up to you and it is catching up with us.”

7News was the first to report the staffing emergency at FCPD over the summer.

At that time, FCPD was short 189 officers, Davis told 7News in August.

Vacancies later reached above 200, according to police sources. Now FCPD is short 192 officers, Davis told 7News on Tuesday.

“We’ve still seen a higher rate of resignations than retirements,” Davis told 7News. “We are doing all we can to keep people focused on the value of policing. It’s still the greatest job in the world. We just need to increase the volume of the right candidates who want to do this job for the right reasons.”

Davis hopes new recruitment efforts, including a $15,000 signing bonus for new officers, will help.

“This is a hot market and we are all in competition with each other. The application pool has dwindled over the past couple of years,” Davis said. “We have great support from the Board of Supervisors and the community at large. So we have to consider many things like compensation and financial incentives and other benefits to attract people to the job because a police applicant in 2022 has a varied menu of choices about where to go and young people are paying attention more now than they ever have.”

“In about a week and a half that 192 will go to 154 when we start our largest police academy class in several years,” added Davis.

“They’re still in a crisis level,” said Herrity. “We’re still around 200 short. Through September, we had 101 officers leave. We’ve had a couple of recruit classes, some transfers into a total of about 57. We got one more recruit class coming in. We’re going to have some additional resignations. So we’re still at a net loss on officers. We still got work to do.”

Herrity praised the $15,000 signing bonus for new officers, but he said it came too late. He blamed the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for failing to act quickly enough. The Board of Supervisors is led by Chairman Jeffrey McKay.

“I think it was late, but I’m happy it was there,” said Herrity. “I wish we had given them the salary increases. The best thing we can do is retain our current officers. That’s going to help a lot with bringing new officers in, but we really need to focus on retaining current officers.”

“There were some ideas put on the table last budget,” Herrity added. “Salary increase that got cut in half and spread across all public safety agencies rather than given to the patrol staff where we really need them – Second Lieutenant below. We could extend Drop. That was also on the table. So there are some creative things that we should and can be doing. And I hope that the board will come around on it.”

Herrity predicts more officers will have to retire by the end of the year.

“Simply, [the ] Drop [program] is officers pick their retirement date three years out, and they can’t work past that date,” he said. “So they’re not allowed to work past that three years. We can extend that by a year or two years with literally no cost to the government.”

“And the board said no?” 7News’ Nick Minock asked.

“And the board said no,” Herrity replied.

One place some officers have gone to is Amazon.

“Amazon is certainly a challenge not just for Fairfax but for police departments around the country,” Davis said. “We have to be creative We have to be the employer of choice and there is a commitment to do so.”

But Supervisor Herrity expressed doubt that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has that commitment.

“We need to get back to public safety being a priority in Fairfax County,” said Herrity.

Fairfax County is beginning its budget process soon. 7News will let you know if the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approves pay raises for current officers – or not – to address the staffing crisis.

“We hope we are turning the corner a little bit on recruiting,” said Davis. “We had five Fairfax County police officers who resigned in the last year who came back, so they came back to the job. So that’s exciting. The grass isn’t always greener.”

Prince William County approves massive data complex

The Connection

By Mercia Hobson

So, what’s in your water? Action earlier in November by one of Fairfax County’s neighbors may negatively impact the Occoquan Watershed, primary source of water for Fairfax Water’s Occoquan Reservoir.

The Comprehensive Plan Amendment #CPA2021-00004, PW Digital Gateway with changes approved on Nov. 2 by Prince William County allows for a technology corridor generally along Pageland Lane south of Sudley Road; north of Route 29; east of Conway Robinson Memorial State Park, Heritage Hunt and Catharpin Valley subdivisions; and west of Manassas National Battlefield Park and Sudley Mountain subdivision. It is where about 2,139 acres of the 80,000 acre Rural Crescent for the controversial PW Digital Gateway can be built. The massive size of the data complex could rival Loudoun County’s global notoriety. 

The proposal generated concern and intense opposition from Fairfax Supervisor Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) and the other supervisors on the board, the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations and the HOA Roundtable of Prince William County as seen in letter by Sridhar Ganesan president of Fairfax Federation to the Boards of Supervisors of Prince William and Fairfax counties, and many others. 

After a grueling 14-hour public hearing and discussion, that began Nov. 1 and continued to 10 a.m. the following day, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted 5-2 along Democratic party lines and approved the controversial Gateway. The amendment with changes rezones the land from Agriculture or Estate and Environmental Resource to “Technology / Flex with a T-3 Transect, POS, Parks and Open Space, CRHS, County Registered Historic Site, and an Environmental Resource Overlay.”

The Prince William data center build is expected to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for the county. In 2021, the current Prince William data center hub generated approximately $80 million in tax revenue. Loudoun receives approximately $576 million. Estimates published in February by Prince William deputy finance director Tim Leclerc showed that the Gateway’s revenue could be $400 million per year at the end of 20 years. 

“I am very disappointed that the Prince William Board of Supervisors voted 5-2 to approve the Digital Gateway Comprehensive Plan Amendment before fully studying and understanding the impacts on the Occoquan Watershed, the water supply for millions of Northern Virginians, or taking the time to fully consider the testimony of the 200 that testified last night,” said Herrity on Wednesday, Nov. 2, reacting to news of approval of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment #CPA2021-00004, PW Digital Gateway, Item 3A, 

The Occoquan Watershed is a 570-square-mile basin. Three major impoundments are located in the watershed: Lake Jackson, Lake Manassas, and the Occoquan Reservoir. A dam in the Occoquan River forms the Occoquan Reservoir, one of the primary sources of water for Fairfax Water. It is the main water purveyor for the area, supplying water to nearly two million people, according “An Analysis of the Occoquan Watershed and Reservoir System” by Virginia Tech Apr. 15, 2021. 

The 2,100-acre Fairfax Water Authority impoundment reservoir supplies the water source for portions of Fairfax County, Fort Belvoir, and the City of Alexandria. Water from the reservoir is withdrawn by Fairfax Water at its Griffiths Treatment Plant at Lorton, Virginia, and distributed for potable uses. 

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors moved swiftly on the motion by Herrity concerning the downzoned Occoquan Watershed as a critical natural resource during Nov. 1 regular meeting. Herrity jointly presented the board matter with Chairman Jeff McKay (D), Supervisor Kathy Smith (D-Sully), and Supervisor Dan Storck (D-Mount Vernon).

Herrity said, “The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, on behalf of all citizens of Fairfax County, reaffirm its commitment to the continued efforts by the county, related agencies, and residents to protect and preserve this critical natural resource for future generations just as the previous Board did in 2016.” 

Supervisor Daniel Storck (D-Mount Vernon) said that water is truly life. “The quality of that water makes a difference to all of us, whether to our youngest children or the oldest of us. … Because of the amount of drinking water pulled from the Occoquan, it’s even more critical.” 

Supervisor James R. Walkinshaw (D-Braddock) said, “It’s timely we affirm our commitment to that.” The Fairfax County supervisors unanimously approved the Herrity’s motion. 

The Board Matter came late and did nothing to sway not more than two supervisors on the Prince William County (PWC) board.

Neither did earlier comments by many Fairfax County groups and others.

On Feb 23, 2022, a memo coordinated among the Fairfax County Departments of Transportation, Public Works and Environmental Services, and Planning and Development to Rebecca Horner, deputy county executive of Prince William Planning Office, said that critical to Fairfax County is the protection of the Occoquan Watershed. ”The proposal to expand public sewer and water to serve the proposed data centers would not be compatible with the critical need to protect the Occoquan Reservoir … We have an overarching concern about the proposal to permit higher density development within the larger Occoquan Watershed due to cumulative impacts on the Reservoir, which provides drinking water to a large portion of Northern Virginia.”

In a letter dated March 21, 2022, the Fairfax County Water Authority said, “Substantial changes in land-use patterns in areas of Prince William County (PWC) will impact water quality in the watershed and reservoir.” 

On April 29, 2022, Kyle W; Hart, field representative of Mid Atlantic National Parks Conservation Association, wrote that if the Prince William Digital Gateway were fully developed, sediment loss from the development could “be expected to be up to 57,000 tons, the equivalent of approximately 4,000 large dump trucks of sediment being dumped into the Occoquan Watershed.”

“The additional sediment would lead to decreased water quality in Bull Run and the Occoquan Reservoir, negative impacts to the recreational angling the lake offers, and decreased storage capacity of the Occoquan Reservoir. Additional impervious surfaces created by this development would cause an additional 280 million gallons of additional stormwater runoff into the Occoquan Watershed annually, thus increasing the risk
of flash flooding downstream and decreasing groundwater and aquifer recharge,” said Hart.

Hart based his statements on findings by CEA Engineers with whom National Parks Conservation Association contracted about its growing concerns about the water quality. CEA is an environmental engineering firm with significant experience examining water quality impacts from development proposals 

“On our side of the water, I will continue to work to protect the watershed and monitor any upcoming land use cases that may threaten its quality,” Herrity said in his Nov. 4 issue of “The Herrity Report.”