Additional raises are coming for Fairfax County government employees, specifically firefighters, police officers and other uniformed public safety workers.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors plans to allocate $6.1 million in the upcoming budget to give a step increase to certain public safety workers hired on or before June 30, 2021. The proposal is part of a mark-up package that will go before the board tomorrow (Tuesday).
A project to widen the Herndon Parkway has taken away trees — to the dismay of some community members.
Crews with heavy machinery are still surrounding Haley M. Smith Park, located at the intersection with Van Buren Street, replacing a corridor of trees once along the parkway.
Property tax bills are poised to go up — but somewhat less than initially expected.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ budget policy committee discussed a plan on Friday (April 22) to set the property tax rate at $1.11 per $100 of assessed property value, a 3-cent decrease from the current rate.
(Updated at 5 p.m.) The Fairfax County Police Department has turned to advertising to help address vacancies.
The department has signed a contract with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Epic Recruiting to deliver digital marketing services and materials. Operational expenses for police recruiting have already more than quadrupled this budget year.
Karen Johnson commutes two hours each way to get to work in Fair Oaks, leaving at 5 a.m. from her home in Fredericksburg.
Johnson, a child care center teacher, has tried to live in Fairfax County but can’t afford it, she said on April 12 at a budget hearing with fellow union members. She called on the Board of Supervisors to fund proposed raises to the county’s 11,000-plus merit workers.
(Updated at 11:40 a.m. on 4/22/2022) Fairfax County police canceled three medical helicopter missions last week because no senior paramedics were available.
The Fairfax County Police Department operates the Medevac missions and must have a pilot and two paramedics — one of which must be a senior paramedic.
Cemeteries are essential guides to the past, documenting ancestries and settlement patterns, but in Fairfax County, hundreds of sites risk being lost to time themselves, with some even unmarked or abandoned.
To prevent that, the county has undertaken a massive archaeological initiative to create a map of their locations to preserve history, provide information for development and more. The county will also create a manual for how to care for cemeteries, according to an announcement on April 14 launching the survey.
In a push to convince Fairfax County to fund the arts, one high school student put on a show.
The performance on April 13 provided a musical interlude after hours of in-person, phone, and video remarks across three days of budget hearings before the Board of Supervisors.
(Updated at 5 p.m.) A man who lured a 14-year-old girl to a radio station is being held in Fairfax County jail, accused of raping the teenager in 1987.
William Clark, 59, of Ashburn, was arrested Monday (April 18) in Fairfax County and also faces charges of abduction with the intent to defile and attempted forcible sodomy. Police said that he lured the teen into his vehicle in Fairfax City and then took her to a wooded area, where the sexual assault took place.
A unique facility giving an array of services for older adults has opened at Braddock Glen.
The Wellness Center for Older Adults offers in-person and virtual services for people 50 and older as well as individuals with disabilities, similar to 14 other senior centers in Fairfax County. It offers exercise equipment; music, dance and art therapy; preventative health screenings; and other free resources, including access to computers.
