Countywide

Fairfax County will look at creating a corps of “community safety officers,” who would have fewer powers than sworn law-enforcement personnel but could support the police department’s mission in an era of recruiting challenges.

“Based on experiences in other jurisdictions around the country and in our region, it could have some merit,” Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw said when proposing on Tuesday (Feb. 18) that staff study the issue.


Countywide

Additional taxes, including the possibility of a meals tax, program and staff cuts and less-than-requested funding for the school system are all incorporated in the Fairfax County government’s draft $5.7 billion fiscal year 2026 budget proposed by County Executive Bryan Hill.

“I don’t think anybody is happy with this budget, but this is where we are,” Hill said when delivering his proposal to the Board of Supervisors this morning (Tuesday). “We have been working diligently to figure out how to make this mildly palatable, to find the right balance.”


Countywide

An effort by Fairfax County officials to crack down on excessively loud vehicle exhaust systems is facing an uncertain future in Richmond, where state legislators recently voiced concerns about the possible costs.

The powerful Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations voted 10-4 Monday night (Feb. 17) to send the proposed legislation to the State Crime Commission, which will study its provisions and report back later to the General Assembly.


Countywide

Fairfax County School Board members are mulling whether to increase the number of student representatives on the body.

The proposal, currently in the exploratory stage, is part of a broader push toward more direct engagement with the 180,000-plus students enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools.


Countywide

Pending final agreement with a key bargaining unit, Fairfax County government officials are ready to move forward with a consolidation of animal care and protection services.

The change, which was approved last year as part of the county’s fiscal year 2025 budget, will move operations currently handled by the Animal Protection Police (APP) within the Fairfax County Police Department to the county’s Department of Animal Services (formerly the Department of Animal Sheltering, or DAS).


Countywide

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors reacted tepidly this week to a staff proposal that would shift wildlife management responsibilities from the county’s police department to the Fairfax County Park Authority.

“We need a little more time to discuss this [and] make sure we think this through, very carefully,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said at a meeting of the board’s safety and security committee on Tuesday (Feb. 11).


Countywide

Concerns by Fairfax County officials helped convince state lawmakers to take a deeper look at proposed changes to Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rules intended to make decision-making at the local-government level more transparent.

The measure patroned by state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-39) had sailed through the Virginia General Assembly’s upper chamber unanimously on Jan. 31.


Countywide

Discussion of legislation permitting a referendum on a Tysons casino has moved to the powerful House Committee on Appropriations.

Members of the House Committee on Local Government were directed by Speaker Don Scott (D-88) yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) to send the bill to the chamber’s appropriations committee without acting on it.


News

Its future remains uncertain, but legislation in Richmond could bring the towns of Herndon, Vienna and Clifton more money to spend on environmental and social-service initiatives.

A bill patroned by Del. Marty Martinez (D-29) would allow Virginia towns to get a portion of the plastic bag tax revenue collected by their surrounding county. After passing the House of Delegates on a 52-45 vote on Jan. 23, the measure advanced from a Senate Committee on Local Government on a party-line tally of 8-7 on Monday (Feb. 10).


Countywide

Fairfax County and other localities across the state may get more time to address state-mandated limits on public accessibility for some criminal records.

Legislation moving toward likely adoption in the Virginia General Assembly will give local governments an additional 12 months — until July 1, 2026 — to implement changes to the current expungement process that had been mandated four years ago.


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