Countywide

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors faces tough decisions ahead of next week’s budget markup session, following demands from local unions to increase county employees’ wages.

Last week, dozens of county employees from various departments gathered at a series of public hearings to protest the 2% market rate adjustment (MRA) included in the county executive’s proposed fiscal year 2025 budget — asking instead for an increase of at least 4%.


News

Water and sewer rates are set to increase as part of the Town of Herndon’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025.

Released on Friday (March 29) by Town Manager Bill Ashton II, the proposed budget leaves the real estate tax rate unchanged at $0.26 per $100 of assessed value, though bills are still expected to go up due to rising property assessments.


Countywide

Fairfax County’s next budget could give its public libraries a little more spending money for books.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday (March 19), Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn proposed allocating an additional $500,000 in the upcoming fiscal year 2025 budget to Fairfax County Public Library’s book collection.


Countywide

Settlement money from vape-maker Juul will help Fairfax County Public Schools bolster security at some high schools.

The Fairfax County School Board is set to vote tomorrow (Thursday) on adjustments to the school system’s fiscal year 2024 budget, including allocations of the $3.2 million it received from Juul after settling a class-action lawsuit over the company’s flavored e-cigarettes last year.


News

(Updated at 4:20 p.m. on 3/25/2024) Schools in Vienna, Herndon and Fort Belvoir have or are at risk of losing their crossing guards due to budget constraints facing the Fairfax County Police Department.

The Vienna Town Council and Mayor Linda Colbert were informed at a recent work session that the county will no longer provide crossing guards for any schools in the town’s limits because of a lack of funding, Councilmember Howard Springsteen shared at the council’s meeting on Monday (March 18).


News

(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) Vienna officials have released a proposed budget that maintains the town’s current real estate tax rate, despite continued economic challenges from inflation and supply chain issues.

The $53.8 million budget for fiscal year 2025, which starts July 1, holds the tax rate at $0.1950 per $100 of assessed value. Combined with a cumulative 3-cent reduction over the previous three years, the town will have cut its tax rate by 14% since 2021, Town Manager Mercury Payton said in a message to Mayor Linda Colbert and the town council.


Countywide

(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Congress has passed another short-term budget package, averting a partial shutdown of the federal government just hours before a midnight deadline.

In addition to funding the Justice Department, Housing and Urban Development, and other key agencies, the slate of bills passed 75-22 by the Senate on Friday (March 8) includes $12.7 billion in “pork” — money designated for local projects requested by lawmakers for their constituents.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has advanced a proposal for a 4-cent real estate tax increase, which would mark the first hike in six years, if approved.

Yesterday (Tuesday), the board gave County Executive Bryan Hill the green light to advertise the fiscal year 2025 proposed budget and schedule a public hearing starting Tuesday, April 16, at 3 p.m.


Countywide

To further its environmental goals, Fairfax County’s to-do list should include building an electric vehicle charging network, addressing “critical” staff shortages, and addressing development pressure, the Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) says in a new report.

An employee compensation policy update to attract and retain workers in departments such as wastewater and solid waste was the top recommendation in the 2023 Annual Report on the Environment (ARE), EQAC Chair Larry Zaragoza told the Board of Supervisors during its environmental committee meeting on Tuesday (Feb. 29).


Countywide

The Fairfax County School Board is moving ahead with its plan to change middle school start times.

According to Fairfax County Public Schools, research has shown that later start times could positively influence student academic performance and mental and emotional well-being.


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