budget

Residents Sound Off on Arlington Arts Proposal

By Katie Pyzyk

Arlington County residents voiced their opinions about the newly-released ‘Arlington Arts 2030’ report Monday night.

About two dozen people showed up at the Shirlington Library to respond to draft recommendations put forth by the Arlington Commission for the Arts and its consultants regarding the future of the county’s arts scene. A previous proposal was developed in the 1990s, and the Commission is seeking a new plan to outline the next 20 years.

Arlington Arts Commission Chair John Seal explained that the proposal assumes the county will continue its current push toward urbanization. He said additional venues, funding and availability of arts is necessary to keep up with the trend.

Angie Fox, president of the Crystal City Business Improvement District, expressed concern — not necessarily with an increase in arts funding, but with the overall focus of the commission. Fox believes, for instance, that the commission should not concern itself with what it doesn’t necessarily excel at, like facilities management. She also takes issue with the proposed allocation of money.

“There’s no real new mission statement,” Fox said. She believes the commission report fostered the attitude of “let’s just give money to the same things we’ve been doing.”

This resonated with others in the group, who believed shifting around funds could be more effective than outright requesting more. Nikki Hoffpauir, Board President for The Arlington Players theater company, pointed out that it’s not just money falling victim to mismanagement, but underused facilities as well.

“There are ways you could use what you already have to help us better,” she said.

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Report Recommends Increased Arts Investment in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

As officials continue trying to stem the tide of red ink at Artisphere, Arlington’s new arts and cultural center, the Arlington Commission for the Arts sees the need for more art venues down the road.

The commission and its consultants have just released a draft copy of “Arlington Arts 2030,” a report that proposes “a long-range strategy for supporting the arts over the next 20 years.”

The report recommends that the county “pro-actively and steadily move… [from] supporting the arts in a manner appropriate for a suburban community to one of building the arts to support the growing urban community that Arlington is today.” To that end, the report recommends increased investment in the arts, art facilities and the artists themselves.

Among the draft recommendations:

  • Offer low cost or affordable housing specifically for use by artists
  • New “public arts spaces” in Crystal City, Shirlington and the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor
  • Public funding (both bonds and “pay go”) to supplement funds from developers to help build already-proposed projects like a black box theater in Virginia Square, a replacement theater for the 1960s-era Spectrum Theater in Rosslyn and a new cultural center at Courthouse Plaza
  • A new, dedicated facility for dance performances
  • An outdoor amphitheater in the Shirlington/Four Mile Run area
  • Increase the annual art grant budget from approximately $250,000 to $350,000 over five years
  • Set aside 2 percent of the county’s Capital Improvement Program budget for public art projects
  • Spin off the county’s art-centric Cultural Affairs division (currently funded at $2.15 million per year) as its own department, separate from the Parks Department
  • Increase the Cultural Affairs marketing budget and emphasize Arlington as a “cultural destination”

Two hearings will be held to gather public input on the report. The first will be held at Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd) from noon to 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 11. The second will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Monday, June 13, at the Shirlington Public Library (4200 Campbell Avenue).

Currently, according to county officials, there are ten individual, publicly-accessible theaters in Arlington, each of which receives some sort of county support. That’s in addition to one county-run outdoor amphitheater. There are also 15 individual visual arts galleries in Arlington, six of which are managed or curated by the Cultural Affairs Division. Two of the theaters and three of the galleries are within Artisphere.

With Funding in Place, Lubber Run Meeting Planned

By ARLnow.com

Outspoken supporters of Arlington’s Lubber Run Amphitheatre managed to convince the county to include nearly $150,000 worth of funding for the aging amphitheatre in the FY 2012 budget. Now, with the funding in place, the Lubber Run Amphitheatre Foundation is helping to organize a meeting regarding the facility’s future.

The public meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. on May 16, at the Lubber Run Recreation Center (300 North Park Drive) Barrett Elementary School library (4401 N. Henderson Road). Among those expected to be in attendance is County Manager Barbara Donnellan. This is the second such meeting organized by the foundation.

The county is providing up to $45,000 for programming at Lubber Run this summer. Another $100,000 is going to “study capital needs toward restoration of the Lubber Run Amphitheatre.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Above: A look back at last year’s presentation of a steel beam from the World Trade Center at Arlington County Fire Station 5. Firefighters from Fire Station 5, in Pentagon City, were among the first to respond to the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

School Budget Approved — The Arlington County School Board has approved a new $475 million budget for FY 2012. The budget funds pay raises for teachers and staff, expands professional learning activities for teachers and eliminates ‘early release Wednesdays’ at four elementary schools. It also includes $1 million to study options for addressing the school system’s looming capacity crisis. [Arlington Public Schools]

Columbia Pike Farmers Market Returns — Sunday marked the start of the summer season for the Columbia Pike Farmers Market. [Pike Wire] (Disclosure: The organizer of the farmers market is an ARLnow.com advertiser)

Arlington Home to Fast-Growing Companies — Arlington is home to six of the 50 fastest-growing privately-held companies in Virginia. [Sun Gazette]

Board Approves New $1 Billion FY 2012 Budget

By ARLnow.com

Today the Arlington County Board unanimously approved a new $1 billion budget.

The budget is 5.1 percent higher than its previous budget, but yet contained no tax rate increase. Rising property assessments allowed the board to keep the property tax rate steady at 95.8 cents per $100. The personal and business property taxes will remain the same. Trash and recycling fees will decrease by 5 percent.

“Taking into account increase in real estate assessments and fee changes, the overall tax and fee burden for the average Arlington homeowner will increase 1.4% — or about $7 a month — an increase less than the current Baltimore-Washington region inflation rate of 3%,” the county said in a statement.

The budget includes increased funding for housing and ‘safety net’ programs, as well as a number of other priorities. Funding for Arlington Public Schools will increase $38 million, or 9 percent, to $480.5 million.

Budget Will Add Funds for Libraries, Lubber Run, Safety Net

By ARLnow.com

Public libraries, the Lubber Run Amphitheater and ‘safety net’ programs are a few of the budget priorities that will receive funding above and beyond the amount proposed in the county manager’s budget.

The County Board has allocated $258,000 to allow each branch library to stay open for an additional three hours per week. The funds will also support longer Sunday hours at the Shirlington and Columbia Pike libraries and allow the purchase of additional books and e-books.

The board is providing an additional $370,000 for park maintenance, Friday hours at the Lubber Run Community Center and for the restoration of seasonal programming at the shuttered Lubber Run Amphitheater. An additional allocation of $100,000 will fund early stages of restoring the amphitheater.

Safety net programs like housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment and community medical care will also benefit from the board’s budget adjustment.

An additional $1.5 million will be added to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund, for a total FY 2012 contribution of $5.5 million. An additional $250,000 will be added for housing grants, the subject of a recent ARLnow.com poll. Service for those with serious emotional, mental and substance abuse problems will receive just over $500,000. Safety net non-profits like the Arlington Food Assistance Center, the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network, Doorways and the Arlington Free Clinic will split an additional $420,000.

Public safety agencies will receive an extra $1 million under the new budget. The money will allow the police department to add several officers and to fund domestic violence support and the Gang Task Force. It will also fund a fire department battalion chief position and two sheriff’s office positions.

Other changes include additional ART bus service to the DHS building from western Columbia Heights, the planting of 300-400 trees around the county, and additional money to fund implementation of the Community Energy Plan and the Natural Resource Management plan.

The additional funding is possible despite the board’s commitment to hold the real estate tax rate steady. See more information about the County Board’s final budget, which is set for approval on Saturday.

BREAKING NEWS — Budget Will Hold Tax Rate Steady

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County’s real estate tax rate will be held steady for the next year, according to final budget guidance issued by the County Board.

At a work session yesterday, the board instructed County Manager Barbara Donnellan to hold the tax rate steady at 95.8 cents per $100 in the final budget.

“They’re sticking with their initial guidance of no real estate rate increase,” county spokeswoman Mary Curtius confirmed this morning.

Donnellan’s proposed budget had recommended holding the tax steady, but the board gave itself some wiggle room in February when it advertised a slightly higher tax rate. Even without a real estate tax rate increase, however, the county’s coffers will be bolstered in FY 2012 by a 6.3 percent rise in property assessments.

The board will vote on its final budget on Saturday.

Major Items on Board Agenda This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Board may be in for a marathon session as it tackles two big items on Saturday.

First, the board is scheduled to vote on its FY 2012 budget, which has been the subject of numerous work sessions, public forums and community discussions. Then the board is scheduled to vote on the controversial East Falls Church development plan, which is several years in the making.

A significant amount of citizen input is expected for both items.

Morning Poll: Housing Grants

By ARLnow.com

Under County Manager Barbara Donnellan’s proposed FY 2012 budget, funding for ‘Safety Net’ rental assistance programs will increase by $1.2 million, or 17 percent, from $7.3 million to about $8.6 million.

That increase includes an extra $630,000 for the county’s housing grant program, which serves just over 1,000 households per year; an extra $467,000 for permanent supportive housing programs, which will serve just over 100 households per year; and an extra $162,000 for ‘general relief’ emergency housing assistance, which will serve 250 households per month.

Arlington County officials place great emphasis on safety net programs, which are serving those in need during tough economic times. But some are questioning whether the increases are sustainable or even appropriate given the county’s tight finances.

“Our libraries aren’t fully funded, and our roads are in terrible condition. But the cost of this program seems to keep rising,” a member of the county’s own Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission told the Arlington Connection. The Connection’s Michael Lee Pope notes that funding for housing grants has increased from $3.6 million in 2007 to $6.6 million in the current proposed budget.

What do you think?


DEVELOPING STORY — Federal Shutdown Could Have “Severe Impact” on N. Virginia

By ARLnow.com

On a conference call today, Rep. Jim Moran (D) said he believe the odds of a federal shutdown at the end of the week is about 50/50 — a dark omen for Arlington and other Northern Virginia jurisdictions whose economies rely heavily on federal employment.

If such a shutdown were to happen, Moran says he believes that furloughed federal employees would not be reimbursed for their time off due to Republican opposition to such a move. A shutdown could last several weeks and have a “severe impact” on the local economy, Moran warned.

“This is very, very, serious,” Moran said. “Federal employees need to understand that this is not 1995, when we closed down… and [employees] were fully reimbursed.”

“About a million federal employees will not be working, and it is highly unlikely they will ever be reimbursed,” Moran continued. “Not only is this going to hurt the overall economy in the metropolitan Washington area that I represent, but it is going to have a very severe impact on employee’s abilities to make their mortgage payments, their car payments, etc.”

“Every private sector element in my district’s economy is going to be adversely affected,” Moran added.

Others on the conference call pegged the number of federal employees who would be furloughed during a shut down at around 800,000 nationwide, including Department of Defense civilians. Moran said the impact would likely to extend to government contractors.

“If this continues I think there’s going to be a number of smaller contractors that will simply go out of business because the [federal agencies] aren’t giving them the kind of cash flow they need to survive,” he said. Backing up that suggestion, Moran’s office pointed out that 20 percent of government contracts in the D.C. area were adversely affected during the 1995 shutdown.

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Civic Federation Makes Budget Recommendations

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Civic Federation will discuss the county and school budgets at its monthly meeting tonight.

At the meeting, the federation’s revenues and expenditures committee will reveal its suggested modifications to the county manager’s budget.

Among the recommendations:

  • A one-time 1.6 cent real estate tax reduction. (The manager’s budget recommends that real estate taxes hold steady at 95.8 cents per $100 in value.)
  • A $250,000 allocation for basic repairs to the Lubber Run Amphitheater
  • Only $400,000 for continued operations at the money-losing Artisphere, half the amount requested by staff.
  • Rejection of $239,000 in school funds for the David M. Brown Planetarium. The Federation calls for the planetarium to be supported with county funds, not school funds.

The meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Hazel Conference Center at Virginia Hospital Center (1701 N George Mason Drive).

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