County Board

Board approves $1.55 billion budget, holds property tax rate steady and boosts member pay

By ARLnow.com
Arlington County Board meeting on April 22, 2023 (via Arlington County/YouTube)

The Arlington County Board has approved a budget that hikes the salaries of county employees — as well as Board members themselves.

The $1.55 billion budget is a 3.3% increase over the current fiscal year’s $1.5 billion budget, funded in large part thanks to rising residential property assessments. The property tax rate was held steady at $1.013 per $100 of assessed value, but the average Arlington homeowner will pay around $450 more per year due to higher assessments and higher fees, including a $98 increase in the trash collection fee and $26 for higher water rates.

As proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz, the budget will raise the pay of county employees between 4.5 and 10%.

Uniformed police and sheriff’s employees will see raises on the upper end of that scale, amid continued recruiting and staffing challenges among law enforcement agencies. The Board additionally directed Schwartz to consider “any potential enhancements to the newly revised step and grade wage structures that would address compensation, recruitment, retention and pay compression challenges facing police and fire staff.”

Another addition to the budget made by the Board, as voted on during a recent work session, was to hike its own pay.

Following a $20,000 raise of Board salaries last year, the new budget adds just over $62,000 to bring Board salaries to the maximum rate set by the Board in a 2019 vote: $89,851 for members, $95,734 for the Board Chair (a position that rotates among members annually).

The Board pay increase was proposed by Libby Garvey, who said it will provide “close to a living wage for people doing this job, commensurate with the time and the skills needed.”

“There is never a good time to raise Board salaries, they’ve always been low,” she said at the work session. “So I would like to do it now.”

Takis Karantonis concurred, noting the cost of living in Arlington.

“We cannot have it so that those that bring a lot of means… are able to afford to run” for office, he said. “That is not in the long-term… interest [of the county].”

Board Chair Christian Dorsey abstained from the vote and Katie Cristol voted against it. Both are not seeking reelection this year.

Two significant focuses of the budget and Board directives were aimed at affordable housing and the opioid crisis.

The budget adds four behavioral health therapists to address substance abuse among students, while providing $95,000 to the Dept. of Parks and Recreation for improved out-of-school youth programming.

The latter was hailed by the Arlington County Council of PTAs.

“Our existing programming was well-intentioned but difficult to access by the students who might need it the most,” CCPTA President Claire Noakes said in a statement. “Not all families are fortunate enough to have an adult tackle the multiple organizational tasks needed to pre-register a child for a class, organize a family calendar, arrange for transportation at a set time each week, and find a way to pay for it. Additionally, students who are dealing with anxiety or depression may not be able to participate in programs that involve physical competition, such as sports.”

“Other students may just need a safe place to decompress when household stress becomes overwhelming,” Noakes added. “We realized that there was an unmet need for accessible, supervised, drop-in space for youth to simply hang out and connect with peers, mentors, and caring adults.”

The budget, as adopted by the Board, includes $83 million for various housing programs. On the heels of the Board’s approval of “Missing Middle” zoning changes — also dubbed Expanded Housing Options — the budget directs the County Manager to design an “Affordable EHO Homeownership Pilot Program” that could be implemented by the end of 2024.

More on the new budget and its approval is below, from a county press release.

The Arlington County Board voted unanimously Saturday, April 22, 2023, to adopt a $1.55 billion balanced Budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The adopted budget focuses on community needs as the County continues to emerge from the pandemic, including affordable housing, while also providing foundational services, such as public safety, environmental services, transportation, and schools.

The base real estate tax rate remains unchanged at $1.013 per $100 of assessed value.

“As we return to normalcy after years of prioritizing critical operations and making difficult budget decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Arlington is finally in a position to build much-needed capacity within its departments and in its efforts to address community priorities and needs,” said Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey. “The past few years impacted everyone, especially our lower-income neighbors. Adding funding to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund, for example, ensures that we maintain our vital role in financing affordable housing development within Arlington. Moreover, the County Board is eager to capitalize on opportunities that may arise from the Homeownership Study, helping us further understand how to better support existing and aspiring homeowners.”

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DEVELOPING: A group of residents is suing the county over Missing Middle

By Jo DeVoe
A sign along Washington Blvd in Westover, in a neighborhood with duplexes (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 1:35 p.m. on 4/26/23) A group of residents has filed a lawsuit in Arlington Circuit Court alleging the zoning changes called Missing Middle are illegal.

The residents say Arlington County ran afoul of state law by rushing through the changes without considering impacts on infrastructure and community resources — a frequent criticism of the years-long policy discussion.

Last month, the Arlington County Board approved changes to the zoning code allowing up to six-unit dwellings on lots previously zoned only for single-family homes. The Board did approve a set of limitations intended to control the pace and impact of development, including parking minimums, permit caps and tree planting requirements.

According to “Arlington Neighbors for Neighborhoods,” a group that issued a press release on behalf of the plaintiffs, that was not enough.

“State law requires that zoning ordinances consider needs for transportation, schools, parks, recreation, and public spaces, as well as the conservation of natural resources,” the statement said. “The law also requires consideration of a locality’s comprehensive plan, which addresses stormwater, sanitary sewer, water distribution and more.”

The group said the lawsuit claims Missing Middle — also referred to by the county as “Expanded Housing Options” or EHO — is “arbitrary and capricious and bears no reasonable relationship to public health, safety, morals or the general welfare, as required by state law.”

(In addition to issuing a press release, Arlington Neighbors for Neighborhoods “has raised funds to support the litigation,” an attorney for the plaintiffs told ARLnow.)

Their lawsuit says the county also violated state law the following ways:

  • The zoning amendment process was not initiated by a proper Planning Commission motion or County Board resolution
  • The zoning amendment was not properly advertised
  • The EHO cap is a special exception to the zoning regulations and requires County Board review of applications
  • The County Board failed to share with the public documents that were furnished to it about EHO
  • The county violated the Dillon rule by knowingly requiring a number of shade trees that exceeds what Virginia allows localities to impose

Their petition asks the Circuit Court to declare that the zoning amendments violate state law and prevent the county from issuing EHO permits.

The allegations that the County Board violated Virginia Freedom of Information Act laws may require a hearing in the coming days, said another anti-Missing Middle group, Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future (ASF), in an email newsletter today.

“There will likely be other hearings in the coming months,” ASF said. “Then, of course, there may be appeals. Any complaint in a lawsuit consists of allegations which must be proven in court, and challenging zoning is surely an uphill battle.”

ASF noted that the FOIA allegation resembles a successful lawsuit against Fairfax County that led to the overturn of zoning changes it made two years ago. Last month, the Virginia Supreme Court declared the county’s 2021 zoning modifications void because the new code was adopted at a mostly virtual meeting.

One of the Fairfax County plaintiffs even advised Arlington residents in a post on Nextdoor to file a lawsuit.

“Sue them,” she said in response to a post musing about recalling the Arlington County Board. “We just won our lawsuit… it took two years, but it was worth it.”

In response, two residents pointed out that her victory was on procedural grounds due to how the meeting was conducted.

“It will likely pass again, with in-person public hearings and votes,” said one Donaldson Run resident. “Congratulations, you’ve succeeded in wasting taxpayer dollars and time.”

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Arlington to buy two more homes for stormwater management

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

Arlington County is poised to purchase two additional homes for stormwater management in the Waverly Hills neighborhood.

The pair of homes are a few doors down from the first home it purchased last month on 18th Street N.

The county will pay $1 million for the home at 4423 18th Street N. and $1.3 million for the other at 4433 18th Street N., per county reports prepared for each sale contract. The Arlington County Board is set to review these contracts during its meeting on Saturday.

The two will be torn down for $350,000 apiece and the land will be replanted to create green spaces that will act as overland relief — essentially a safe pathway for water to flow during large flooding events, such as the floods of July 2019. Such flooding events have particularly impacted the Spout Run watershed, where the county is targeting its land acquisition efforts.

Neither home has a historic designation nor architectural significance but staff from the county’s Historic Preservation Program recommend that viable parts of the home be salvaged and photos taken of the interior and exterior for the program’s archives.

Sales are expected to be settled in about five months and the residents will have two months beyond that to move out.

Arlington County previously told residents of the Waverly Hills and Cherrydale neighborhoods it is considering several stormwater management strategies but voluntary property acquisition will be “necessary” for reducing flood risk.

At the time, it said it would first focus its efforts on the Waverly Hills neighborhood and touted benefits of selling to the county such as lower closing costs and peace of mind.

Arlington aims to have electric buses operating from forthcoming Green Valley facility by 2025

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

As work continues on a new Arlington Transit bus facility in Green Valley, Arlington is taking steps to make it work for electric buses.

Electrifying buses is part of the county’s goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. To reach that goal, it needs to buy battery-powered electric buses and have a place to charge them.

Construction is currently set to wrap up next fall on a new ART Operations and Maintenance Facility at 2629 Shirlington Road and the county aims to have electric buses on-site by 2025. Meanwhile, Arlington is testing out different buses to see which to add to its fleet, piloting buses from two providers last year and possibly testing some from up to two more manufacturers.

With work progressing on both these fronts in tandem, plans for the facility moved forward with partially baked designs for charging infrastructure. This has set the county up to need to amend its design and construction contracts associated with the $96.6 million project as it learns more about what it needs to build.

This weekend, the Arlington County Board is set to tack on almost $585,000 to an existing $4.5 million design contract with Stantec Architecture to fully flesh plans to add up to 46 charging stalls that can accommodate up to 63 buses.

“As [Battery Electric Bus] concept plans were developed, the County proceeded with the 60% design for BEB charging infrastructure,” Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Alyson Jordan Tomaszewski said. “The design scope expanded as the 60% design progressed and as more details about the County BEB requirements were identified.”

Once these designs are 100% complete, the county will update its construction contract with Turner Construction, authorizing it to purchase and install the charging equipment needed for the initial BEB pilot program, per a county report.

“The 100% design will provide capacity to add additional charging cabinets and equipment when additional BEBs are purchased,” it says.

Right now, something of a placeholder contract says the contractor has up to nearly $11.9 million to spend on above-grade charging equipment.

“This includes the necessary switchgear, transformers, chargers, and associated equipment to charge an initial increment of electric buses,” per a 2022 report. “It also includes canopies and solar panel over the canopies.”

That sum is on top of the $66.4 million contract to build the facility and below-grade charging infrastructure. These plans were approved with the expectation that the county would be buying electric buses sometime this spring.

While operating electric buses from the facility seems to have long been the plan, some neighbors had advocated for more fully baked plans for charging capabilities when the project was being developed.

Instead, designs stayed vague “to accommodate future fleet electrification” but be flexible enough to incorporate future technology, per a 2021 community presentation.

Slide from a 2021 presentation on the ART bus facility (via Arlington County)

Construction on the facility continues apace and the county is still targeting a fall 2024 completion, Tomaszewski said.

“The erection of the steel structure on the Operations and Maintenance building was completed on March 17,” per the website. “In the next few weeks, crews will work on completing detailing of the steel, placing the metal deck, and completing the roof screening wall.”

Construction started last year, with a groundbreaking in June.

Buses are temporarily being stored on a property across the street from Washington-Liberty HIgh School, near a collection of homes. The county and some residents are embroiled in a lawsuit about whether the operations have impacted their quality of life.

County will have to pay more for sewer project to handle NPS, VDOT permitting and traffic

By Jo DeVoe
1/8

A sewer repair company put a price on dealing with federal and state agency permitting processes and working on high-traffic roadways.

That price tag is just over $2.6 million.

Arlington County is poised to pay that extra sum, conceding that the location of the project in question presents “unique challenges.”

To repair an “essential part” of the county’s sanitary sewer system — dubbed the Spout Run Deep Sewer Line — the selected contractor, AM-Liner East, will have to navigate distinct permitting processes and regulations for the National Park Service and the Virginia Dept. of Transportation.

This pipe carries “a significant amount of flow” from federally protected land, and along Langston Blvd and I-66, with the pipe reaching depths up to 115 feet below ground, according to the county.

After getting permission from NPS to work on protected parkland, the contractor will seek state permission once it hits I-66. It will be working on a narrow median and shoulder of I-66 and multiple travel lanes in both directions on Langston Blvd.

“It is believed that the bidders perceived significantly more risk in these bid items, which County staff consider fair given the unique challenges of this project area,” per the report.

For these reasons, AM-Liner East — the lowest responsible bidder — still exceeded expected project costs of $5.3 million. The Arlington County Board is scheduled to approve a $7.9 million contract, plus a $1.2 million contingency “for change orders or increased quantities,” at its upcoming Saturday meeting.

The proposed project generated what the county described as significant interest from nine contractors specializing in trenchless sewer rehabilitation. Only two bid on the project, however — a testament to its perceived challenges.

“For the work on federal lands and in VDOT right-of-way, the contractor will have to comply with restrictive NPS and VDOT permit requirements, respectively, and perform all restoration as per each agency’s specifications, which differ greatly from each other and from the County’s specifications,” the report said.

Arlington County says it identified this 86-year-old sewer line for repair in 2019 after a video inspection “revealed corrosion of the concrete pipe, indicated by exposed aggregate, exposed reinforcing steel, infiltration at the pipe joints, and small cracks.”

The project is part of the county’s program to rehabilitate critical large sewers, which are part of Arlington’s 465-mile sanitary sewage system. This project will start at Spout Run, north of the N. Courthouse Road cul-de-sac and end at N. Nash Street.

“This intricate network exists to make sure that the wastewater that gets flushed every day from homes and businesses makes its way to the Water Pollution Control Plant where it’s properly cleaned and treated before being recycled back into the environment,” the project webpage says.

For this project, AM-Liner East will use a trenchless technology known as cured-in-place pipe lining, which is seen as a relatively quick way to fix pipes with little or no digging involved.

A flexible liner is inserted into the pipe, inflated and exposed to heat or ultraviolet light to harden it and create a new, smooth surface inside.

To ensure this is done without disrupting existing flow, the contractor will install a temporary bypass. The bypass will be above-ground through residential grass areas along N. Uhle St, the Custis Trail and one lane of Langston Blvd. It will go underground near street crossings, such as at N. Scott, N. Quinn and N. Nash streets.

How the trenchless pipe repair technology ‘cured-in-place-piping’ works (via Arlington County)

If someone nukes D.C., equipment in Arlington will help figure out who did it

By ARLnow.com
D.C. skyline view from the rooftop of the Bartlett in Pentagon City (staff photo)

The prospect of a nuclear bomb going off in the D.C. area is something that will hopefully remain in the realm of fiction.

Should the proverbial sum of all fears play out, however, equipment in Arlington will help the federal government manage the response.

A broad overview of the system — installed on county-owned property since 2016 — is included in an item on the Arlington County Board’s meeting agenda for this coming Saturday.

Details are not provided, and are said to be exempt from release under the Freedom of Information Act, but a letter from an Air Force official included in a Board report says the system will aid in the investigation and the emergency response after any such explosion.

This system is designed to characterize nuclear explosions in urban environments. In the event of an intentional detonation such as a terrorist attack, information generated by the system is critical for the Federal Government’s efforts to determine who was responsible for and how to respond to the event. The information will be used to support law enforcement prosecution efforts and will be shared with the consequence management community as applicable (e.g. to contribute to damage assessments). However, the full disclosure of the location of our equipment, and information regarding its components and operations, would jeopardize the ability for the system to provide valuable information in a timely fashion to the law enforcement and consequence management communities, by giving insight into the system’s design and coverage, and possibly how to defeat the system.

Therefore, we request that our work with Arlington County on this project, including the Agreement and supporting documentation, be exempted from public disclosure under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act per Va. Code Section 2-2.3705.2, subsection 14 (plans and information to prevent or respond to terrorist activity or cyber-attacks, the disclosure of which would jeopardize the safety of any person). Supporting documentation includes, but is not limited to: program descriptions, what equipment is sited on Arlington County property and where, and details about the equipment (e.g. function, operations, engineering drawings).

The item is on the Board’s agenda this weekend because management of the system is being transferred from the Fort Belvoir-based Defense Threat Reduction Agency to the Florida-based Air Force Technical Applications Center.

Both military agencies have responsibilities related to nuclear deterrence and monitoring.

Completion of Fire Station 8 delayed seven months due to permitting delays

By Jo DeVoe
1/2

Construction on the new Fire Station 8 on Langston Blvd is halfway done but experiencing delays, partly attributed to the county’s own permitting process.

The project at 4845 Langston Blvd, where the old station used to be, is about seven months behind schedule and is now expected to wrap up by January 2024.

Firefighters are operating out of a temporary station at 2217 N. Culpeper Street, just behind the construction site.

This weekend, the Arlington County Board is set to review a request to tack on another $510,000 to its roughly $1.6 million contract with an architecture firm, FGM Architects, to continue providing design and construction administration services.

The total revised budget for the project remains the same, at $27.92 million, given a $2.1 million county-held contingency that’s being used for the overages.

The contractor overseeing construction, MCN Build, agreed to build Fire Station 8 for a guaranteed maximum price of $16,878,504 as the construction manager at risk — meaning it is financially responsible if the project is over-budget.

A staff report says the half-million dollar contract increase is needed for extended construction administrative services because permitting delays have caused the project to fall behind.

Arlington County has transitioned all of its permits online to the Permit Arlington system. Some local home builders previously told ARLnow they are waiting longer for project approval as a result.

Per the staff report, additional administrative and design expertise is also needed to plan for site-related design changes, including realigning a traffic signal, and for inspection and testing services.

“This request… is required for extended construction administrative services to complete the project, including items such as civil coordination with Dominion Energy, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan close-out, and other building commissioning support services,” the report says.

Arlington County first used the construction manager at risk model for the Lubber Run Community Center project. Since then it has been used for Jennie Dean Park, which opened nearly a year ago, and the under-construction ART Operations and Maintenance facility.

“This delivery method can better control the project costs and schedule by allowing early builder input on costs, schedule, value, and quality and collaboration with the architect-engineering firm,” the county said in a previous report explaining the terms of the contract with MCN Build.

A more common approach in which a project is fully designed and the contractor with the lowest, responsible bid is awarded the project can result in delayed delivery if, for instance, bids come in over-budget and the whole project has to be redesigned and rebid, the report said.

Involving MCN Build Inc. as design and construction drawings evolved helped those working on the project identify issues early on and address them, the county previously said.

The fire station project has faced other challenges not related to permitting. In February injured workers were rescued by the fire department after their lift made contact with power lines.

County Board and prosecutor candidates Roy and Katcher lead campaign fundraising so far

By Jo DeVoe
A campaign sign for Arlington County Board candidate Natalie Roy with other candidate signs in the background (staff photo)

(Updated at 12:10 p.m.) Two candidates have emerged as top fundraisers ahead of this year’s Democratic primary: Natalie Roy for Arlington County Board and Josh Katcher for Commonwealth’s Attorney.

That’s according to newly-filed quarterly campaign financial reports.

The six candidates for County Board, two for Commonwealth’s Attorney and three for Sheriff will run in a primary on June 20 to determine the local party’s nominees headed to the general election. The Arlington County Democratic Committee will hold a caucus in May to endorse a School Board candidate.

In statements, Roy and Katcher said the numbers show their message resonates with people who do not feel heard or are concerned with the direction Arlington is headed — whether on housing and community engagement or on prosecutorial reforms.

Roy, a realtor noted for getting around on bicycle, kicked off her campaign by expressing misgivings with the zoning ordinance changes known as Missing Middle, which passed in March. She instead suggested other solutions — such as turning the vacant, condemned Key Bridge Marriott into housing and county amenities.

She comes in first at $51,237, followed by former Arlington NAACP branch president Julius “JD” Spain, $48,032, and businessman Tony Weaver, $46,087.

While Roy has the most donations over $100, her campaign highlighted that 80% of donors were Arlington voters and 80% donated less than $250.

Donations above and below $100 to Arlington County Board candidates (chart by Jo DeVoe)

“This shows both strong grassroots and widespread community support, a sign that Natalie’s message has been resonating with Arlington voters who feel like their voice has not been heard in recent years,” per a statement she released on Tuesday.

“From hosting small meet & greets in their living rooms, to knocking doors, to donating, their strong and steady support has made it possible for me to do the best part of a campaign — meeting with and hearing from Arlingtonians across the county,” Roy continued.

With $105,526 raised and more than $90,000 spent, Katcher — who worked as a prosecutor under Theo Stamos and his now-opponent, incumbent Parisa Dehghani-Tafti — outraised and outspent his former boss.

“Ours is the people’s campaign, and once again the Arlington and Falls Church City communities have stepped up and proven that,” he said in a statement. “Since I kicked off my campaign in November, we have surpassed our fundraising targets — twice. Thank you to all the supporters who have helped make this possible.”

2023 fundraising vs. expenses for Commonwealth’s Attorney race (chart by Jo DeVoe)

Katcher’s campaign said all his support is derived from individuals. Per the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project, which compiles campaign reports, some 400 people have donated to his campaign. Dehghani-Tafti has received donations through some 150 individual contributions in addition to three PACs.

The largest of these is an in-kind donation of $8,000 from Justice and Public Safety PAC, a PAC funded by George Soros. The billionaire philanthropist donated millions to the PAC, supporting dozens of progressive prosecutor candidates in the U.S., including several hundred thousand dollars in cash and services to Dehghani-Tafti’s successful 2019 campaign.

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Audrey Clement says she is again running for County Board, on an anti-Missing Middle platform

By ARLnow.com
County Board candidate Audrey Clement in Virginia Square on Election Day — Nov. 7, 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Audrey Clement is again tossing her hat in the ring for the upcoming Arlington County Board race.

Clement said in an email to supporters this morning that she is planning to run as an independent in the race, which will fill the seats of Chair Christian Dorsey and member Katie Cristol, who are not seeking reelection.

The repeat candidate, who has unsuccessfully run for various offices in Arlington nearly a dozen times since her first County Board race in 2011, won a few northern Arlington precincts in the Board general election this past fall. Clement says she will again run with her opposition to “Missing Middle” housing rezoning front and center.

This morning’s announcement is below.

I’m Audrey Clement, the Independent candidate for Arlington County Board. As a 19-year Westover resident, long time civic activist, and past member of the Transportation Commission, I’m running for County Board because the County has pushed harmful policies resulting in:

  • overcrowded schools
  • gentrification
  • loss of green space
  • excessive runoff, and
  • a 10 year average annual effective tax rate increase that is almost twice the rate of inflation

I also oppose the so-called “Enhanced Housing Options (EHO)” a/k/a “Missing Middle” ordinance that the County rammed through on March 22, 2023. Missing Middle up-zoned single family neighborhoods throughout the county, despite massive opposition from homeowners and those like myself who believe it is nothing more than a concession to developers.

While two of the other contenders for County Board have also recently spoken out against Missing Middle, I’ve been vocal in my opposition to it since long before it was popular to speak out — February 22, 2020 to be exact.

Other County Board contenders are pushing for Missing Middle, while actively misleading voters about what it will do. They claim that Missing Middle will end de facto redlining even though in a February 1 letter to County Board, the local NAACP president reported that only 20% of Blacks in the county can afford to buy or rent a Missing Middle unit (p.3).

These County Board candidates also say that Missing Middle will provide a way for moderate income residents to get starter homes, even though most of the units will be rental.

At the March 28, 2023 annual budget hearing, Alice Hogan, a board member of Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH), stated that Missing Middle will not meet the needs of anyone earning less than area median income, [33:23 8:00:02] which is about $123,000 per year. Hogan and other Missing Middle proponents used this fact to lobby for more housing subsidies at the hearing. This sounds like they are gearing up to push for taxpayer subsidies of Missing Middle units to make them affordable.

If you object to subsidizing overpriced housing and the constant misleading hype about the supposed benefits of Missing Middle, then you should vote for Clement for County Board on November 7, 2023.

If elected, I pledge to:

  • Seek immediate tax relief for residents and businesses.
  • Demand full transparency in the deals the County cuts with developers.
  • Preserve Arlington’s cultural heritage. Stop permitting the destruction of historic structures.
  • Save our parks, streams and tree canopy. Stop clearcutting wooded areas on public property.
  • Say YES to real social justice reforms and NO to symbolic gestures.

If you share my agenda, then:

  • Spread the word about my candidacy.
  • Donate to my campaign.
  • Help make the “Arlington Way” more than an empty phrase.

Sincerely,

Audrey Clement, Ph.D.
Independent Candidate
Arlington County Board

Clement will face the two Democratic candidates who emerge from the party’s primary in June. Democrats will utilize ranked-choice voting to choose among the announced candidates of Maureen Coffey, Jonathan Dromgoole, Natalie Roy, Julius “JD” Spain, Tony Weaver, and Susan Cunningham.

Roy and Cunningham have also expressed degrees of opposition to the Missing Middle changes.

County tax rate hearing had two speakers and neither talked about the tax rate

By Jo DeVoe
Empty seats during the Arlington County Board tax rate hearing on March 30, 2023 (via Arlington County)

Have you ever showed up to a date and realized you had been stood up?

The Arlington County Board nearly did yesterday (Thursday) during a hearing on the proposed property tax rate.

The county proposes a rate of $1.013 per $100 in assessed value. While flat over last year, the average Arlington homeowner would still see taxes go up $454, owing to rising residential property assessments and other fees.

“Madame Clerk, do we have any speakers this evening?” asked Board Chair Christian Dorsey.

“We do. We have one speaker,” said the clerk.

“Terrific,” he rejoined.

That speaker was Hamilton Humes, the commissioner of the Youth Ultimate League of Arlington, an ultimate frisbee league. Addressing the board in gear suggesting he had just been out slinging a disc — or would be soon — he expressed his thanks for the County Board’s work and approval for the fees levied to maintain local playing fields.

“We appreciate all the effort to provide playing fields,” said Humes. “I speak for all the youth athletic organizations to say that… The only issue, which is not in your purview, is the scheduling between Arlington Public Schools and the Dept. of Parks and Recreation, but you all know that.”

There was no mention of the property tax rate.

Hamilton Humes, commissioner of the Youth Ultimate League of Arlington, addresses the County Board on Thursday, March 20, 2023 (via Arlington County)

The Board took a break to wait for more speakers. Eventually, a man called in to ask why the real estate assessment on a church property he recently purchased along Route 50 had increased by more than 17% — compared to increases of 3.5.-5.5% in previous years.

He prefaced his brief comments by apologizing for possibly bringing this up in the wrong avenue, saying he had never done anything like this before. After he finished speaking he was informed that it was, in fact, the wrong venue for challenging property assessments.

“We have a no wrong door policy,” Dorsey assured him. “We’ll be sure to communicate with you via email about the exact route for [appealing the tax assessment]. We’re happy you joined us however you come to us.”

Last night’s meeting is a far cry from Missing Middle hearings last week, which saw north of 200 speakers, as well as yesteryear’s tax rate hearings. A hearing in 2010 drew 26 speakers, the most of any meeting dating back to 2008 with minutes available on the county website.

In these meetings, people often requested higher taxes to cover school spending or affordable housing, while others have advocated for lower tax rates or holding the current tax rate steady to provide relief to people on fixed incomes and small business owners. Those opposed to tax hikes would often also speak in favor of reducing county spending.

The number of speakers has since declined to seven, four and six speakers in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively — years that coincided with introspection and concern about the county’s pathways for citizen engagement, called the “Arlington Way.”

Meeting minutes showed about a half-dozen people who used to speak reliably against increases: In first place, with at least eight appearances, is former independent Congressional candidate Jim Hurysz; in second is former independent County Board candidate Audrey Clement, with at least seven.

Katie Cristol and her young son at Thursday’s County Board tax rate hearing (via Arlington County)

While lacking in speakers passionate about taxes and county finances, the meeting had one memorable moment.

Arlington’s youngest-ever Sergeant-At-Arms — County Board member Katie Cristol’s son — banged the gavel to start the hearing at 7 p.m. As he continued banging the gavel, Cristol intervened.

“Okay, you don’t have to keep doing it,” she said.

He happily sat on Cristol’s lap, sipping juice until his father took him home. Board members continued chatting among themselves between the speakers and the adjournment at 8 p.m. sharp.

The Arlington County Board tax rate hearing on March 30, 2023 (via Arlington County)

Arlington ended 2022 with more assaults and thefts, according to new data

By Jo DeVoe
Crime scene tape at shooting in Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Is crime on the rise in Arlington? It depends on which Arlington County official you ask.

Police Chief Andy Penn told the County Board last Thursday that crime rates rose in 2022, driven by upticks in theft — of cars and from cars — and assaults, largely in Arlington’s most populated neighborhoods. He noted that ACPD is seeing more crimes where a weapon is used.

Arlington started 2023 with a rise in carjackings and student overdoses, and this early data indicates that it ended 2022 with a nearly 23% increase in property crimes over 2021 with, specifically, a 27.4% increase in larcenies. In addition, there has been a nearly 32% increase in vehicle thefts and a 14% increase in thefts from vehicles, especially with unlocked cars or those with keys left inside.

There has also been a 16% increase in crimes against people, such as assault, and a 21.5% decrease in crimes against society, such as drug violations.

Penn noted officers are seeing “more guns than what’s normal,” as officers seized 147 firearms in 2022 — an increase from 126 in 2021 and 104 in 2020. Of the seizures in 2022, 15 were ghost guns.

Data on ‘Group A’ offenses, including crimes against people, property and society from 2018-2022 (via Arlington County)

ACPD does not typically report arrest numbers — as opposed to offense numbers, which are released annually — for the most common group of offenses, which span everything from burglary to murder. A department spokeswoman told ARLnow that that would have to be requested through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The department noted its 2021 annual report, released last summer, that people officers have arrested for these “Group A” crimes are “frequently responsible for multiple cases within Arlington or regionally.”

The question of whether crime is rising in Arlington has implications for the race to determine the upcoming Commonwealth’s Attorney race. Josh Katcher, who used to work for the incumbent top prosecutor, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, has made his campaign about acknowledging that crime is rising and criticizing his opponent for, he says, not admitting this.

“We can’t begin to address these issues until we are willing to acknowledge and face them head on,” he said in a statement to ARLnow. “Arlington County deserves a Commonwealth’s Attorney who is transparent with those that they are elected to serve. My opponent has repeatedly and publicly stated that crime has not been rising, starting in November of last year.”

Dehghani-Tafti, who won in 2019 on a platform of criminal justice reform, has maintained her position despite crime concerns from some residents and members of ACPD. In a statement to ARLnow in response, Dehghani-Tafti called Katcher’s rhetoric fear-mongering.

“Real leaders don’t engage in right wing fear mongering propaganda, particularly when Arlington remains one of the safest communities in the country,” she said. “Real leaders also don’t use right wing attack lines that prosecutors are responsible for temporary rise or decline in crime. While some categories of assaults have been on the rise since 2018, serious crimes such as homicides have declined in Arlington at the same time as jurisdictions nationwide have seen an increase.”

She noted that Arlington had zero homicides for nearly 18 months — one in February 2022 and none since then.

“Our job is to build on that success to continue to keep our community safe. That’s what I intend to do,” Dehghani-Tafti said.

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