We are coming down to the wire with the West Falls Church projects. We had a 5 hour work session this week to discuss the latest development plans and the comprehensive agreement (the legal contract between the city and the developers). We are still targeting a vote next week, followed by […]
This week’s blog post will be short and sweet. With the budget behind us, the high school and economic development projects will be our main focus for the next few weeks and the primary topic in our upcoming meetings. You can continue to offer public comment at our meetings and/or email us […]
And that’s a wrap! We adopted the FY20 budget this week in what I guess was record time, wrapping up the budget vote by 9 pm (although our meeting lasted til 11 pm on other business), with no real estate tax increase as expected. Read on for my thoughts about the new budget […]
After a marathon meeting + work session combo, this week’s post will be short and sweet. We are on hiatus from public meetings next week, but there is no rest for the weary. Here are the big dates to keep in mind: City staff moves back to City Hall: city offices […]
We had our final FY20 budget work session, ahead of next week’s mark up where we make adjustments before adoption on April 22. We reviewed departmental highlights in housing and human services, library, public works, schools, human resources/city employee compensation, and senior tax relief. While each of those areas merit an entire […]
For the first time in a long time – we voted on the annual budget, CIP, and tax rate at first reading without much fanfare or public comment; we’ll have a final budget vote on 4/22. What was a tougher conversation was a request to authorize additional money for the City […]
March Madness has begun, and we’ve got a different kind of March madness underway locally. Aside from the annual budget (see last week’s post), we’re in 7 week sprint towards votes on a comprehensive agreement, a 99 year ground lease, and a conceptual plan for the 10 acre West Falls Church project in May. We made a commitment to citizens is that we would not issue any construction bonds for the high school until we ink a […]
Maybe the the proverb should be “fourth time’s a charm”? As anticipated, the start of this budget cycle (my fourth!) has been pleasant, a marked departure from previous years. The confluence of multiple factors (adherence to budget guidance + higher forecasted revenues + lower school enrollment + the spirit of “we’re all […]
Whew, what a week! This has definitely been one of those weeks reaffirming my belief in the importance and wide impact of local government. In work session, our topics were meaningful and weighty, spanning all parts of our everyday lives: the next round of the demographics study, exotic animal laws (find out if you have an […]
Happy snow (slush) day! Hopefully that is the last time we say that this year. If you, too, have an extra two hours this morning – settle down with another cup of coffee and this week’s update for a few minutes. Three quick highlights and takeaways: 1) Without much fanfare, your […]
We had a good work session this week covering some biggies: financials, parks, and development. In addition to the Q2 financial report (fiscal year 2019 is now half over), we are preparing for the acquisition of the Fellows Property, one of the largest remaining undeveloped parcels in the city and the […]
As you head into the long weekend, lots of links are in this week’s post for you to peruse over the extra day off. We’ve got several exciting business openings coming up (hint: get your quarters ready) and scheduled dates for Founders Row’s groundbreaking and the first construction community meeting. […]