County Housing Program Hit With Budget Cuts

There are always winners and losers in every fiscal year, and this year was certainly no exception for Fairfax County.  According to the Fairfax Times, the County’s housing programs are being hit the hardest, with 6% budget cuts going into effect for the new fiscal year.    The Housing Choice Voucher program, administered by the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development was specifically mentioned in the article as one of the programs that will be rolled back in the year ahead.  Under the program, participants put 30% of their income toward rent and receive a voucher from the County to pay for the rest of the rent money due.  As a result of these budget cuts, as many as 200 households who currently have subsidies from the program could see their vouchers disappear. 

It looks like it could be tough times ahead for Fairfax County residents. Is this the beginning of the end of our prosperous existence?

Board Of Supervisors Adopts 2014 Budget

By a vote of 9-1, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the budget for fiscal year 2014.  The approved budget will raise real estate taxes by 1% this year, a minor change from the 2% tax hike proposed by County Supervisor Ed Long. 

 

While the Board decided against any employee raises for the next year, it did provide seed money to several new service programs, including a plan to place mental health professionals in the county’s school system.  In addition, a special rainy day fund has been set aside by the County to serve as a buffer against future economic impacts from the sequestration defense spending cuts occurring at the federal level. 

Planned cuts in public safety were also averted under the amended budget.  The Board opted to restore funding for logistics personnel at four police stations, as well as the restoration of funding for security at certain Juvenile and Domestic Relations cases. 

 

For more information, go to:

 

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dmb/fy2014/fy2014-budget-markup-package.pdf

Catching Up With Fairfax

It's been a while since I updated: Obviously, a lot going on in Fairfax right now. The FY 2014 budget is right around the corner, and Governor McDonnell is about to sign or veto the 2013 legislation from the General Assembly.  Sequestration impacts are also looming. But until all that big stuff happens here are a few morsels to hold everyone down.

Governor McDonnell Submits Amendments To Drone Moratorium:  Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) submitted amendments to a proposed law that would impose a moratorium on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in Virginia.  The Governor’s amendments would allow colleges and universities to conduct research on drone aircraft, and would also allow law enforcement to use drones for certain tasks such as search and rescue operations, or to search for a missing person.  The General Assembly will re-convene for a special one day session on Wednesday to vote on the measure.

Governor Amends Transportation Bill: McDonnell also proposed an amendment to the proposed overhaul of the state’s transportation system.  McDonnell’s proposed amendments would reduce new transportation funding by about $80 million over the next five years.  In addition, the Northern Virginia portion would also be reduced by about $70 million over five year.  McDonnell’s amendments did not alter the plan to substitute the gas tax for a heightened sales tax to cover the items.  Overall, Northern Virginia residents will see sales taxes increase by around 6% after the changes are enacted.

Serial Groper Caught On Camera: GOTCHA! It looks like the infamous serial groper, renowned for inappropriately grabbing some 24 women in Fairfax has made a potentially fatal mistake.  Newly released video footage from a local Home Goods store shows the groper entering and leaving the store after committing another attack. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJK_E7cS_Bs&feature=player_embedded

Armed Robber Caught On Video: In another brazen display of criminality, a masked individual armed with a shotgun robbed a woman at an ATM in the Tyson’s Corner area last week.  Surveillance video of the incident has also been released.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgG4O7aQVmw&feature=player_embedded

The Long Road Ahead: Budget Avoids Deep Cuts

With the sequester upon us, Fairfax County is gearing up for tough times ahead.  According to the Washington Post, Fairfax County executive Ed Long has proposed a budget that would keep spending levels at current levels while increasing property taxes by around $260 for the average household.

All and all that is good news for the residents of the County, particularly its employees.  It also was a lot worse than what was anticipated after Long asked the heads of all agencies to prepare for budget cuts of up to 5% in anticipation of the sequester.

That said, Long has proposed eliminating employee pay raises for the times being, a big blow to County employees.  Long also plans to accomplish modest cuts this year by eliminating some 91 county jobs, 79 of which are already vacant.

Of course, this is only a proposed budget at this point.  The Board of Supervisors will vote to approve the final County budget for the next fiscal year on April 30th. 

Countdown To Doomsday

Well folks, it looks like it is finally going to happen.

Friday will be March 1, which marks the start of sequestration and the end of Fairfax County as we know it.

Overall, some 80,000 government contracting jobs in the county could be put in jeopardy as a result of the reduced defense spending inherent in the sequester.  These loses would in turn have a negative effect on housing prices, which forms the cornerstone of local revenues. 

The county also takes in revenue from commercial real estate.  This means that if businesses close as a result of the sequester, than that is even more revenue lost for the county.

In short, the budget for Fairfax County is about to take a big hit.  It probably won’t be felt immediately, but I would keep my eye on the budget for fiscal 2014.  It could be ugly.

Fairfax County Supervisor Sharon Bulova acknowledged as much in an article published on the website of WTOP last Thursday.

In the article, Bulova said that the sequester could mean cuts in local services, including parks, libraries, and public safety.

In addition, the County could be forced to raise property taxes to compensate for falling revenues, Bulova stated. 

Everyone in the county better buckle down for a long slow economic decline.

The party is finally over for Fairfax.

Governor Urges Action To Stop Sequestration

At long last the dreaded apocalyptic event known as sequestration is finally at our doorstep, and our local and state leaders are pulling out all of the stops to make sure it doesn’t happen.

For those of you who have haven’t been following this story, sequestration is the term used to describe the estimated $1.2 trillion in automatic federal spending cuts that will go into effect on March 1^st, unless Congress takes action to prevent or delay them.  Half of these cuts will affect domestic programs, and half will affect military spending.

Virginia, with its heavy reliance on the defense industry, and Northern Virginia in particular, would be particularly badly damaged by these cuts. 

The cuts could also have all sorts of negative unintended consequences for the overall health of the US economy.  For example, the President recently warned that sequestration could lead to meat shortages across the country, due to cutbacks in meat inspectors. 

On Monday Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell wrote a letter to President Obama, and Virginia’s congressional delegation urging them to do everything possible to prevent sequestration from occurring.  The letter also warned that sequestration could force the state back into a recession.

To make matters worse, evidence is mounting that the uncertainty generated from the mere prospect of sequestration is already starting to damage the local economy.

According to one executive from BAE Systems, this “cloud of uncertainty” from sequestration is already having a major impact on the company’s ability to use its capital and make investments in facilities, jobs and developing new products.

So what is going to happen March 1?

If I were a betting man I would say Congress will vote to kick the can further down the road … all the way until the next election. 

More Madness From Richmond, State Now Drone Free Zone

Despite Governor McDonnell’s claim that aerial unmanned drones would be great for the state, the Virginia General Assembly went ahead and decided to place a two year moratorium on their use.

Sadly Virginia is not the only state to nix drones.  Florida passed a similar measure recently, and in Seattle, the Mayor intervened to prevent the police department from deploying them. 

I honestly don’t get it.  In today’s modern society there are cameras practically everywhere.  Whether it is the red light cameras on the traffic lights, or the security cameras in buildings, or even the cameras Google has installed throughout the country, cameras are very commonplace in the public square.

When did people start thinking that there was a reasonable expectation of privacy for anyone out in public?   When I’m out in public, my expectations are completely different than when I walk into my own home.  That’s why it’s called “public.” 

Secondly, why are police helicopters ok, but not police drones?  Is it because drones can stay in the air longer and don’t cost as much to operate, or that they can fly higher and see farther?

Drones: The Real Solution To Gun Violence

And this leads me to another point.  All around the country, people are talking about what measures we can use to roll back the “epidemic” of gun violence.  Clearly it seems like this is an important issue to a lot of people, regardless of their underlying political affiliations.

Why then are we holding ourselves back from deploying a technology that could greatly reduce violence on our streets?

Without a doubt, un-nammed aerial vehicles could be the biggest asset to law enforcement agencies since the invention of finger prints.

Think about it for a minute. If the bad-guys believe that they are under surveilance all of the time, then they are going to get off the streets and take their illegal activities indoors.

This would effectively end drug turf wars over street corners, and open air drug markets that are an absolute blight on most major American cities. 

Effective drone surveillance could also deter numerous crimes.  Again, why take the chance if you know there's an eye in the sky? 

I know a lot of people are worried about the emergence of a so called "police state" but the reality is that we have a very good legal system designed to keep the police in check.  So long as the courts continue to protect people's rights, then we shouldn't have a problem with drones or any other kind of aerial surveillance technology.