Thank you to all of you who have reached out to my office and me to wish me a speedy recovery from my recent medical procedure. I’m pleased to report that I returned home from the hospital and recovery is going well. My doctors continue to confirm that my recovery is proceeding as expected. While I am disappointed to be sidelined from my official duties as I recover, I am making great progress and I’m grateful for your support.
I encourage you to participate in my annual virtual Springfield Budget Town Hall with our Chief Financial Officer, Christina Jackson, on Tuesday, April 21st at 7pm on Channel 16 and Facebook Live.*This is not to be confused with last night’s FCPS Budget Town Hall at West Springfield High School.*
For my annual Springfield District Budget Town Hall on April 21st, questions can be submitted via email at SpringfieldBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov, on Facebook @Supervisor Herrity, or by calling in at 703-324-5300 to listen live and 703-324-1114 to ask questions.
At its March 18th meeting, the Board of Supervisors set the maximum tax rate that it can adopt in FY 2026 at a rate of $1.14 per $100 of assessed value, a 1.5-cent increase from last year and a total increase of nearly 10 percent, or $638.39 for the average homeowner with the increase in residential property assessments. Unfortunately, the Board also approved advertising a meals tax up to 4 percent which could bring the total tax on prepared food and drink to 10 percent. Also approved was a potential increase in the hotel tax of 2 percent. This year’s real estate tax increase follows an over 60 percent increase in real estate taxes for residents over the last decade.
We have known for a long time that the last several budgets and the next several budgets will be difficult. Unfortunately, this budget comes as no surprise from a Board that has refused to set priorities, do a deep dive on the budget or to even keep track of the spending commitments it makes during the year. I am even more disappointed that this budget again cuts public safety (ambulances, crossing guards at HSs, etc.) and other services our residents have come to expect (middle school after school programs, etc.). It does not need to be this way. There are many options to reduce the expenditures in the budget without cutting critical services.
The Board needs to do what I have repeatedly asked it to do, both at the dais and in formal Budget Guidance motions, a deep dive into the budget to look for reductions and efficiencies. Prior boards under Chairman Hanley, Chairman Davis and Chairman Bulova have engaged staff and citizens to do a review of spending. The lone exception was 2001 to 2008 when taxes on the average homeowner doubled in eight short years. The current Board is quickly approaching that rate as well. My preference would be for the Board to establish a citizen’s budget review commission and engage citizen budget experts, but I would be open to other avenues to granularly analyze how taxes are being spent, the effectiveness of programs, prioritization and how things can be done differently, especially given how the world has changed post-pandemic. The Board of Supervisors has not set ordered priorities (see the Strategic Plan’s 10+ areas of “priority”) nor asked that approved programs be fiscally constrained.
Some of the simple areas that could be reviewed during a deep dive into the budget could include.
Why are the number of employees in our Health Savings Account (HSAs) Plans below the industry average? HSAs offer great benefits to both the employee and employer (the County in this case). Benefits are a big part of personnel expenses.
Further review programs added during the pandemic to see if the needs continue and they are getting results.
A comparison of expenses by function on a per capita basis to similar jurisdictions to see where our spending might be out of line.
Review agencies for consolidation. As an example, the Park Authority has its own construction and mowing teams just as the County does.
Look back to 2000 to see what programs led to the initial doubling of taxes from 2000 to 2008.
Review our above market pension programs to see if they are meeting the goals of recruiting and retention.
Review the goals and benchmarking for each Department.
Given the depth of the budget’s impact on cuts to critical services the Board should also revisit some of its earlier decisions that result in unconstrained additional spending. These include but are not limited to:
The decision to use Project Labor Agreements (PLA), which was approved without the recommendation of the County Executive. Staff said PLAs would increase project costs by approximately 15% and hurt our small and minority contractors (see here)
The decision to do equity reviews has added a layer of bureaucracy and cost on most County actions. At a bare minimum an analysis should be performed to see what, if any impact these “reviews” have had on projects.
Explore alternatives to government subsidized housing to address the affordable housing shortage. See more info here.
The Board’s sweeping plans for Carbon Neutrality and Zero Waste should be fiscally constrained. There have been no spending actuals or estimates provided for the impact of these plans on the County budget.
Requiring the use of LEED Gold vs LEED Silver and the resulting 5 to 10% increase in cost.
I was also disappointed that the cut list did not include many of the no brainers I would have expected. These include:
1.1 M Board Office Budget Increase – no Board member has indicated they requested this increase.
Funds for the COVID memorial
Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office – prosecuting fewer cases with a lower conviction rate.
Public Collective Bargaining Administrative Positions – We are spending significant funds on dozens of administrative positions to facilitate public collective bargaining. These positions do not improve the quality of services to residents. In fact, even with bargaining agreements in place, employees in public safety as well as general employees are seeing reductions to their agencies that will make their jobs more demanding. We can better serve residents and employees without the costly bureaucracy of collective bargaining.
I have heard from many residents about the impact of taxes on their lives and their ability to stay in Fairfax County. I have also heard about the impact of cuts to critical services. The hospitality industry is concerned about the impact of the new Meals Tax on its customers and a struggling industry. There are many ways to reduce spending without impacting critical services.
It is critical that you share your thoughts with the entire Board. Simply telling the Board of the impact of taxes on your life and plans can be impactful. I strongly encourage you to email the Board at clerktothebos@fairfaxcounty.gov and plan to attend or call into the Budget Public Hearings on April 22, 23 or 24th. Click here for more info. I also hope you will join me on April 21st at 7pm for my virtual Budget Town Hall to hear more about the budget and share your thoughts with me, more details below.
I will be sharing more with you on the budget in the upcoming months prior to the budget mark-up on May 6th. Please share any thoughts or suggestions you have.
VDOT’s 2025 Road Repaving Map is Live: Springfield & Mason Districts Repaving/Restriping VIRTUAL Meeting on April 21
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) owns and is responsible for the maintenance of all public roads in Fairfax County. It has updated its online 2025 Repaving Map showing where it is or soon will be undertaking repaving work.
As part of this annual process, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) teams up with VDOT to determine if any of the roads being repaved could benefit from additional road markings (bike lanes, crosswalks, parking lanes, etc.).
Join me, VDOT, and FCDOT staff at a virtual meeting to discuss the repaving process as well as pavement markings being proposed for the roads being repaved. This virtual meeting is set for Monday, April 21 at 7 p.m. Login information is available on the project webpage.
Please note that VDOT has stated that no roads can be added to this season’s repaving list. To report road maintenance issues, open a work request via VDOT’s online system and/or contact my office.
Mark Your Calendar for the Free Concerts in the Park Series
I am excited to announce that the summer concert series will be taking place again this summer from June 25th through August 20th. These concerts are free to attend and do not require any registration or sign up. As in years past, we look forward to having 2 Silos beer, food trucks, and Peterson’s Ice Cream. Stay tuned for updates.
June 25th – The Road Ducks
July 2nd – The Randy Thompson Band
July 9th – Gotcha Covered Band
July 16th – The Magic Trio
July 23rd – The Rock Shakerz
July 30th – The Skip Castro Band
August 6th – The English Channel
August 13th – The Nighthawks
August 20th – Riptide
The initial 3-month closure of the cross-county trail for the extent of the project area started on March 17, 2025. This closure is for a short section of the trail at the north end of the project west of Lake Pleasant Drive. Once the work at this northern end of the project area is complete, the Cross-county trail will be reopened utilizing a detour along Pohick Road. This detour will be in effect for a 12–15-month duration while the remaining rehabilitation is completed on this segment of the project. Trail closure and projects signs have been posted in the Pohick Stream Valley Park;see the map below for reference. For alternate park locations and trails to explore during this temporary closure, residents are encouraged to use the Park Authority’s Park Amenity Locator and Trail Buddy tools.
As part of this work, the sanitary sewer flow will need to be by-passed for the rehabilitation to take place under dry pipe conditions. A series of by-pass pumps, and piping will be installed above ground reroute the sewer flow to a discharge manhole located in the vicinity of Wadebrook Terrace. See the photos below for an example of this setup.
2025 SSPA Community Meetings (March 24 – April 21)
The 2025 Countywide Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) community screening meetings are underway as of March 24th. This screening process will include 14 virtual and in-person meetings across the county from March 24th to April 21st. It’s a great opportunity for community members to engage in the screening process, ask questions, and provide feedback on the SSPA nominations. For more information and community meetings dates, visit here.
ECHO’s Spring Yard Sale (April 26)
The ECHO Yard Sale offers a gymnasium full of items on dozens of tables organized by category. Doors open at 8:00 am on Saturday, April 26, at St. Bernadette’s School Gym, 7600 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield. From home decorations to electronics to jewelry to kitchenware, we have loads of nice things to choose from at wonderful prices. Proceeds support ECHO, Ecumenical Community Helping Others.
ECHO could use some helping hands to set up, take down, assist cashiers during the sale and more. Set up is from 9:00 am to noon on Friday, April 25, and take down begins at noon on April 26. If you have a few hours to contribute to their good cause, please call ECHO at the “I can give help” number, 703-569-7972. Please note that, if you are looking for assistance from ECHO, always use the “In need of help” number, 703-569-9160.
ECHO’s Community Shred and Share Event (April 26)
The ECHO Community Shred and Share Event offers secure paper shredding plus electronics recycling and asks only that you bring a donation of non-perishable canned or boxed foods or personal hygiene items for ECHO’s Food Pantry. The event starts at 11:00 am and goes until 2:00 pm, or until the trucks are full, at Kirkwood Presbyterian Church, 8336 Carrleigh Parkway, Springfield.
Drug Take Back Day (April 26)
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day returns Saturday, April 26th from 10 AM – 2 PM at multiple locations across Fairfax County. This offers the community an opportunity to safely dispose of any prescription drugs. Please join me at the West Springfield District Station in the side parking lot to drop off any of your unused medications. See more details and participating locations here: Drug Take Back Day Information – April 26, 2025.
Residents can deposit unused medicines at drug disposal boxes found at over 12 different pharmacies as well as all eight Fairfax County Police Stations. Additional safe disposal sites can be found at www.dea.gov/takebackday.
In addition to these locations, the Clifton Lion’s Club will also be participating in Drug Take Back Day with a DEA-sponsored collection in the parking lot of the Clifton Presbyterian Church, located at 12748 Richards Ln, Clifton.