County voters are likely to see nearly a quarter-billion dollars spread over five local bond referendums on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Revenues from future bond sales would support County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed new 10-year, $4.3 billion capital improvement plan, unveiled on Tuesday evening.
“The big focus … is on our current facilities,” Schwartz said at that night’s County Board meeting. “We have to make sure everything is working well. That is our first obligation.”
The $4.3 billion total figure includes both projects already in the pipeline and those that would be added over the coming decade.
To pay for some of it, Schwartz has proposed the following referendums in November:
- $56.8 million for community infrastructure, including improvements to county facilities such as Central Library, the Arlington County Detention Facility, police facilities and Ballston Public Parking Garage
- $69.9 million for transportation, with $46.3 million to fund county obligations for Metro as well as $25 million for paving and the rest for other maintenance
- $34.9 million for parks, including construction work on Drew Park and Gateway Park, trail/bridge modernization and land acquisition
- $60 million for public schools, as requested by the School Board
- $20.7 million for utilities, including water/sewer maintenance and the county’s contributions to operating the Washington Aqueduct, with bonds repaid using revenues from the county’s water system, not the General Fund
When adopting the capital plan in mid-summer, County Board members will determine the size and scope of proposed bond referendums. The final step is placement of the referendums on the ballot by Circuit Court Chief Judge Judith Wheat.
Arlington voters have not turned down any local bond referendums in over 40 years, and it has been more than a half-century since there was a significant voter revolt in which multiple referendums were rejected in a single year.
Voter approval of bonds does not set a timetable for their eventual sale. The local government’s planned June sale of government debt includes funds for projects approved by voters as far back as 2018.
The total amount of general-obligation debt authorized by county voters between 2018-24 is $1.26 billion. About $591 million already has been issued, and after the planned June sale of $208.4 million, about $458 million will have been approved but not yet sold.
Under Schwartz’s plan, the Arlington government’s spending on debt service would rise from $157 million in the coming fiscal year to $219.5 million in fiscal 2036.
That averages out to an increase of 4% per year, a rate down from the average 5.4% annual growth rate over the past 10 years.
One area that appears to be a loser in the capital package is Columbia Pike. Schwartz’s proposal includes no funding for a modern library in the corridor, and he told Board members he wanted to take “a different approach” in financing a first station on the west end of the Pike.
Schwartz’s capital-improvement plan does not include funding for affordable housing. But he has requested County Board approval to develop a $480 million proposal with funding split equally, three ways, between the county government, corporate philanthropy and private philanthropy to achieve certain housing goals.
The county government’s $180 million share of that housing effort would equal 2 cents on the local government’s tax rate, Schwartz said. He asked for the authority to study the option over the coming 18 months.
Board members did not respond at length to the county manager’s package on Tuesday. Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said development of the package represented “a tremendous amount of work” and that “we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Arlington’s capital improvement plans are updated every other year. A public hearing on the package is planned for early July, with final adoption later that month.
Pieces of the proposal are being added to the county government’s website, with the entire package expected to be online by the end of the week, Schwartz said.
