A newly released audit calls for stricter controls to ensure that developers provide the community benefits that they promise county leaders.
The report, detailed at a March 23 meeting of the county’s Audit Committee, found a lack of “formal policies and procedures” within the county government to track benefits proposed by developers in exchange for zoning changes.
Arlington officials say they’ve exhausted all options to settle up to half a million dollars in debts from Arlington Independent Media (AIM) after the organization’s operational collapse.
Local leaders have “spent a lot of time and energy” to make sure there is no replication of the situation with other grantees, County Manager Mark Schwartz said at a Jan. 22 meeting of the county’s Audit Committee.
Arlington County’s tax revenue was millions of dollars short of what was expected in the first months of this fiscal year, resulting in cutbacks on some expenditures.
County revenue from real estate taxes and taxes on public consumption — like sales, meals and lodging taxes — was $13 million behind projections during the first four months of the fiscal year that began July 1, County Manager Mark Schwartz said in a County Board briefing yesterday (Tuesday).
A new report from Arlington Public Schools’ internal auditor is raising concerns about how the school system handles student and staff tech equipment.
Inventory control is “unsatisfactory and requires improvement,” the report, detailed to School Board members on Aug. 21, says.
Members of an advisory panel are suggesting that the County Board might need to intervene in issues with a transportation program for residents with disabilities.
Karen Audant, interim chair of the Disability Advisory Commission, said she is “deeply concerned” about the operations of the Specialized Transit for Arlington Residents (STAR) program following a scathing report on the initiative from the county’s internal auditor, Wayne Scott.
Arlington County’s auditor will spend part of the coming year evaluating whether local flood resilience plans and expenditures are achieving the desired effect.
A look at the Department of Environmental Services’ efforts to safeguard against flooding has been included in auditor Wayne Scott’s fiscal year 2026 work plan. County Board members adopted the plan at their Tuesday meeting.
Arlington Independent Media’s flagship FM station is back on the airwaves — but beyond that, the troubled nonprofit has effectively gone radio silent.
Arlington listeners tuning into 96.7 FM can once again catch lo-fi beats on AIM’s public radio station, WERA. Every now and then, they’ll hear a message inviting them to listen online at WERA.fm.
County leaders are promising action after an audit found major deficiencies in the operation and oversight of a transit program serving Arlington residents with disabilities.
Identified issues with the Specialized Transit for Arlington Residents (STAR) program ranged from billing discrepancies to a lack of review of driver manifests by WeDriveU, which operates the paratransit program under contract to the county.
An auditor’s report on extensive human resources shortcomings at Arlington Public Schools has leaders promising corrective action.
“There’s a lot of issues — training is desperately needed,” said auditor Alice Blount-Fenney, whose report laid less fault at the feet of front-line HR staff and more on broader institutional failings.
Arlington Independent Media has paid a visit to the county’s radio room, but the organization’s FM station isn’t back on the air just yet.
The county allowed the struggling nonprofit to access its transmission room — with supervision — today (Thursday), county spokesperson David Barrera told ARLnow this afternoon.
The results of an audit on Arlington Independent Media are out, revealing substantial gaps and errors in how the nonprofit handled some $2 million in county-provided funds.
The audit report appears to have been uploaded by Arlington County yesterday, the day after ARLnow reported on delays in its release. It suggests that AIM failed to provide adequate documentation for over $1 million in expenditures, including payments to dozens of third-party contractors.
New figures show efforts to reduce absenteeism in Arlington public schools may be bearing fruit.
When Arlington School Board members approved the system’s fiscal 2025 budget in the spring, they set a goal of ultimately reducing chronic absenteeism from the then-current level of 13.5% to less than 8%. In recently updated data, there was a bit of progress on that front.
