budget | ARLnow.com

With Budget Cuts on the Way, Arlington Libraries Looking for Feedback on Services to Save

Published May 22, 2018 at 3:45PM | Updated May 22, 2018 at 4:36PM

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) Arlington’s public libraries are bracing for impending budget cuts — including a 17 percent cut to its collections budget — and they’re asking for your input on what services staff should protect from those spending slashes.

The county’s public library system is currently running a survey on its website, looking for feedback on “what collections we will provide and maintain” moving forward. The survey will stay open through June 8, and staff wrote that the results will help guide their decision-making on how library services change going forward.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 22, 2018 at 11:05AM | Updated May 22, 2018 at 11:26AM

DES Wants to Reunite Stuffed Bunny With Owner — The Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services is searching for the owner of a stuffed animal believed to have been accidentally thrown away during Taste of Arlington on Sunday. “Let us know if someone is missing a good friend,” DES tweeted. [Twitter]

APS to Keep German, Japanese Classes — “Superintendent Patrick Murphy on May 17 confirmed the decision to keep German I, II and III and Japanese I, II and III, which had been slated for elimination due to low enrollment. The turnaround came after students and parents complained.” [InsideNova]

News

Arlington Police Rolling Back Traffic Enforcement, Community Outreach in Restructuring Effort

By Alex Koma

Published May 9, 2018 at 3:45PM

Arlington County Police will soon spend less time handing out traffic tickets, investigating minor offenses and attending community events, as the department moves ahead with a major restructuring effort.

The department announced Tuesday that it plans to start re-allocating its resources on Sunday (May 13) in order to compensate for the county’s struggles in hiring enough officers.

Schools

School Board Avoids Class Size Increases in New Budget, But Warns of Trouble Ahead

By Alex Koma

Published May 4, 2018 at 3:45PM

The Arlington School Board managed to avoid class size increases in its new budget, but the county’s worsening financial outlook has school leaders warning that future spending plans could include additional painful cuts.

The School Board voted unanimously Thursday to approve a roughly $637 million budget for fiscal year 2019, though board members expressed plenty of trepidation about the document.

News

County Budget Nixes Some Proposed Cuts, Boosts First Responder Pay

By ARLnow.com

Published April 23, 2018 at 6:35PM | Updated October 18, 2018 at 2:17PM

The Arlington County Board on Saturday unanimously passed a $1.276 billion balanced budget that includes a number of fee increases but no real estate tax rate hike.

The FY 2019 budget notably restores $70,000 in funding for Arlington Independent Media — County Manager Mark Schwartz proposed cutting about $90,000 in county funds for the community TV and radio broadcaster — after AIM collected more than 1,300 online petition signatures against the cut. The Board also boosted first responder pay, particularly starting pay which police and firefighter associations say is low and hurting recruitment, by $1.6 million above the manager’s recommendation, which already included a pay boost.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 9, 2018 at 10:00AM | Updated April 9, 2018 at 10:26AM

First Responders Say Starting Pay Is Too Low — “Patrick Gorman was just beginning to enjoy his job as an Arlington, Va., police officer when he decided to quit. His wife was pregnant with twins, and they already had a 2-year-old. Even with both working full time, he said, they couldn’t afford to live in the area. Two months out of training, he left the department in February and moved to North Carolina.” [Washington Post]

Large Arlington Contingent for Boston Marathon — Some 77 runners from Arlington are set to compete in the prestigious Boston Marathon a week from today. [InsideNova]

News

Arlington’s First Responders Ask for Better Pay

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Published April 4, 2018 at 9:45AM | Updated April 4, 2018 at 1:46PM

First responders protest stagnant wages

Police and fire officials flooded last night’s (April 3) budget hearing to speak out against stagnant wages.

Public safety personnel say that police and fire wages are too low to allow them to live in Arlington long-term. Many are joining up, but soon realizing that their pay is insufficient to live in the county and raise a family.

News

County Budget Proposal Includes New Parking Meter Rate Hikes

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Published March 27, 2018 at 1:45PM

The county manager’s proposed 2019 budget includes new parking meter rate hikes.

Short term parking, defined as less than four hours, would go up a quarter to $1.75 per hour. Long term parking, more than four hours, would also go up a quarter to $1.50 per hour.

Schools

APS Budget Proposal’s World Language Reductions Irk Parents

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Published March 27, 2018 at 10:45AM

Some Arlington Public Schools parents are unhappy with proposed budget cuts that would lead to fewer weekly world language instructional hours.

The proposed 2019 APS budget includes a number of reductions that aim to resolve the “$16 million in reductions this year in the face of our continuing growing enrollment needs,” wrote APS assistant superintendent Linda Erdos in an email to ARLnow.

News

Proposed County Budget Would Eliminate Two ART Bus Routes

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Published March 23, 2018 at 10:45AM | Updated March 23, 2018 at 11:27AM

An ART bus driving around the county (file photo)

The County Manager’s fiscal year 2019 proposed budget includes service eliminations to Arlington Transit bus routes 92 and 54.

The reductions would save the county $356,771 in 2019, according to the proposed budget. Public hearings on the budget and tax rate are scheduled for Tuesday, April 3 and Thursday, April 5, respectively.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 2, 2018 at 8:30AM

Golf Course Tax Bill Passes — A bill that would provide a massive tax break to two Arlington country clubs has passed the Virginia General Assembly. The bill, if signed into law by Gov. Ralph Northam (D), would cost Arlington $1.5 million or more in tax revenue. [Washington Post]

Military Couple Fights Wife’s Deportation — The wife of a retired Army special forces veteran was to face deportation in an Arlington-based immigration court next week, but the Dept. of Homeland Security is now offering to drop the proceedings. Prior to the reversal, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) called said via social media: “Military families should not be targeted like this. It’s unconscionable.” [Military Times, Twitter]

News

Police Department Plans Restructuring Amid Staffing Challenges

By ARLnow.com

Published February 26, 2018 at 11:45AM | Updated February 26, 2018 at 12:39PM

File photo

The Arlington County Police Department is planning a “strategic restructuring” as a wave of retirements and departures leaves significant gaps in its staffing.

Services could be reduced as the department’s functional strength falls to a projected 50 officers below its authorized force of 370, according to an internal memo sent by police chief M. Jay Farr and obtained by ARLnow.com.