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Morning Notes

Published August 20, 2013 at 8:45AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 3:24PM

Metro Accident Victim Identified as GMU Student — The person struck and killed on the Metrorail Orange Line tracks between East Falls Church and Ballston early Sunday morning has been identified as 21-year-old George Mason University student Patrick Sibley. Sibley’s brother says he did not have a good sense of direction and may have become lost after leaving a bar in Clarendon and trying to make it home to Vienna. Metro is not commenting on the incident while it is under investigation. [Washington Post]

McDonnell Touts Budget Surplus — Gov. Bob McDonnell says the state ended its fiscal year on June 30 with $585 million more than projected. That’s the largest state surplus since 2005. The cumulative surplus during McDonnell’s nearly four years in office comes in at around $2 billion. [Washington Times]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 25, 2013 at 8:50AM

Too Much Cash on Hand? — Is Arlington County’s nearly $300 million cash hoard excessive? Many county officials says the extra cash cushion is an example of good fiscal stewardship. County Treasurer Frank O’Leary, however, suggests the cash reserves are “causing us to pay more taxes than we should.” [Sun Gazette]

More Coverage for Girls’ Firefighting Camp — The Today Show broadcast a segment yesterday about the Arlington Girls’ Fire Camp. The unique camp has also been covered by CBS News, among other broadcast outlets. [Today Show]

Schools

School Board Approves Raise For Superintendent

By Ethan Rothstein

Published July 10, 2013 at 11:45AM

The raise boosts his salary to $218,375 in the 2013-2014 school year, up from $209,976 last year.

The increase was in line with raises given to all “exempt and professional staff” in the system, and per the terms of his contract, school officials said. Last year Murphy, who joined Arlington Public Schools in 2009, signed a new contract that will keep him at the school system through June 30, 2016.

Opinion

Peter’s Take: We Need More Information on the Signature Theatre Bailout

By Peter Rousselot

Published May 30, 2013 at 2:00PM

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Let’s reserve final judgment on this until the grant agreement between the county and Signature is made public. However, the facts made public so far raise serious questions about whether the county has the right standards regarding when it will provide public subsidies for the arts.

Schools

School Board Approves $523 Million Budget

By ARLnow.com

Published May 6, 2013 at 12:30PM

As expected, the School Board’s adopted budget restored funding to teen parenting staffing, elementary reading teachers, high school gifted teachers and other programs that were slated for cuts under superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy’s proposed $520.4 million budget. Proposed cuts to the school system’s minor construction/major maintenance fund were partially restored.

The budget also funds more buses to allow the school system’s transportation department to keep up with rising school enrollment. (A total of 23,725 students are expected to be enrolled at Arlington Public Schools next school year, an increase of 1,108 students — or nearly 5 percent — from 2012-2013.)

News

Pace of Paving Unchanged this Year, Will Ramp Up in 2014

By ARLnow.com

Published May 2, 2013 at 4:30PM | Updated May 3, 2013 at 10:00AM

Arlington County crews will pave 49 lane miles this year, about 5 percent of the 974 lane miles of roadway maintained by the county. That’s a big step up from the 25 miles paved in 2009, 30 miles paved in 2010 and 36 miles paved in 2011. But it’s unchanged from the 49 miles paved last year.

The number of miles paved will jump next year, when extra funding kicks in thanks to the county’s FY 2013-2022 Capital Improvement Plan. Starting in 2014 and throughout the remainder of the CIP, the Arlington plans to pave 72 lanes miles per year.

Opinion

The Right Note: Board Watching

By Mark Kelly

Published April 25, 2013 at 12:55PM

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column by published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Every year since I moved to Arlington in 2000, the County Board has passed a budget that effectively raised our taxes, either through increased rates or in effect, by not offsetting appraisal increases with tax rate decreases. And, every year in recent memory, the county’s press staff sends out a statement claiming it’s not really that bad.

Schools

Proposed APS Budget Trims Maintenance, Boosts Bus Funding

By ARLnow.com

Published April 23, 2013 at 5:40PM | Updated April 23, 2013 at 6:03PM

The School Board had asked for an additional 0.5 cent tax increase dedicated to school funding, in addition to the County Manager’s proposed 3.2 cent tax increase. In the end, the County Board approved a 3.5 cent increase, only 0.3 cents more than the manager’s proposal — and that increase will be split by the county and the school system.

With an earlier version of its proposed budget now facing a shortfall of $1.4 million, the School Board cut about $600,000 from the minor construction/major maintenance fund, and another $600,000 from the school system’s reserve fund. Even with the cuts, however, the maintenance and construction fund and the reserve fund are both set to receive more than $7 million apiece in the budget.

News

County Board Approves New Budget

By ARLnow.com

Published April 20, 2013 at 2:55PM

The Board raised taxes slightly above the 3.2 cent increase recommended by County Manager Barbara Donnellan, citing the need to eliminate proposed cuts to the police and fire departments and the county’s child care office, and the need to increase funding to safety net programs and Arlington Public Schools.

Arlington’s tax rate will now increase to $1.006 per $100 of assessed value.

Opinion

Peter’s Take: Wrong Budget Priorities Stall Foreign Language Teaching

By Peter Rousselot

Published April 18, 2013 at 2:15PM

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Among Dr. Murphy’s unfunded investments was any money to start foreign language instruction at any Arlington elementary school that is not already offering such instruction. Acknowledging the inequity of the current situation in which some elementary schools offer this instruction while others do not, Dr. Murphy polished his Orwellian credentials by calling these unfunded foreign language programs “lighthouses to places we need to be going”.

News

County Board Set to Vote on 3.5 Cent Tax Hike

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2013 at 7:15PM

Donnellan had proposed a 3.2 cent real estate tax increase. The Board gave itself extra budget wiggle room by advertising a 5 cent increase in February. At a Fiscal Year 2014 budget markup work session Tuesday afternoon, the Board tentatively settled on a tax rate in-between the two, but closer to that proposed by Donnellan. The extra 0.3 cents will bring nearly $1 million in additional tax revenue.

The Board will vote on a final budget and tax rate at its meeting on Saturday.

News

Report: Arlington Lacks Robust Internal Auditing

By ARLnow.com

Published April 11, 2013 at 5:30PM

Suzanne Smith Sundberg, a member of the Arlington County Civic Federation Revenues and Expenditures Committee, has written an eight page report detailing what she characterizes as a lack of audit oversight over the county’s finances.

The county eliminated two internal auditing positions during budget cuts in 2010, Sundberg writes, a move that raised red flags with her committee at the time. Recent news items have supported their concern and point to need to create a permanent internal auditing office, she says.