budget | ARLnow.com

Residents Sound Off on Arlington Arts Proposal

Published June 14, 2011 at 3:59PM | Updated June 15, 2011 at 8:07AM

About two dozen people showed up at the Shirlington Library to respond to draft recommendations put forth by the Arlington Commission for the Arts and its consultants regarding the future of the county’s arts scene. A previous proposal was developed in the 1990s, and the Commission is seeking a new plan to outline the next 20 years.

Arlington Arts Commission Chair John Seal explained that the proposal assumes the county will continue its current push toward urbanization. He said additional venues, funding and availability of arts is necessary to keep up with the trend.

News

Report Recommends Increased Arts Investment in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Published June 3, 2011 at 12:36PM

The commission and its consultants have just released a draft copy of “Arlington Arts 2030,” a report that proposes “a long-range strategy for supporting the arts over the next 20 years.”

The report recommends that the county “pro-actively and steadily move… [from] supporting the arts in a manner appropriate for a suburban community to one of building the arts to support the growing urban community that Arlington is today.” To that end, the report recommends increased investment in the arts, art facilities and the artists themselves.

Around Town

With Funding in Place, Lubber Run Meeting Planned

By ARLnow.com

Published May 10, 2011 at 11:05AM | Updated May 13, 2011 at 1:09PM

The public meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. on May 16, at the ~~Lubber Run Recreation Center (300 North Park Drive)~~ Barrett Elementary School library (4401 N. Henderson Road). Among those expected to be in attendance is County Manager Barbara Donnellan. This is the second such meeting organized by the foundation.

The county is providing up to $45,000 for programming at Lubber Run this summer. Another $100,000 is going to “study capital needs toward restoration of the Lubber Run Amphitheatre.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 2, 2011 at 9:38AM

Above: A look back at last year’s presentation of a steel beam from the World Trade Center at Arlington County Fire Station 5. Firefighters from Fire Station 5, in Pentagon City, were among the first to respond to the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

School Budget Approved — The Arlington County School Board has approved a new $475 million budget for FY 2012. The budget funds pay raises for teachers and staff, expands professional learning activities for teachers and eliminates ‘early release Wednesdays’ at four elementary schools. It also includes $1 million to study options for addressing the school system’s looming capacity crisis. [Arlington Public Schools]

News

Board Approves New $1 Billion FY 2012 Budget

By ARLnow.com

Published April 16, 2011 at 3:00PM

The budget is 5.1 percent higher than its previous budget, but yet contained no tax rate increase. Rising property assessments allowed the board to keep the property tax rate steady at 95.8 cents per $100. The personal and business property taxes will remain the same. Trash and recycling fees will decrease by 5 percent.

“Taking into account increase in real estate assessments and fee changes, the overall tax and fee burden for the average Arlington homeowner will increase 1.4% — or about $7 a month — an increase less than the current Baltimore-Washington region inflation rate of 3%,” the county said in a statement.

News

Budget Will Add Funds for Libraries, Lubber Run, Safety Net

By ARLnow.com

Published April 14, 2011 at 11:37AM

The County Board has allocated $258,000 to allow each branch library to stay open for an additional three hours per week. The funds will also support longer Sunday hours at the Shirlington and Columbia Pike libraries and allow the purchase of additional books and e-books.

The board is providing an additional $370,000 for park maintenance, Friday hours at the Lubber Run Community Center and for the restoration of seasonal programming at the shuttered Lubber Run Amphitheater. An additional allocation of $100,000 will fund early stages of restoring the amphitheater.

News

BREAKING NEWS — Budget Will Hold Tax Rate Steady

By ARLnow.com

Published April 13, 2011 at 11:26AM | Updated April 13, 2011 at 12:13PM

At a work session yesterday, the board instructed County Manager Barbara Donnellan to hold the tax rate steady at 95.8 cents per $100 in the final budget.

“They’re sticking with their initial guidance of no real estate rate increase,” county spokeswoman Mary Curtius confirmed this morning.

News

Major Items on Board Agenda This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Published April 11, 2011 at 11:16AM

First, the board is scheduled to vote on its FY 2012 budget, which has been the subject of numerous work sessions, public forums and community discussions. Then the board is scheduled to vote on the controversial East Falls Church development plan, which is several years in the making.

A significant amount of citizen input is expected for both items.

Opinion

Morning Poll: Housing Grants

By ARLnow.com

Published April 11, 2011 at 8:27AM | Updated April 11, 2011 at 9:16AM

That increase includes an extra $630,000 for the county’s housing grant program, which serves just over 1,000 households per year; an extra $467,000 for permanent supportive housing programs, which will serve just over 100 households per year; and an extra $162,000 for ‘general relief’ emergency housing assistance, which will serve 250 households per month.

Arlington County officials place great emphasis on safety net programs, which are serving those in need during tough economic times. But some are questioning whether the increases are sustainable or even appropriate given the county’s tight finances.

News

DEVELOPING STORY — Federal Shutdown Could Have “Severe Impact” on N. Virginia

By ARLnow.com

Published April 6, 2011 at 1:37PM | Updated April 6, 2011 at 1:55PM

If such a shutdown were to happen, Moran says he believes that furloughed federal employees would not be reimbursed for their time off due to Republican opposition to such a move. A shutdown could last several weeks and have a “severe impact” on the local economy, Moran warned.

“This is very, very, serious,” Moran said. “Federal employees need to understand that this is not 1995, when we closed down… and [employees] were fully reimbursed.”

News

Civic Federation Makes Budget Recommendations

By ARLnow.com

Published April 5, 2011 at 3:58PM

The Arlington County Civic Federation will discuss the county and school budgets at its monthly meeting tonight.

At the meeting, the federation’s revenues and expenditures committee will reveal its suggested modifications to the county manager’s budget.

News

Artisphere Visitor Revenue 75 Percent Below Expectations

By ARLnow.com

Published April 1, 2011 at 11:39AM

In a presentation to the county board yesterday, county staff revealed that Artisphere admission and ticket income is projected at $174,202 for the financial year ending on June 30, 75 percent below the $789,912 in revenue that planners expected.

The shortfall was first reported in the Sun Gazette Editor’s Notebook blog.