Falls Church officials are breathing a sigh of relief as meals-tax revenue seems to have bounced back from declines earlier in the year.
“We did have a rebound. We’ll continue watching it,” City Manager Wyatt Shields said at the Oct. 3 meeting of the City Council’s budget and finance committee.
An government advisory panel may ask Arlington officials to increase funding to tackle invasive plants in county parks by up to 10 times current spending levels.
“We’re in crisis. The longer we wait, the less easy it’s going to be,” Park and Recreation Commission chair Jill Barker said at the body’s Sept. 23 meeting.
County Board Chair Takis Karantonis attempted to fend off criticism of the county’s Democratic political monopoly during the first debate of the general-election season.
“Challenging times require experience and leadership — without having to compromise our values,” Karantonis said at a Tuesday campaign forum sponsored by the Arlington County Civic Federation.
Members of the Falls Church Library Board of Trustees will take more time to review staff budget proposals before they go to the city manager and City Council this year.
The process will take place in two steps, library leaders said at the board’s Aug. 20 meeting.
Arlington’s perpetual cat-and-mouse game with people attempting to avoid vehicle taxes continues.
“There are people who will do anything in their power to dodge the system,” Commissioner of Revenue Kim Klingler says. “It makes you want to find them even more.”
Some projects are behind schedule in the Falls Church capital-improvement program (CIP), but they aren’t facing any major funding challenges.
Of the 37 active projects in the CIP, which range from roadway improvements to sports-field upgrades, 20 are listed as “on target,” six are “at risk” and 11 are “behind target,” according to a quarterly summary.
Arlington Public Schools ended the 2024-25 school year with nearly a quarter-million dollars in uncollected debt for student meals.
School Board members authorized the transfer of $248,523 in funding to cover the shortfall on Thursday. Of that total, about 80% was from students who have graduated, while the remainder was from students classified as inactive, according to a staff report.
A freeze on federal education dollars cast $1.5 million in Arlington Public Schools funding into doubt.
This was the amount of funding at APS that the U.S. Department of Education withheld for weeks as part of a review to ensure that spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.
Arlington officials see the decision to phase out assisted living facilities at Culpepper Garden as part of a larger, nationwide problem with no easy fixes.
At a Saturday meeting, county leaders faced pressure to address the planned changes at the senior housing community, which are scheduled to go into effect next summer and impact more than 70 residents. However, they said that their ability to influence such issues is limited.
An 82% increase in estimated costs has led Falls Church officials to rethink plans to improve a key city byway.
As a result, it appears likely that transportation and stormwater improvements along Lincoln Avenue will be phased in over time.
Arlington Public Library is warning local readers to expect longer wait times for popular titles after the collections budget was slashed.
In a release, the library said the collections budget was decreased by 21% in fiscal year.
Arlington County leaders are considering delaying the sale of municipal bonds and deferring various capital projects in the face of tight economic times.
It’s too early to think about amending the county’s recently adopted Fiscal Year 2026 budget, county budget director Richard Stephenson told County Board members on Wednesday.
