This week marks the 10-year anniversary of Mark Schwartz becoming Arlington’s county manager on a permanent basis.
Schwartz had been appointed to the role in an acting capacity in July 2015, and County Board members announced on Jan. 8, 2016 that they had decided to make the position permanent.
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).
Arlington Transit (ART) workers are threatening to strike over a dispute about pay and work conditions.
About 80 ART workers staged a “practice picket” before dawn yesterday (Monday) in a show of solidarity and a signal that they are prepared to escalate the conflict with their county-contracted employer, France-based transportation company Transdev.
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Last year, an attempt to broaden the Arlington police auditor’s access to police records quietly fizzled before reaching the public for discussion.
Arlington’s police and fire unions are vying for more funding in the county’s proposed $1.62 billion budget to fix compensation issues they say fuel attrition and vacancy issues.
County Manager Mark Schwartz, meanwhile, makes the case in the 2024-2025 budget that the county has been and is committed to meeting these problems with funding while balancing other budget priorities.
Predicting a potential $35-million deficit in the 2023-24 fiscal year, Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz recommends putting nearly all of the unspent funds from last fiscal year toward balancing that budget.
Yesterday (Tuesday), the Arlington County Board approved the close of the 2021-22 budget with nearly $26.9 million in unspent, unencumbered “closeout” funds leftover. In the same meeting, county staff briefed the Board on its grim predictions for the 2023-24 budget, planning for which is already underway.
Arlington County is shifting its restorative justice efforts to local nonprofits.
During the County Board meetings held this weekend and last night, members voted to shift nearly $200,000 to nonprofits that are set to continue Arlington’s restorative justice push.
Arlington has hired its first Independent Policing Auditor, though it didn’t go the exact way the county was hoping for.
The county announced today that Mummi Ibrahim, who “has a long history in supporting grassroots organizing efforts” that includes a focus on police practices, has been hired for the position. Ibrahim will serve as the professional staff to the recently-appointed Community Oversight Board, which will review use of force complaints against Arlington law enforcement.
From a new Columbia Pike library to a dedicated pickleball court, County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed 10-year $3.9 billion capital improvement plan would fund projects across Arlington.
The first 10-year plan for capital projects in four years would budget for infrastructure projects between 2023 and 2032. The CIP proposal, slated for adoption in July, is a 40% increase from the plan approved four years ago, Schwartz said in his presentation to the County Board Tuesday.
The Arlington County Board unanimously approved a balanced $1.5 billion annual budget on Tuesday night.
The FY 2023 budget represents a 7.6% revenue and spending increase over the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30.
The Arlington firefighters union says the county’s proposed 2022-23 budget underfunds the fire department and puts residents in unnecessary danger, but county officials dispute the characterization.
The union wants the budget to support having someone with Advanced Life Support training on each fire department vehicle, something that county officials say is not necessary. ALS providers are certified to treat critically ill patients with life-saving drugs or intravenous medicines, among other training that goes beyond basic emergency medical care, also called Basic Life Support.
(Updated at 5:40 p.m.) Arlington County police created a new foot pursuit policy, updated how officers use force and pursue vehicles, and began making more data and information accessible to the public.
Those are a few of the changes at the police department in response to an external report on Arlington’s policing practices publicly released on Wednesday. Some policy updates are still being finalized.
