Two key public safety leaders openly raised concerns last night (Tuesday) about a County Board vote to end the use of Flock license-plate readers.
“There are some crimes that, without this, will not be solved,” Police Chief Andy Penn told Board members, responding to a Sept. 15 vote to discontinue the use of 41 Flock Safety cameras around the county.
The Arlington County Board approved a new contract for the county’s independent policing auditor following almost three hours of closed-door conversation this week.
Little public discussion came before or after the vote on the employment agreement with Mummi Ibrahim, who has served in the post since 2022. However, the outcome of the meeting — which appeared to focus on criminal justice issues — is that Ibrahim will now serve at the pleasure of the County Board, rather than County Manager Mark Schwartz, Board spokesperson David Barrera told ARLnow.
County Board members are wrestling with the timing and potential scope of future changes to Central Library and adjacent Quincy Park.
At a July 14 capital-spending work session, Board members tried to find common ground on how to approach what could become one of the county’s most contentious planning efforts of the 2030s.
The county government is readying for major expansion of Penrose Square, with funding to start flowing in about three years — an effort bringing accolades from several Columbia Pike organizations.
County Manager Mark Schwartz has included $4.27 million in funding for fiscal 2030 in his proposed 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) set for a final County Board vote in mid-July.
Arlington’s proposed 10-year capital improvement plan (CIP) includes no funding for planning or building new library facilities near Columbia Pike, despite the desires of some in the area.
Still, County Manager Mark Schwartz says he and his staff haven’t forgotten residents’ wishes for an expanded or brand new community library.
Arlington school leaders have more work to do in sketching out how they might use public-private partnerships to construct new facilities in an era of fiscal constraints.
Superintendent Francisco Durán’s proposed fiscal 2027-36 capital improvement plan, unveiled May 14, makes reference to potential future partnerships to help defray costs of constructing and maintaining new facilities.
New restroom facilities at Gunston Park are expected to cost around $1 million — a grand total arising from the price of materials, installation and associated costs.
County officials present the cost as a financial win for taxpayers, even if not everyone sees it that way.
Budget cuts at Arlington’s historic preservation office could keep services relatively bare-bones, county officials acknowledge.
“We will need to be doing some adjustments — see what other options we have,” said Lorin Faris, the county government’s historic preservation supervisor, at the May 20 meeting of the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB).
County voters are likely to see nearly a quarter-billion dollars spread over five local bond referendums on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Revenues from future bond sales would support County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed new 10-year, $4.3 billion capital improvement plan, unveiled on Tuesday evening.
Even though the current Arlington County budget draft doesn’t include additional costs from this year’s change-ups at the ballot box, the county government is still planning to cover them.
Elections Director Gretchen Reinemeyer laid out budget pressures during an April 7 work session with Board members, voicing concern that her office’s proposed $2.18 million budget likely would not be robust enough to handle additional requirements this year.
A proposal to impose fees on applications for new historic districts in Arlington is drawing criticism from members of the county’s historic-preservation panel.
Kaydee Myers, chair of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB), argued that the small number of applications submitted annually would result in minimal revenue, but imposing a fee could dissuade future applicants.
Program cuts and staff furloughs could become a reality in Arlington if tax revenue continues to fall below expectations over the next two months.
County Manager Mark Schwartz said at a March 11 forum that there’s a possibility “we will have to shut down some of our services” and temporarily send staff home. Any cutbacks likely wouldn’t hit until the last two months of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.
