Arlington’s fire chief says he is willing to reconsider a contentious plan to consolidate the county’s two heavy rescue companies — if county leaders can find the funding to make that possible.
Fire Chief David Povlitz told County Board members that he would need about $480,000 in additional funding to halt a proposal to combine the two existing rescue units, which has drawn criticism from the county’s firefighter union over public safety concerns.
Arlington County’s firefighter union is speaking out against a proposal to remove four vacant firefighter positions from the payroll.
The current county budget draft proposes to consolidate the Arlington County Fire Department’s two heavy rescue companies, relocating them under a single roof at Fire Station 1 (500 S. Glebe Road). This would reduce ACFD’s total authorized staffing by four full-time employees.
Representatives of both the business community and organized labor voiced skepticism at a recent forum that an end to Virginia’s right-to-work law is on the horizon for 2026.
“Right to work is not a big thing to us right now,” said Don Slaiman, political coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 26.
The Arlington Education Association (AEA) is calling for a boycott of Starbucks in solidarity with a unionization campaign.
The local teachers’ union announced yesterday (Thursday) that it had joined the “No Contract, No Coffee” campaign, urging the public not to patronize the coffeehouse until a contract is reached with Starbucks Workers United.
The Arlington County Board is scheduled to take up numerous items this month, including the financial impact of new public safety contracts, a proposed office-to-residential conversion project and closing out the fiscal year 2025 budget.
Potentially the most controversial item on the agenda could come during the Tuesday, Nov. 18 recess meeting, when Board members decide whether to move forward with a working group to consider changes to Arlington’s 93-year-old governance structure.
The starting salary for officers at the Arlington County Police Department is jumping to about $90,000, the highest in the D.C. area.
The pay bump, which goes into effect on July 1, 2026, represents a roughly $18,000 increase from the current starting salary of $72,013.50 for new officers, ACPD spokesperson Ashley Savage told ARLnow.
Arlington school leaders have announced their timeline for negotiating new health-insurance agreements next year, hoping to avoid catching employees by surprise this time.
This time, school leaders are committed to “make sure everybody’s crystal clear” on the process, School Board member Mary Kadera said.
Public opinion won the day on two contentious issues as School Board members finalized an $844.6 million budget last week.
The new spending package, approved last Thursday, is up 2.2% from the fiscal year ending June 30. It includes funding for continuing the Integration Station early-childhood program and retaining library aides as full-time positions.
The president of the Arlington Education Association says she will give up the position if elected to the School Board.
“Would I step down if elected? Yes, I would,” June Prakash said when questioned on her plans by Arlington NAACP education chair Tia Alfred at the civil-rights organization’s online candidate forum earlier this week.
A proposed $845.4 million budget unveiled last night will not please everyone, Arlington Public Schools leaders acknowledged.
The Fiscal Year 2026 budget package represents a spending increase of 2.3% from the current budget, and anticipates $650 million in revenue coming from Arlington County. Nevertheless, “we had to make hard decisions,” Superintendent Francisco Durán said in detailing the spending package Thursday evening.
The Arlington County Fire Department’s water rescue team did not respond to last week’s fatal midair collision, against the wishes of local firefighters, ARLnow has learned.
While first responders from throughout the D.C. area descended on the site of the devastating collision that killed 67 people on Jan. 29, ACFD personnel trained to respond to water emergencies did not receive permission to act. That is according to internal materials that this news site obtained through an anonymous source.
No resolution is in sight for an unfolding conflict between Arlington County’s leadership and its firefighter union.
Last month, IAFF Local 2800 held its second vote of no confidence against Fire Chief David Povlitz, reiterating doubts in his job performance and calling for his removal.
