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Mix of funding sources proposed to keep transit afloat
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WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Fairfax County Executive Anthony Griffin, scrambling to find a way to pay for the county’s entire transportation staff, has suggested stitching together funds from a hodgepodge of sources that includes child care dollars, reimbursements for immigration enforcement and local cash for police grants.
Griffin originally had proposed using money intended for new road projects to fund 93 existing employees and much of the department’s budget, but drew heat from state and local officials who said the move would divert funding meant to pull Northern Virginia out of its traffic mess.
Over the weekend, he rolled out a replacement for the agency’s $11.2 million budget that highlights just how scarce tax dollars are during the county’s worsening economic crisis.
“Tony’s in a very challenging position with our fiscal position shifting back and forth, never to our advantage,” said Supervisor Sharon Bulova, the county’s budget chairwoman. “He’s managed to find a way of cobbling together a number of different revenues to make up for the [transportation staff], but it’s probably not the most ideal way of doing that.”
Griffin’s new proposal would fund some of the salaries through public works projects funding, draw down information technology monies, use leftover federal subsidies for child care and Social Security, and cut the county’s cash match for police grants, according to Susan Datta, director of the county’s Department of Management and Budget. It also would use other unused revenue including $1.4 million worth of federal reimbursements for jailing illegal immigrants, she said.
The move would allow the county to fund — through a proposed 12-cent commercial and industrial tax increase — new transportation projects, Metro and some new positions.
Exactly how much new asphalt can be spread will depend on whether the General Assembly finds a new source for road and rail revenue after their transportation package was largely struck down by the state Supreme Court.
Despite the cobbling of sources, Fairfax County Transportation Department Director Kathy Ichter said she believed funding for her department will be maintained.
“Any of these things are sustainable,” she said. “I think it would be a major change in policy if the board at this point were to say we’re not going to fund these positions any more.”
wflook@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
8:01 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 29, 2008 re: "Fairfax approves bevy of tax increases designed to counter economic decline"
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9:43 AM MST on Wed., Apr. 9, 2008
re: "Tapping reserves raises concerns over Fairfax budget’s long-term effects"
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11:15 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 3, 2008
re: "Fairfax revenue projections drop, leave $25M shortfall"
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5:58 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 3, 2008
re: "Tapping reserves raises concerns over Fairfax budget’s long-term effects"
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3:17 AM MST on Thu., Apr. 3, 2008
re: "Tapping reserves raises concerns over Fairfax budget’s long-term effects"
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6:02 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 19, 2008
re: "Tapping reserves raises concerns over Fairfax budget’s long-term effects"
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5:56 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 19, 2008
re: "Tapping reserves raises concerns over Fairfax budget’s long-term effects"
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8:33 AM MST on Tue., Feb. 26, 2008
re: "Fairfax County to double cuts as revenue forecasts worsen"
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6:33 AM MST on Tue., Feb. 26, 2008
re: "Exec proposes increases in taxes, fees to offset county revenue drop"
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7:27 AM MST on Thu., Dec. 6, 2007
re: "Fairfax County to double cuts as revenue forecasts worsen"
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Chambek said:
Mr. Connelly laments that raising my taxes will only net him about $51 million to spend. Poor fellow! Hey I have an idea. Why not spend less. I, like many of my fellow Virginians, have been forced to do some serious belt tightening lately. This is something that Mr. Connelly could learn from us dummies that elected him. Never again.
1 agree | 0 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
This note is to the citizen whose wife surfs the internet all day for 75K - maybe you should encourage her to quit her job and stop wasting tax dollars. I am a 20+ year employee and barely get lunch breaks to meet deadlines of my job. Please don't compare the one person that you can do something about with the rest of the County employees. The majority work much more than you think.
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Examiner Reader said:
I am a Fairfax County employee and I go above and beyond when it comes to my job. I understand that there are some employees who deny themselves the pleasure of taking pride and leadership in their position and that is just sad, but that happens everywhere, not just in the county. I work extremely hard because I believe that is my duty because I am paid by the people of this county. I don't even live here because I can't afford to. I commute 45 miles and I am going broke from the cost of gas and my family is barely making it at this point. It truly hurts me when you people say that I don't deserve a raise. When I have to tell my kids that we have to eat sandwiches again for dinner because that is all we can afford, you tell them that. YOU look them in the eyes and tell them that I don't deserve a raise to cover all the money I am losing to the oil industry, health insurance increases and so on. Not only is my paycheck not going to go up, it is going to go down.
7 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
County employees will not be quitting their jobs because they cant get new ones. They are, for the most part, useless and cant hold down a real job. How do I know this? My wife works for the county and she talks on the phone and surfs the internet all day. Not a bad job for 75k a year. When they find out how much harder they would have to work in the real world they will be running back to their cushy county job.
3 agree | 27 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
As a Fairfax County resident I would rather see them try and find savings and cut the budget first before they raise any new taxes. The thought porbably never occurred to them. But I won't worry I will just pay my tax bill with a credit card like everyone else. What harm could that do?
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Examiner Reader said:
Fairfax County created a position of "Inspector General" a few years ago...purpose was to review & hopefuly reduce/eliminate programs, waste, fraud & abuse...how much in savings have been realized? They should look for significant savings(they have over 3 BILLION dollars budget) before using the same old trick of higher real estate taxes which take no intelligence or creativity...let them show us how good managers they are when things get tough! Let's watch, all they will do is play the same old hand, tax & spend...where do they think the average taxpayer will get more money? We need a NEW BOARD..
13 agree | 4 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Fairfax County employees that believe it is unfair to delete or reduce their wages to cover a budget shortfall (where was the foresight basing a budget on something as obviously cyclical as the real estate market), should join the Fairfax County Government Employees Union. We're doing something about this issue. The dues are only $20 per month. We also represent you in any disputes with our employer, such as unfair annual evaluations or firings.
11 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I am a new County employee. I was proud to get this job. It was based on merit and I have been working hard as I won't get cost of living. I am in Human Services and I am also proud to serve those not as fortunate as I am. Now I have learned even though I am working hard to get a raise based on merit, it won't matter anyway and as a single mom I won't be able to care for my family. Yet, I am not eligible for ANY County services as I am at the very bottom of the ineligibility scale. The employees I work with are leaving right and left because of the decisions to cut pay/raises and increase services. Now who will be left to deliver these services? I know the revenues are stretched, but where is the logic in this? Or, are County execs. trying to weed out the Human Services employees? We need to change the parameters by which we offer services. We don't need to take food off the tables of our dedicated employees.
38 agree | 25 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
You should update your picture of the Board of Supervisors. The picture with your article includes Elaine McConnell, who is no longer a supervisor.
32 agree | 23 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
"Griffin, in his memo, wrote he believed the cuts “can be managed without significant customer service impacts.”" What about County employees? When they begin to drop like flies, do you not think that this will affect service to couty customers? In rough ecomomic times, Human Services are in even more demand. Caseloads go up and demand goes up. Private resources are drying up putting even more pressure on County agencies. We are losing employees to surrounding jurisdictions where the commute is less for the employee, the salary is higher or at least equal, and the caseloads are drastically lower. This trend can't continue. My heart goes out to Fairfax County Human Services Employees who truly care about their clients but who are just about out of energy and the "do more with less" that has taken such a toll over the past several years.
70 agree | 44 disagree
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