This Week: More Meetings on Bus Changes

Fairfax County wants your input on revised bus routes for Silver Line service.

  Fairfax County will hold more meetings this week to discuss a revised plan for changes to Fairfax Connector bus routes when Metro's Silver Line opens in December. The plan includes the creation of 12 new routes, the restructuring of 24 existing routes and the elimination of six routes, says the Fairfax County Department of Transportation. The revised plan incorporates changes suggested by riders and the community, since the original service proposal was released in January 2013. The complete bus service plan will be discussed at each meeting, with special emphasis placed on area service changes for the general vicinity of each meeting location. Meeting schedule:   Click here to see the full list of county route changes. Stay up to date …

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Fairfax County Employees to Supervisors: 'Value us!'

Employees have 8.66 percent less purchasing power than they did six years ago, they said, which may cause them to leave for jurisdictions with better compensation plans.

Sequester Pushes Virginia Families, Working Poor, a Step Closer to Homelessness

Fairfax County human services officials say more funds are needed for housing and other programs.

Fairfax County officials have said the impacts of sequestration are largely unknown, but for some of the county's low-income residents that's no longer true: Last week, the cuts forced the county to stop issuing Section 8 vouchers for affordable housing to families in need. Officials say that up to 150 families in the county might not be getting housing vouchers that will help them pay their rent. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides funding to the county for the program, but the budget sequester has put that in jeopardy. The county stopped issuing vouchers earlier this month and while some residents were able to get help at the last minute, others might not be so fortunate. These cuts directly impact organizations…

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Fairfax County Homeless Population Down 12 Percent from 2012

Officials will highlight successes, challenges in full report to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on April 10.

Fairfax County’s homeless population has declined 12 percent in the last year and 26 percent since 2007, according to a new report from the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Connection reports that according to agency’s annual “point-in-time” survey, the number of homeless people in the county has decreased by 184, from 1,534 in 2012 to 1,350 in 2013. The number of homeless has also decreased by 463 since 2007, down from 1,813. The count was conducted over a one-day period in January, per requirements from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Only people who are literally homeless and living in shelters, transitional housing or on the street are counted in the survey. This …

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Fairfax Daycare Owners Urge Officials to Raise Child Limits

Providers fear they will be forced out of business if they can't care for more kids than the law allows.

Fairfax County home day care providers will have to wait a little longer to find out whether officials will raise the number of children they’re legally allowed to care for. The county Planning Commission voted Wednesday night to defer its decision on a proposed permit that will let providers care for 12 kids instead of 10, the current limit with a permit. With a license from the Commonwealth of Virginia, a provider can care for up to 12 children. But Fairfax County ordinances only allow for seven children, unless the provider applies for the special permit. The county rarely enforced the law and many providers took on a dozen children, arguing they were allowed by the state. But new regulations require the county to enforce the by-right …

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CeCe Holman

4:37 pm on Sunday, March 24, 2013

Thank you Brian!   more ›

Wednesday: Speak Out on Fairfax Home Day Care Limits

Fairfax planning commission seeks input on proposal to raise the number of children allowed in home daycares — but even raising the limit might not be enough, providers say.

Home day care providers and parents will have the opportunity Wednesday to speak to the Fairfax County Planning Commission about a proposed permit that would allow providers to care for more children. But it remains to be seen if even an expanded limit will be enough to accomodate some of the area's daycares. The Commonwealth of Virginia allows for up to 12 children in a licensed day care, but Fairfax County ordinances allow for only seven. The Town of Vienna allows day care providers to care for up to eight unrelated children, and provides a conditional use permit for those who want to care for more.  Providers in Fairfax can apply for a special permit that allows for a maximum of 10. The county law was rarely enforced, so many providers …

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Is New Plan for Lake Anne On The Way?

Hudgins says she hopes to move forward in redevelopment process this spring.

Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins says she hopes to have narrowed down the list of proposals for Lake Anne-area revitalization within the next 60 days. Hudgins told the Reston Association Board of Directors at a planning session this week that there is not an ultimate solution for redevelopment yet. "Hopefully, in the next 60 days, we will be able to move forward," Hudgins said. "The good news is we have some good opportunities." It has been over a year since Fairfax County released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Crescent Apartments near Lake Anne.  Crescent is owned by Fairfax County and was acquired in 2006 as part of the goal of adding additional affordable housing units in the area. The 16-acre, 180-unit development was built in …

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Sequestration is Coming. How Will it Impact Fairfax County?

Tighter budgets, diminished real estate values and more.

Sequestration threatens to destabilize the Northern Virginia economy, and some say the effects of the across-the-board cuts to federal programs and contracts will be felt across Fairfax County.  "Businesses are in business because they know how to plan for problems and deal with them. But not knowing what to plan for is devastating to them," said Dr. Gerald Gordon, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority to Patch.   Localities across the Commonwealth are bracing themselves against the uncertainty of sequestration. It seems unlikely that Congress will reach an agreement on $1.2 trillion in debt reduction by March 1, and the U.S. military will be forced to cut $46 billion and domestic defense spending will be …

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Questions on Fairfax County Budget? Join Thursday's Online Q&A

County Executive Ed Long will chat with residents on proposed $7 billion Fiscal Year 2014 county budget.

Do you have questions about Fairfax County’s FY2014 proposed budget? Your chance to get answers from County Executive Ed Long is coming Thursday morning. Long will host an hour-long chat starting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to discuss his proposed $7 billion budget, which he unveiled for officials and the public Tuesday. The advertised package includes a 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095. The increase is projected to raise nearly $42 million in count revenue. But when coupled with increases in real estate assessments, the proposed rate would cost the average county household about $262 more in real estate taxes. The budget also reduces funding for parks and libraries, and allots the …

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Fairfax County to Unveil FY2014 Budget Tuesday

The county faces a $169 million shortfall.

Fairfax County Executive Ed Long will unveil the county’s proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget this Tuesday. The county faces budget shortfalls of $169 million and $274 million in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, respectively. In order to better prepare for the future, he says, Long will present a multi-year budget plan for FY2014-2015 during the Board of Supervisors regularly scheduled Feb. 26 meeting. Those shortfalls are based on keeping the tax rate unchanged while also increasing the transfer to Fairfax County Public Schools. Fairfax County School Board officials intend to ask for an increase of 5.5 percent – or $92.4 million – for a total transfer of $1.77 billion. During a joint meeting of the two boards in November 2012, Long included an …

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