April 2005 Council Newsletter

April 2005 Krupicka Council News

It looks like spring may finally be here.  I think we are all ready to warm up a bit and perhaps do some gardening.  I hope you and your families are well and as always, I look forward to hearing from you.

Rob

(If you or others want to be added to the newsletter list, send a message to Newsletter@Krupicka.com with “Add Krupicka List” in the subject line.)

** Budget Update -- Your Thoughts are Appreciated

Council recently voted to set the minimum tax rate reduction at 8 cents as opposed to the City Manager's proposal for a 4 cent reduction.  There are a lot of families that have been stretched thin by rising property values in our City and we are working hard to address their needs.  I have talked to seniors and single moms all stretched thin by rising taxes, increased health care and fuel costs and little or no increase in their family income.

As we work with the community to evaluate the City budget, we will take a hard look at every City program and expenditure.  We also want to ensure we do not damage services all of us care about. We heard recently about police officers who can't take leave due to heightened demand for patrol services.  We heard about unfilled community policing positions left vacant, to the detriment of some neighborhoods, so that our police force can respond to the demands for patrol officers.  Alexandria's ratio of officers to residents trails most major Virginia cities.  We are fortunate that overall crime is down, but it takes work to maintain it.  We also recently reviewed a staff proposal to close some recreation centers on weekends in order to help save money – this could mean more youth on the street rather than in a safe environment.  These are just a few examples of the many issues under review. 

The City can't sustain spending increases of 8% or more a year.  While property values have risen, other revenue sources like restaurants, retail sales, and the car tax have not grown significantly or are declining (diversifying local government revenues is something our City must address).  Unfortunately, this has put additional pressure on real estate taxes.  Rising METRO costs (we lack needed State and Federal support), unfunded mandates, reduced federal support, escalating employee health care (compounded growth over 14% for the last few years) and increasing fuel costs all impact the City budget.  In short, our costs are rising faster than inflation. Unlike the State and Federal government, we can't pass the buck to another governing body.  We are all in this together.

The Council's action to reduce the property tax rate by 8-cents would slow budget growth to about 6%.  Because of the rising costs described above, this action will require us to curtail some city services and infrastructure investments.  Reducing City growth to under 6% will definitely require us to cut City services, staff compensation and slow down infrastructure investments. 

How would you balance the needs for a tax rate reduction with the quality of City services?  Some have called for a cap on property tax increases.  We should all be concerned about the City's over-reliance on property taxes.  We clearly need to create and grow other revenue sources.  We can put firm limits on property tax revenue growth, but it will require service reductions.  Would you halt employee cost of living adjustments, even if it risked increasing employee turnover, especially considering City salaries lag other government jobs in the region? Do you support increases in school class sizes?  Reductions in police and other public safety service levels?  Curtailing Recreation, Open Space and Park Services?  Slowing down street repairs? Eliminating some traffic management, transit programs and services?  As my father often told me, there is no such thing as a free lunch. These are issues our community needs to work through together. 

Your input and thoughts about priorities is very important.  Take a look at the budget information on the City Web Site at www.alexandriava.gov and let us know your thoughts.  Please also consider attending the budget public hearing next Monday, April 4th in City Hall. 

** Thinking about Transportation

The Ad-Hoc Transportation Planning Task Force has been having some interesting conversations about Alexandria’s transportation future.  Given the projected growth in the DC Metro area (2 million people over the next 25 years) and Alexandria’s position as a major cut-through route, the task force is exploring alternative transportation approaches that would help Alexandria residents get around the City.  At a recent meeting they began a conversation about the benefits of creating a new transit system throughout the City – A trolley, bus or other technology that would provide Alexandria with convenient transit access in every major section of the City.

This conversation is long over-due.  We have to create a real multi-pronged (cars, buses, pedestrians, bikes, etc.) transportation system and look to things other than just cars to serve our City-wide transportation needs.

Councilman Paul Smedberg and I recently proposed a series of steps to make Alexandria a more pedestrian and bicycle friendly City.  We have given this proposal the name "Alexandria Community Pathways."  Councilman Gaines has also been working on pedestrian and bicycle efforts. We will be working with City staff and our Ad-Hoc Transportation Task Force to help make Alexandria a safer place for families and individuals to walk and bike.  We hope that you can help us with these efforts. 

The Alexandria Community Pathways program is an initiative based on the community’s desire and need for increased emphasis on pedestrian-friendly infrastructure throughout the City.  We have an opportunity to develop a comprehensive and coherent pedestrian, bike and trails plan that makes Alexandria an even safer and more convenient place to live, work, and play. 

You can read more about this here: http://radio.weblogs.com/0116176/stories/2005/03/28/alexandriaCommunityPathwaysConceptMemo.html

Get Involved: The next Transportation task force meeting is:  Monday, April 25, 7:00 to 9:00 PM in City Hall Room 2000

** Improving Schools with Pre-School

Ensuring that every child entering school is ready to learn is a critical piece of Alexandria’s Strategic Plan.  Numerous studies -- some of which have amassed nearly 40 years of data -- all point to the same basic truth: Children who have had a quality pre-school experience perform better in school and in life than those who have not.  Among other things, they are better prepared to learn, and they perform better on literacy tests than their peers without pre-school.  Pre-school educated children are also more likely to graduate from high school and college, and are less apt to get in trouble or participate in criminal activity than children without pre-school.  Thus, over the long term, pre-school educated students are more likely to become productive citizens who require comparatively fewer public services than their counterparts without pre-school. 

Yet, in Alexandria, nearly half of all public school students entering kindergarten have had no pre-school experience whatsoever.  Alexandria is lucky to have a number of high quality, community pre-school programs that provide valuable services to needy children.  Unfortunately, a variety of constraints prevents these existing programs from being able to serve all of the children in need of a pre-school experience.  

School Board Member Arthur Schmalz and I recently proposed that Alexandria adopt a long-term goal of expanding pre-school access for all Alexandria children.  Clearly, this year’s tight budget will not enable us to do this.  Still, as we think about the budget, we should be mindful of the long term cost savings that come from pre-school. Numerous studies indicate that, for every dollar invested in high-quality pre-school programs, the community could save as much as nine dollars in future service costs.  With cooperation from our Schools, the City, other governments, businesses and non-profits, I am confident that we can create a model that will work for Alexandria.

Click Here to Read More: http://radio.weblogs.com/0116176/stories/2005/03/28/universalPreschoolAccessConceptMemo.html

** Spirit of the Community – Small Business Recognition

Animators at Law is a unique visual communications consulting and design firm that combines the talents of attorneys, psychologists and world-class artists.  As the nation’s top attorney owned and operated litigation consulting firm, its role is to provide the graphics, both animated and still, that teach and persuade judges and jurors in the nation’s highest dollar cases.  Its customers are the nation’s largest law firms, with the typical client being a firm with 500+ attorneys involved in a case with over $100 million at stake.  The Animators team profile of approximately 1/3 lawyers and 2/3 artists continues to wow the legal profession as evidenced by the company’s dramatic growth.  At the end of February this year Animators had already tallied 50 percent of last years’ sales!  Headquartered in Alexandria, Animators also has offices in New York City, LA and San Francisco.  Alexandria is justly proud to be the home of exciting businesses like Animators at Law! 

Business:  Animators at Law

Location:   814 King Street., Alexandria 22314

            (703) 548-1799

            http://www.animators.com

President & CEO:  Kenneth J. Lopez     lopez@animators.com

** Pentagon Memorial Fund Makes Alexandria Proud

A recent Washington Post article described the progress of the Pentatgon Memorial fund and their efforts to raise funds and build a 9-11 monument.  A number of Alexandrians are actively involved in this project.  Jim Laychak, the President of the Pentagon Memorial fund lives in Alexandria and the designers of the monument, Keith Kaseman and Julie Beckman, recently moved to our City.  Their work is a source of pride for our community.  There are a lot of ways you can help them.  Ask Jim to speak at a community or business gathering, have your company donate to the fund, or donate yourself.  You can reach Jim at jlaychak@pentagonmemorial.net.  You can also donate online at www.pentagonmemorial.net

** Three Ideas for Things to Do On Saturday, April 2nd

Alexandria Volunteer Bureau Evening in the Heart of Alexandria.  Dinner and silent auction to benefit the AVB; 7:00 PM at the Virginia Theological Seminary.  For more details and/or sponsoring the event, contact Bill North-Rudin, 703-836-2176 or Bill@AlexandriaVolunteers.com.  (I am told they will have a TV with Basketball Games for those who can’t miss any Final-Four Action)

Cherry Blossom Concert with musicians Keiko Abe, Kimiko Tomiyama, and Toshiaki Sakino, and silent auction to benefit Into Safe Arms; 6:30, the Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St., Alexandria; $50. Call 703-548-7772.

Alexandria Symphony; The acclaimed professional orchestra performs a program inspired by Toulouse-Lautrec and his time in Paris's Montmartre district. 8 p.m. at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Center, 3001 N. Beauregard St . For tickets, 703/548-0885 or www.alexsym.org.

If you or others want to be added to the list, send a message to newsletter@krupicka.com with “Add Krupicka List” in the subject line.) 

3:52:17 PM