November Council News

Dear Friends,

City Council is speeding into the holiday season, while working hard on the budget and much more. My family is busily getting ready for grandparents on Thursday as well as the annual 5 mile long Turkey Trot (turkeytrot.pwba.org).  It isn't too late to sign up; the trot has a way of taking away some of the guilt of the dinner later in the day. We are also looking forward to the tree lighting on Friday.  It is one of the best ways to kick off the holiday season – 7 PM at Market Square.

Please feel free to send me your comments on the issues below, or anything else that is on your mind.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Rob

In this issue:

** Making Virginia Safer for Pedestrians

** Dash Ridership Up

** Federal Budget Cuts

** Historic Preservation Update

** City Budget Process Update

** Small Business Spotlight

** Charity Spotlight

** Preview of December Newsletter

 (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.)

** Making Virginia Safer for Pedestrians**

Being a pedestrian should not be difficult, but it is.  I have been working closely with my colleagues on the Alexandria City Council the last couple of years to make improvements for pedestrians in the City.  Councilman Smedberg and I laid out a Community Pathways program last spring to take a comprehensive look at pedestrian and bicycle issues in our community.

At present, the Law in the Commonwealth of Virginia does not require motorists stop for pedestrians in marked crosswalks.  Some cars stop.  Others don't.  I, along with a wide variety of organizations, am working to change that.  In the upcoming General Assembly session, we are hoping to introduce a bill to join other states such as Maine, Massachusetts, Washington, Georgia and California that require a motorist stop for pedestrians in marked crosswalks.  This has been tried before.  We are going to try again.

In order to get this bill passed we need your help and support.  We have already secured the support of a variety of organizations and individuals – the local PTA Council and the state PTA Council, Bike Walk Virginia and many more.  We'd like to add your name and that of your organization to our growing list.  When the time is right we will ask you to contact your state representatives and those representatives who serve on the committee who will be responsible for passing this bill along to the full assembly.

If you are interested in helping us, please contact my Aide, Elizabeth Jones at Elizabeth.jones@alexandriava.gov, 703-838-4500.  She can provide you with a white paper that describes this effort.

** DASH Ridership UP **

In the most recent quarter, Dash ridership is up more than 10% over last year.  Almost 100,000 more trips were taken on DASH last quarter compared to one year earlier.  The city continues to work to make transit more convenient and accessible and these numbers indicate we are making progress.

**Federal Budget Watch – Increasing Unfunded Mandates**

The Federal government is presently looking to cut billions from programs for the poor.  We do not yet know the impact of these cuts on people in Alexandria, but we are keeping a close eye on it.  We expect many of these cuts to impact programs and services in Alexandria.  From housing to health care to job training to HeadStart and other education programs.  There is an unfunded mandate quality to some of the cuts.  For example, with the cuts to K-12 education, the Federal Government will find itself asking every school to meet every increasing standards for No Child Left Behind while providing even fewer resources to help meet those goals.

** Historic Preservation Update**

Last month I asked about historic preservation. We all know that historic preservation is an important part of Alexandria's charm, character and quality of life.  It is also a critical piece of our economic vitality as it helps fuel our tourism industry. City staff, at Council's direction, is presently working on a number of historic preservation initiatives.  They are conducting a review of historic buildings to identify new buildings that warrant addition to the 100-year old preservation program.  They are also looking at the boundaries of various historic districts in the city to determine which ones should be modified.  The Planning Director recently spoke to the Old Town Civic Association about these and other planning activities in the city.  If your organization is interested in such a presentation, please contact my Aide, Elizabeth Jones at Krupickaaide@comcast.net and she will put you in touch with the planning staff.

**City Budget Update**

You may be thinking that these numbers seem higher than we would need to maintain current services.  First, health care costs are expected to grow in double digits.  Next, keeping employee salaries competitive is increasingly difficult as our region's growth and unemployment allow neighboring jurisdictions to raise salaries and make it harder for us to hire and retain staff.  Transportation costs are expected to grow along with fuel costs which are expected to hit the budget hard this year.  And the state required contribution to the Virginia Retirement System for city and school employees is especially large this year. Those, plus over 4% consumer inflation make up the bulk of the increase.  And we don’t yet know the impact of Federal budget cuts. 

Staff is presently working through in-depth audits and benchmark reviews of two city departments (more will follow) and asking every department to look for programs that may not longer be a priority.  In future years every department will rotate through a cycle of in-depth audits and benchmarking. 

As we move through the budget process this year, we have to take a close look at our capital spending.  I'd like to see Council conduct an in-depth capital spending prioritization session. We have done a lot of work to repair schools, sewers and parks, and there is more work to do.  But we can't do it all at once – we may have to slow down some worthy projects in order to spread the cost out over a longer period of time.

I will write more about the budget as we get into the budget cycle.  Below is a letter from the Chair of the city budget and fiscal advisory committee about the budget process.

** Budget Comments from Tim Lovain, Chair of BFAC **

All Alexandrians should be aware of the changes City Council has made to its budget process in an effort to manage growth in City spending, make budget development more transparent and give the Council and the community more time to deliberate on the budget.

As an important step in that new process, the City Council held a budget retreat on October 29 at Samuel Tucker Elementary School.  At Council’s direction, City staff presented a preliminary budget forecast for both revenues and expenditures.  They project an 18 percent increase in average residential real estate assessments in 2006, compared with a 21 percent increase this year, and a 16 percent increase in average commercial real estate assessments, compared with a 15 increase this year. 

City staff presented a preliminary forecast of expenditures needed to maintain current City services and policies.  The City’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee (BFAAC), which I chair, has urged the City to use such a budget baseline as a tool for making good budget decisions and for increasing public understanding of the budget.  The City staff estimated that expenditures will have to increase by 8.5 percent in order to maintain current services; the main cost drivers are expected to be cost-of-living and merit pay increases, as well as increases in the costs of health insurance and mandatory actuarial charges from the Virginia Retirement System for both City and School employees, increases in the costs of fuel, electricity and natural gas, and the number of major public construction projects approved or underway in Alexandria.

City staff then described current efforts to seek greater efficiencies and cost savings in current City programs, including intensive efficiency and best practices audits of the Fire Department and the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services.  They also discussed possible discretionary program increases under review by the City Manager.  Council and City staff then discussed the implications for City programs and the residential tax rate of various possible expenditure targets.  Under the new budget process, Council will set FY 2007 expenditure targets for City programs and the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) on November 9.

At the retreat, Council also heard from ACPS Superintendent Rebecca Perry about the preliminary FY 2007 budget forecast for ACPS, as well as from BFAAC.  Council and City staff also discussed progress in meeting the goals of the City Council Strategic Plan as well as the changes that have been made in the budget process.  For example, when the City Manager presents his proposed FY 2007 budget on February 14, it will include a new, simpler, more readable presentation of the budget, a "budget overview", which will include the current services budget baseline and compare it to the budget target level.

Alexandrians who are concerned about the City and ACPS budgets should take advantage of this new, more open and deliberative budget process.  You can start by accessing several key documents from the October 29 budget retreat at the City’s website at www.alexandriava.gov and click on the web page for the City’s Office of Management and Budget at www.alexandriava.gov/city/mgmt_budget.

Sincerely,

Tim Lovain, Chair

Alexandria City Budget and Fiscal Affairs Advisory Committee (BFAAC)

** Business Spotlight -- A New Friend for Your Dog **

Your Dog's Best Friends opened on Route 1 in June and seems to be a "howling" success.   Paul Haire, long-time Del Ray business person and company founder says "It's your dog’s home away from home, ...but we let them play more."  Their services include cageless daycare, cageless boarding, positive training and grooming.   This small business came directly from the community – a community business person talked to local residents, found a need and started a business.  I doesn’t get any more home-grown than that.

Cageless daycare takes place in a "State of the "Arf’", 2,400 sqft playroom that is staffed by a team of experienced dog caregivers.  They are supervised by Chirona Vaganos who has over 20 years experience using positive training methods to attain exceptional results.  Overnight boarders play in the daycare and bed down in a "sleep-over party" under the watchful eye of a staff member.

2000 A Jeff Davis (Rte 1 & Howell Ave)

703-566-1111

** Charity Spotlight – SCAN **

Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) of Northern Virginia is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the well-being of children, improve parent-child relations and prevent child abuse and neglect by:

• EDUCATING the community about the scope, nature and consequences of child abuse and neglect and the importance of positive, nurturing parenting;
• PROVIDING direct parent education;
• ADVOCATING for children in the community, the legislature and the courts.

SCAN works throughout Northern Virginia, but their offices are based in Alexandria.  This is an organization that is making a real impact on the lives of Virginia children.  Alexandria is lucky that they have made us their home.

2212 Mount Vernon Ave.
Alexandria, VA 22301
Phone: (703) 836-1820
Fax: (703) 836-1248 info@scanva.org

** Interesting Events**

RecyclingWorks Expo Scheduled for Nov. 30 -- The City of Alexandria is recruiting commercial and nonprofit businesses, multifamily properties, and institutions, such as colleges or hospitals, to promote and document their organization’s recycling success stories. Businesses and property managers responding to the request may be asked to participate and have their program featured at the City's first annual RecyclingWorks Expo, which is scheduled to be held on Nov. 30 at the Durant Recreation Center.

Commercial properties generate more than 75 percent of the City’s trash each year. Businesses with established recycling programs help divert recyclables from the waste stream and likely save money by reducing or offsetting disposal costs. Properties with exceptional programs may be featured on the City’s web site, in newsletters, and at events as one of Alexandria’s Business Recycling Partners.

The City's first annual RecyclingWorks Expo will provide businesses and property managers with the information and resources needed to establish successful recycling programs.

For more information or to respond to the request, call the City's Office of Recycling at 703.751.5872.

** City Council Campaign Note **

City Council campaigns will begin soon.  Every three years the entire city council and school board are up for re-election.  I do not plan to use this newsletter list for the campaign.  I may mention some free events from time to time, but if you are interested in detailed campaign information, you should send me an e-mail and I will gladly add you to our campaign mailing list.

** Next Month **

Next month I plan to write about the increase in Pay Day lending centers in the City, provide an update on the city crime rate and recent police efforts as well as a number of other city initiatives.  If there is something you would like to see me cover, drop me a note and I will see what I can do.

9:02:14 AM