council questions #1 - granicus

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COUNCIL BUDGET QUESTIONS – MARCH 22, 2021 1

Q. For Intersection Projects that affect a corridor, are they coordinated with adjacent counties? 2 (CONNELLY) 3

For traffic and pedestrian intersection improvement projects that occur on Rt. 29 and Rt. 7 4 (i.e. S. Washington and S. Maple or N. Washington and Columbia as well as Gresham) the City 5 coordinates closely with adjacent counties on design and traffic flow/timing. 6

7 Q. Are the public safety radios compatible with the school radios? When was the last time they 8 were replaced? What brand did we upgrade to? (CONNELLY) 9

The last public safety radio upgrade occurred in 2015 as the XTS radios were no longer 10 compatible or supported. The public safety radios are not compatible with the school system 11 which supports their facility and transportation needs. The schools provide a portable radio 12 to the Police which is maintained in the Police Command Vehicle to enable communication 13 with school personnel in case of an event or emergency at the schools. 14

15 Q. Please list the three turf fields in the City.(CONNELLY) 16

Yes, the three turf fields are located at Larry Graves Park, High School football field and soon 17 the High School practice field. 18

19 Q. What are we doing with the $1.8M from Founders Row VCs? These should be recorded 20 separately and a spending plan should be brought to council for action. (CONNELLY) 21

This is currently placed in capital reserve but designated for school construction/debt service. 22 In the FY2022‐FY2027 CIP, there is a plan to expand and renovate the Thomas Jefferson 23 Elementary School and this VC can be used towards this project. The VC may also be used to 24 pay for debt service on GMHS as the construction included expansion to accommodate 25 anticipated increased enrollment from new development. 26

27 Q. Explain the variance in revenue categories – Hotel Tax, charges for services, pg 67 28 (CONNELLY) 29

Hotel Tax – unlike meals tax, hotel taxes have been slow to bounce back. At the preparation 30 of the FY2022 budget, hotel tax receipts were coming in at 35% of normal levels; whereas the 31 FY2021 budget includes projection at 65% of normal levels. Based on this, and also on 32 uncertainties still surrounding vaccination and customer confidence in travel, the projection 33 in FY2022 has been reduced to about 55% of pre covid levels. 34

Charges for Services – The decline in this category comes from from a contractual 35 arrangement with Arlington County for Aurora House. Per our agreement, Arlington County 36 makes a payment to Falls Church based on projected expenses of Aurora House and their 37 projected usage. A reconciliation adjustment is then required to be paid by them or refunded 38 to them based on actual results two years after. For budgetary purposes, this reconciliation 39 is recognized when it is due (i.e., two years after). In FY2020, Aurora House budget was 40 underspent by a significant amount due to vacancies and also, Aurora House fee revenues 41 were received from other sources in excess of projections. These two items result in a 42 “refund” to Arlington County as they overpaid for their share in FY2020 and is due to them in 43 FY2022. 44

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Q. Unmet needs from the City Attorney includes funding request for an attorney position as 46 well as outside consultants. Which would be more effective? (CONNELLY) 47

Addressing the funding request for the attorney position would be more effective. Much of 48 the City Attorney’s time is spent working on large, complex projects such as the west 49 end. Things like that, and assisting the Economic Development Authority with the acquisition 50 of 302 Shirley cannot, and should not, be just farmed out to outside attorneys. However, this 51 results in a steady diet of more “routine” matters, such as reviewing contracts, obtaining 52 easements for City projects, and similar things getting inadequate attention. They sometimes 53 languish because there simply isn’t time to focus on them, but because they are small, they 54 don’t warrant hiring an outside attorney. Additional assistance from another attorney in the 55 office, either half‐time or full time, would enable these matters to be more regularly 56 handled. In addition, the office could be more proactive on updating ordinances and 57 addressing new legislation. Having additional outside counsel money would be less helpful, 58 because it is not easily used (it takes time to hire and arrange for the project) for all of the 59 types of projects that need more attention. 60

61 Q. Why is the Property Tax Relief for FY2022 lower than FY2020 actual? (CONNELLY) 62

FY2020 Actuals were higher than what we expect for FY2022 as it included a little over 63 $52,000 in refunds to Disabled Vets for prior years. Prior year refunds happen when a Veteran 64 receives a 100% disability rating from the Veteran’s Administration that is applied 65 retroactively to their date of discharge up to 3 years for retroactive payments per the state 66 code, which was also confirmed by the City Attorney. The 3 veterans with this situation 67 applied for refunds on taxes paid in 2017‐2020. 68

69 Accounting for this one‐time $52,000 in Veteran’s prior year refunds from the budget 70 overage, and one property that was sold and is no longer in the program, the projection for 71 FY2022 has been adjusted to $432,000 which is $42,000 over the FY2021 budget of $390,000. 72

73 Q. Is the $100k for Affordable Housing going to be used for matching funds for the Amazon 74 Grant? (CONNELLY) 75

The $100k budgeted for Affordable Housing in FY2022 is intended to be used as a match towards a 76 second application for the Amazon REACH grant through Virginia Housing. Those application 77 guidelines have not been released yet, but we anticipate applying for another $3.75M for next year. 78 79

Q. Is the power pole on N. Washington by State Theatre and Clare and Don’s included in the 80 Park Avenue Great Street Project? (DUNCAN) 81 82 The power poles on Park Place are not part of the Park Avenue Great Streets project. The Broad 83 and Washington Project will remove power poles at the frontage of the City parking lot on Park 84 Place, but they did not agree to remove the three power poles at the Clare and Don’s frontage. 85 To remove those remaining three poles, the City will need to be a new, as yet unfunded capital 86 project in the future. 87 88 Q. Status of resolving the non‐ADA compliant streetscape near Spectrum/Bedo’s? (DUNCAN) 89

The incomplete streetscape section along the frontage of Bedo’s, adjacent to Spectrum, will be 90 performed as part of the W. Broad Multimodal CIP project. The project is currently at 30% design and 91 staff are determining the right of way needs to bring the area into conformance with the Streetscape 92

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Standards and current ADA requirements. The existing right of way ends at the back of the existing 93 concrete sidewalk and right of way will need to be obtained to complete this portion of sidewalk. 94

95 Q. Provide a list of unfunded citywide position requests. (HARDI) 96

Citywide personnel requests that are not funded in the FY2022 budget total $2.4 million. The 97 following table provides a breakdown by position and its estimated costs. This list also 98 includes four vacant positions that are frozen for six months in the FY2022 Proposed Budget. 99

100

Department/Division Description of NeedEstimated

CostLegislative

City Clerk

Records Administrator to assist all departments in managing records and facilitating innovative technology to increase public access to records/open data and for public access to meetings 80,000

City Attorney Full-time Assistant City Attorney 135,000 City Attorney Legal consulting services 25,000

240,000

Executive ManagementOffice of Communications Full-time Communications Specialist 90,000 Information Technology Public Safety Project Manager/Lead Systems Engineer 142,000 Information Technology Security/Infrastructure Engineer 129,000

Information TechnologyDevelopment Services & Public Works Project Manager/Lead Systems Engineer 142,000

Information Technology Library Project Manager/Lead Systems Engineer 85,200 Information Technology Systems Technician 67,500

Environmental Sustainability Full-time Environmental Department Administrator/Outreach Specialist 72,000 727,700

FinanceFinance Full year funding of Budget Analyst (funded at 6 months) 60,000 Finance Procurement Assistant 110,000 Real Estate Assessor's Office Senior Real Estate Appraiser 140,000

310,000

Commissioner of Revenue Full year funding of Revenue Assistant (funded at 6 months) 35,000

Additional 1 Revenue Assistant 70,000 Promotion of 1 Sr Revenue Asst to Deputy Commissioner of Revenue 10,000

115,000

Treasurer Part-time (0.625 FTE) Treasurer Assistant 43,000

Registrar Increase hours for Deputy Registrar position by 0.5 FTE 40,000

Sheriff Full year funding of Chief Deputy (funded at 6 months) 65,000

Full year funding of Deputy (funded at 6 months) 45,000 Additional Full-time Deputy Sheriff 75,000

185,000

Public Safety Six Police Officers 480,000

Public Works Facilities Technician 70,000

Recreation & Parks Farmer's market coordinator 10,000

Library Services

Full-time Technology Librarian. Use the .6 IT salary/benefits located 7301 at $68,605 and add .4 to bring to full time. Position would be direct report to the Library Director. 31,395

CPEDSEconomic Development Downtown Coordinator 85,000 Economic Development City Marketing, trade specific and tourism 85,000

170,000

GRAND TOTAL 2,422,095

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101 102 Q. What is the timing and magnitude of anticipated federal and state stimulus funds as per 103 recent legislation? Is there a plan to utilize these funds? (HARDI, LITKENOUS, SNYDER, TARTAR) 104

The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides federal COVID‐19 relief funding vaccine 105 and testing response, individuals, businesses, transit, education, rental/ utility assistance as 106 well as state as and local government. The funds must be spent by December 2024. The 107 state and local government funding will be distributed in two equal tranches with the first 108 within 60 days of legislation enactment and recipient certification. If the locality receives their 109 funding from the state the Governor has an additional 30 days to distribute the 1st tranche. 110 The second tranche 12 months from the date of the first distribution. US Treasury guidance 111 for use and implementation of these funds is not issued yet. 112 113 Confirmation of the City’s allocation is in process. Preliminary estimates indicate two 114 amounts of $3M and $13M so the allocation range is $3M to $16M. Since the City is not an 115 entitled community, under CDBG regulation which is the determining formula for the local 116 relief funds, the City’s allocation may be distributed as a pass‐thru by Virginia. Staff continues 117 to work these items with national, state and regional organizations as well as the City’s 118 federal congressional delegation. 119 120 City Manager, in consultation with City Council will be establishing a taskforce to prepare a 121 strategic funding utilization plan to maximize community benefits in mitigating the impact of 122 the COVID‐19 pandemic. The legislation provides the following four categories of eligible 123 uses which will be further defined in the federal guidance: 124 (A) to respond to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 125 (COVID–19) or its negative economic impacts, including assistance to households, small 126 businesses, and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and 127 hospitality; 128 (B) to respond to workers performing essential work during the COVID–19 public health 129 emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers of the State, territory, or Tribal 130 government that are performing such essential work, or by providing grants to eligible 131 employers that have eligible workers who perform essential work; 132 (C) for the provision of government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue of such 133 State, territory, or Tribal government due to the COVID–19 public health emergency relative 134 to revenues collected in the most recent full fiscal year of the State, territory, or Tribal 135 government prior to the emergency; or 136 (D) to make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure. 137

138 Q. Streetlights pilot program: please provide the schedule for the pilot lighting installation, and 139 details on the light selection for Frady Park (HARDI) 140

141 Based on Dominion Energy Virginia (DEV) equipment delivery the pilot project is planned for 142 the August 2021. The full project deployment would then begin in the fall of 2021. 143 144 145

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The Frady Park selection of Clear Decorative Acorn maintains the current Victorian style per 146 the adopted R&P master plan. It is not dark sky compliant but has minimal up lighting due to 147 cap design. 148 149 The March 15th work session staff report attachment 7 provides a detailed project status for 150 the LED conversion project. 151

152 153 Q. Please provide an update on the Broad Street multimodal project. (HARDI) 154

The purpose of the project is to enhance multimodal improvements along West Broad Street 155 to increase pedestrian safety and accessibility, especially for people crossing W. Broad Street. 156 The project will install missing pedestrian crossing signals, relocate or remove sidewalk 157 obstructions like utility poles, use standard brick paver sidewalks and crosswalks per the City’s 158 Streetscape Standards, improve intersection geometry to shorten crossing distances, and 159 install a new midblock crossing in the 400 block of W Broad Street (between Virginia Ave. and 160 Chanel Terrace). 161

162 Q. What is the City’s fleet conversion plan to incorporate green vehicles for at least the new 163 vehicle procurements? (HARDI, TARTAR) 164

The City currently uses biodiesel fuel for our diesel trucks. As of now, many of our trucks 165 don’t have an electric alternative and those that do lack the range or quick charge times to 166 support 24/7 operations during emergencies, natural disasters, and snow 167 removal. Technology is changing rapidly and we are looking for developments that will 168 support 24/7 operations without significantly increasing our fleet size. The smaller vehicles, 169 such as the half ton pickups, have viable hybrid options on the market currently, with 170 expected electric vehicle (EV) options in the next couple of years. Additionally, the City’s 171 Environmental Programs Coordinator is researching grant opportunities to support EV 172 conversions and charging stations. 173 174 The City is currently reviewing a plan for converting our public safety fleet to electric vehicles. 175 We are considering replacement of our police administrative and criminal investigations 176 vehicles first as these vehicles carry far fewer options such as lights, powered sources that 177 drain batteries, than a regular patrol vehicle. This will allow us time to assess the options 178 needed in a patrol vehicle and also assess maintenance cost. The timing will be coordinated 179 with other City departments to ensure that there is the availability of charging stations where 180 needed. 181

182 Q. I just watched the video regarding the sidewalk concerns in Whittier Park. I didn't realize 183 their concerns were about their brick sidewalks and not the typical concrete sidewalk where 184 the annual spring smoothing process would address the issues. It triggered a few questions as 185 it relates to upcoming budget: (HARDI) 186 187

1) Just like paving, do we have adequate maintenance budget for sidewalks, especially these 188 more expensive brick ones? (And why did we do brick ones in this residential development ‐ 189 seems like it should just be commercial areas and Park Ave.) Currently the City’s budget 190 provides for the maintenance of paver sidewalks in the streetscape areas only. Paver 191

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sidewalks, such as in Whittier, do not have the same base and tree pits that encourage longer 192 life of the pavers. Due to the design of paver sidewalks typically found outside of streetscape 193 areas we are extremely limited in how many issues we can address. For four of the last six 194 years, we have focused on Whittier and have fixed less than 10% of the sidewalks each year. 195 Additionally, brick paver crosswalks will reach the end of the useful life at some point in the 196 near future and expected cost to replace all four crosswalks at an intersection is approximately 197 $150,000 in 2021 dollars which is currently not included in the City’s budget. 198

199 2) When we did the library tour, both Lionel and Jenny brought up the brick sidewalk 200 requirement and the concern about budget, maintenance, and accessibility issues for their 201 senior patrons. I think those are all valid, practical concerns. Did the Streetscape Task Force 202 consider stamped concrete or brick‐like pavers that look like brick, but perform and wear 203 better? Should we be considering those options going forward? 204 The Streetscape Task Force did briefly consider stamped pavers; however, stamped pavers 205 don’t have the same authentic feel that pavers do. The bricks in our streetscape design have 206 a good structural base as well as other components, such as tree pits, that extend the life of 207 the pavers and keep paver movement to a minimum. Wear and tear from pedestrian use is 208 minimal and repairs are general due to pavers that have shifted rather than worn out. 209

210 Q. What does a 2.6 cent property tax rate cut do to our budget and does it fully counteract the 211 increase in the assessment base? (LITKENHOUS) 212

213 In order to counteract market appreciation only (ie, not including AV increase due to new 214 construction) would require a reduction of 1.5 cents in the real estate tax rate. The Proposed 215 Budget includes 1 cent reduction; the remaining 0.5 cents can possibly be addressed by 216 removing $200k in contingency. 217 218 In order to counteract both market appreciation and the value of new construction, a real 219 estate tax reduction of 3.6 cents would be required. The proposed budget includes a 1 cent 220 reduction, and if the Council choose to cut the Contingency, that gets one to 1.5 cents. The 221 additional 2.1 cents would equates to $960,000 of further expenditure reductions that would 222 require Council direction. 223

224 Q. Rate to advertise should be $1.33 (LITKENHOUS, DUNCAN) 225

Advertising at current rate allows for flexibility for any unanticipated expenditures or 226 priorities until the budget adoption. 227

228 Q15. How is our proposed tax rate compared to other jurisdictions? Federal funding? (SNYDER) 229

The chart below provides current Real Estate Tax rate for some of the neighboring 230 jurisdictions along with their proposed FY2022 rates. Budget deliberations are in progress and 231 changes are possible until adoption. 232

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233 234

235 236 Q16. What is student population likely to be based on current rate and from the new 237 apartments that are coming up. Is potential increase properly funded? (SNYDER) 238

Here is a response provided by the School Administration: 239 240 FCCPS receives school enrollment projections from the Weldon‐Cooper Center at the University 241 of Virginia. Their projections do not consider local development, but instead rely on birth data 242 and fall membership counts. Birth data are obtained from the Virginia Center for Health Statistics 243 and enrollment is projected based on the division’s current enrollment and age specific fertility 244 rate and child bearing aged population. No changes in local housing or economy are factored into 245 enrollment projections. 246 247 The Cooper Center also does the projections that the state uses to allocate Sales Tax. Weldon 248 Cooper recommends that enrollment projections are updated annually to account for any 249 changes in enrollment trends. 250 251 FCCPS’ projected enrollment for FY 2022 is 2,605 which reflects an increase of 101 from the 252 current year’s September 30th enrollment. The current year’s enrollment was lower than 253 projected; however, we are already experiencing enrollment recovery during this school year. 254 For next school year, should enrollment be higher than projected, additional staff would only be 255 added if the number of students at a specific grade level caused all of the class sizes to exceed 256 FCCPS’ class size. For example, at 5th grade there are 194 students projected. With class size set 257 at 24, there needs to be 9 teachers to keep all of the classes under 24. FCCPS could have 22 more 258 students enroll prior to needing another teacher for 5th grade. As we are hiring for each school 259 year, we continue to monitor enrollment to make adjustments in hiring and/or reallocating 260 teachers across grades as needed to balance class sizes. 261 262 In terms of the impact of development occurring within Falls Church City, using historical data 263 both within Falls Church and from surrounding school divisions, good indices exist that can be 264 used to estimate student ratios and estimate new student populations from a new development. 265 For example, according to one index, a brand‐new apartment complex will likely yield 17 students 266 per 100 units, or a 0.17 ratio. Yield ratios tend to increase as housing ages and becomes 267 increasingly affordable for families with children. In the future, FCCPS would like to work with a 268 demographer, in concert with the General Government, to fully evaluate our housing inventory 269 and develop local yield ratios which would allow a more refined approach. 270 271

FAIRFAX PRICE WM LOUDOUN ARLINGTON CITY OFCITY COUNTY COUNTY COUNTY ALEXANDRIA

2021 Town / City $0.2250 $0.2650 $1.3550 $1.0750 $0.1840

2021 County $1.1500 $1.1500 $1.1500 $1.1250 $1.0350 $1.0350 $1.0130 $1.1300

Total $1.3750 $1.4150 $1.1500 $1.3550 $1.0750 $1.1250 $1.0350 $1.2190 $1.0130 $1.1300

2022 Projected $0.2250 $0.2650 $1.3450 $1.0800 $0.1840

2022 Proj. County $1.1400 $1.1400 $1.1400 $1.1250 $1.0050 $1.0050 $1.0130 $1.1100

Total $1.3650 $1.4050 $1.1400 $1.3450 $1.0800 $1.1250 $1.0050 $1.1890 $1.0130 $1.1100Includes Refuse? Y Y Y Y

Proposed Change -$0.0100 -$0.0100 -$0.0100 -$0.0100 $0.0050 $0.0000 -$0.0300 -$0.0300 $0.0000 -$0.0200

VIENNA HERNDONFAIRFAX COUNTY

FALLS CHURCH

LEESBURG

- Town's tax change is 100% from the County

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Included in the budget document is a section titled Students By Dwelling Type which begins on 272 page 71. Those charts follow and provide the ratios over multiple years for housing developments 273 within Falls Church which can also be used to estimate the impact of developments. 274

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council questions #1 - granicus

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