On the Record With Councilman Dan Maller

The editors of the Falls Church Times recently met with Falls Church City Councilman Dan Maller to ask his views on matters of importance to the City. Maller first ran for and was elected to City Council in 2006. Attracted by the reputation of the City’s schools, he and his wife Kim moved here in 1996 when they were expecting their first child. He is Chief Operating Officer of Williams Bridge Company in Manassas, which fabricates steel for bridges, including the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and the Springfield “Mixing Bowl.” He also served for several years as the company’s General Counsel.

Excerpts from the interview appear below. The views expressed are Maller’s alone, not an official position of the City of Falls Church.

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So how is Falls Church doing?

Everything is relative. Relative to other cities and communities, we are doing well.  Let me discuss some different measures.

Schools

First of all, our schools are good. One thing that is important is that because of the [small] size of the schools, any resident can get a meeting with the Superintendent. I like that. To some extent, we are victims of our own success. Living in Falls Church is like attending a private school and living on campus. Having built the city’s brand around education, people come here looking for great schools, and now we have to fund them. And we do. In terms of the total tax dollars paid, we pay the highest taxes in the region. But we choose to do that because it’s important.

Development

Another measure is development.  I think we have shown the ability to attract quality development. And we’ve learned a lot of lessons as we’ve gone. The Spectrum [condominium] is probably one of the best constructed developments in terms of attracting a commercial base. Because of the economy, it’s relatively empty. But I think we did the Spectrum right, and that time will show that. And the aggregate result of the mixed used development we have done is positive. We have saved at least five cents and maybe ten cents on the tax rate as a result of it.

But there is a limit. After we approved the City Center project, those of us on the Council at that time agreed that it was the last large project we should do and that any further development on the north side of town should be smaller scale.

We are making good progress on rewriting the zoning code, and we have used the tool of the special exception in a way that I think is positive.

The problem we face is that the bulk of the tax burden is on residential. Falls Church is 75 percent residential and 25 percent commercial. By contrast, Arlington is 50-50. We want to increase the amount of commercial. Developers have told us, though, that we will get more commercial when we have achieved a critical mass of people so that there is sufficient foot traffic to support it.

I think that in the next five years the population of Falls Church will be 15,000. Right now it’s 11,000. So the pie will grow, and that’s good. We just need to make sure we shift the tax burden. I think we have already done that to some degree. From 2000-2005, the tax burden in Falls Church increased dramatically. Beginning in 2006, that leveled off, and I think the leveling off is the result of development. The City Center development is the crowning piece, and the good thing about City Center is the commercial aspect. Now with the economic downturn, there is a question of whether it will get built or not. I think it will.

GEORGE Bus and Transportation

Regarding transportation, GEORGE has received a lot of attention lately.  GEORGE has had a difficult job finding its niche. We were given a huge federal stake. It should have become an economic development tool, not just a Metro feeder. I’m trying to be open-minded but the Council seems pretty set on not funding GEORGE. It doesn’t seem we are able to afford to keep operating it.

GEORGE started with grants of $1 million in capital funding and $1 million in operating funding. In the City’s budget, we’ve chosen to show the operating expense but not the [grant] income. [City Manager] Wyatt Shields calls [the trust fund] a “big black box.” But the trust fund [income] is shown on the City’s balance sheet. I’ve asked [Chief Financial Officer] John Tuohy to figure out how we can disclose more, such as by putting it in a footnote.

It’s never been anybody’s job in the City to manage GEORGE. We still don’t have all the pieces delineated to have public discussion.  I have not ridden GEORGE personally, but I think it or something like it is an important part of our transportation system.

What do you think of Dave Snyder’s suggestions regarding light rail? I am enthusiastic about light rail. I think it has great potential. Yes, there is a “Disneyland” aspect to it, as some have criticized, but there is just something attractive about an urban trolley. Clearly, it could revolutionize our commercial corridor and greatly increase the foot traffic there.

Light rail is in the Fairfax transportation plan. It’s in the Arlington transportation plan. Why would we not think about it, too?  We’re right in the middle. The location would be Broad Street (Route 7), and the Route 7 bus is one of the busiest in the state. There could be millions in federal money available for it, so it’s important that [Congressman] Jim Moran is excited about the idea. The federal government can move mountains when it wants to, so why not include this in our development plans?

Overall, we have a very good transportation system here.  An embarrassment of riches, really — Metro, I-66, connecting bus service.  It’s about as good as any community anywhere.  But we need to figure out what we want. We probably can receive federal and state matching funds, possibly have commercial surtax on businesses to help finance it.

The City receives a 2 percent tax on gasoline.  Do we need more gas stations to help fund transportation? That would be one way.  We do have that issue with BJ’s Wholesale Club.  I’m glad BJ’s is coming here, but I’m disappointed they decided not to sell gas.  Apparently they decided not to because the approvals would have taken longer.

You’ll be taking over from Councilman Snyder as the City’s representative on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission on May 1.  Do you expect to take any positions different than those he has taken in the past — for example regarding widening of I-66? I don’t intend any major change from Dave’s historical position of opposing widening. Arlington is an important neighbor. But what about [widening at] the Sycamore Street bridge? I work for a bridge company. But the answer to every question is not [necessarily] another bridge.

Greenspaces

Can you talk a little about greenspaces? I think we’ve done a good job maintaining greenspaces and adding on to them in small ways that make a difference. When we did the Byron [condominium], we added a greenspace adjacent to it, the Hamlett-Rees Tract, which extends all the way to Tripps Run.  On Lee Street, the city purchased a house whose backyard is a good addition to an existing park. I think we will sell the house separately, and it will be a nice affordable home for someone. Once the city receives the proceeds from the sale of the house, the addition to the existing park will only have cost $100,000.

We also expanded West End Park, absorbing the city land that had been allocated for a senior affordable housing project into the neighborhood park. I’d like to see better access to this park; currently the only access is through the neighborhood. And Crossman Park on the east end of the City has also been enlarged.

A few years ago, the City’s Open Space Task Force did a good job of creating a blueprint, and I think we’ve made some progress on that.

Flood Control and Runoff Management

Another issue is flood control and runoff management.  When talking to City residents, you quickly learn this is an issue of importance to a lot of people, and I suspect that in the next few years the City Council will spend 10 percent of its time in this area. The Army Corps of Engineers has assisted the City in developing a flood model and told us our current system is designed to handle only a “one year event” rather than a larger “two year” or “five year” event. We are engaging an expert to develop a watershed management plan at a cost of $122,000. We’ve asked City staff why we need an expert, and they’ve provided compelling reasons, so I think we will do the contract.

And by the way, [former City environmental activists] Annette Mills and Dave Eckert deserve a lot of credit for bringing this issue to the forefront.  They made us all more aware of how important it is.

But runoff is a difficult issue because inevitably you get into private property rights. Many of our older houses didn’t have basements but many newer houses do, so they have to install sump pumps.  And that water from the sump pumps has to go somewhere.

I think we’ve done a good job in recent developments of ensuring the incorporation of water management features into new developments. The Read Building, for example, is designed to go two years before the first drop of [storm] water goes down the drain.

City Budget Process

Talk to us about the city budget process. Well, I’m not satisfied with the process. Guys like [Economic Development Authority member] Ira Kaylin have called for longer term budgets, and I think that’s right. We should have 10-year, even 20-year analyses. The City does a 20-year “Vision Statement,” so it is fair to have a 20-year budget analysis. But it’s important to remember that the further you go, the less accurate a budget estimate becomes. If you’re extremely conservative, as our CFO is, and you extend those conservative results year after year, a long-term budget can give you ridiculous results.  So you have to look at it using different assumptions and see what you get under each of those different assumptions.  It’s a tool.

Now let me say, there has been a lot of discussion about the possibility of a big tax increase — some say 40 or 50 cents or whatever. The tax rate in Falls Church City in five years will not be $1.50 (per $100 of assessed real estate value].

Because . . .?

Because the City Council won’t let it. That’s just not going to happen.  I think what we need to do — and this is the proper way to use a long-term budget — is to start 20 years out with where you want to be and then work your way backwards with the budget to figure out how to get there. I think our long term goals should include having 5,000 more jobs and 20 more restaurants. Those are the kinds of things we should be planning for.

Regarding recent budget discussions, one thing that occurs to me is that we have to do better than “General Growth” of 4 percent. We can’t have government growth of 4 percent over the long term or we’re in trouble.

How about school pay raises? This has been widely discussed. It is important to note that even though there is an increase planned for 2010, the plan is to hold salaries flat for 2011.

Vision for the City

What should the city look like 10 or 20 years from now? First, I think we have to protect our residential neighborhoods. At least 50 percent of the City needs to remain residential neighborhoods. Second, we need to develop our commercial core. Third, we need a dedicated transit system to serve those commercial establishments. Those things will allow us to continue to be an excellent place to raise children and send them to school, while having a reasonable tax burden.

Reason for Serving

Why are you on City Council? That probably goes back to being a political science major in college. I just find it interesting. But more specifically, I find it interesting to be a part of governing a place that’s governable in a truly democratic fashion, an Athenian fashion, where anyone can step forward, be directly involved, offer ideas, say “I had something to do with that.” I would say Falls Church has maybe a couple hundred people who are intensely involved, and those people make a difference. I have a lot of ideas, some good, some maybe not so good, and I want to be able to offer my ideas and try to make the City better.

You’ve been very gracious with your time.  Thanks for meeting with us.