CANDIDATE Q&A: Paul Handly

April 26, 2012 by Falls Church Times Staff · 6 Comments

April 26, 2012

The Falls Church Times recently invited each candidate running in the May 1 election for Falls Church City Council to respond to a seven-part questionnaire. Today we publish the responses of Paul Handly, an entrepreneur and technologist.

Background Information

Handly is Chief Technology Officer of Three Wire Systems, a local company focused on providing proactive preventative care to military veterans. Prior to joining Three Wire Systems, Handly held senior management positions in two local technology companies and served as a federal civil servant for 10 years in the US National Park Service.

He is a graduate of Hamilton College (NY) and the University of Virginia. He is a member of several local civic organizations including the Village Preservation and Improvement Society, Falls Church Arts, First Lego League (MEH Robotics Team), and the Cub Scouts Pack 657 sponsored by Falls Church Presbyterian Church.

Handly and his wife Jackie have lived in the area since 1989 and their two children attend city schools. His campaign website is http://handly4council.org. Read more

Filed Under: Candidates, City Council, City Hall, Elections, P.1
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CANDIDATE Q&A: Lawrence Webb

April 25, 2012 by Falls Church Times Staff · 1 Comment

April 25, 2012

Background Information

Webb was elected to the Council in 2008. He is Assistant Dean of Admissions at the University of Mary Washington, and he serves as Chairman of the Board of the Virginia Department of Correctional Education.

Webb is originally from Kenbridge, a small town in southern Virginia. He holds a BA in Mass Communication from Shenandoah University, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Public Management from the same institution. He is a member of the Village Preservation and Improvement Society and a member and supporter of the Falls Church League of Women Voters. He formerly served as a member of the Falls Church Democratic Committee and the Falls Church Recreation and Parks Board. His campaign website is www.webbforfallschurch.com.

1. Why do you want to be on City Council?

I would like to return for a second term to council because I bring a voice of independence to the council. I listen to the issues from every prospective giving citizen an opportunity to be heard. After hearing from them I then go to our staff/experts and listen to their prospective and then I do my own research and make a decision that I believe is best for the city. Because of my work over the last eight years serving on a state board under three governors. I have the opportunity to work with members of both parties and want to take advantage of that access. This type of interaction allowed me to share our contributions with the leaders in Richmond and could help determine the revenue that should come back to help us achieve our goals. As a result of some of these efforts I had opportunities to meet with members across the Commonwealth and limit some of the bad things that Richmond has a tendency to pass on. During this last four year I have been a part of a council that had to make tough decisions to make sure that we would weather the storm of a down economy. Because of those decisions we are beginning to turn the corner and I want to be a part of the recovery and reinvestment in our little city.

2. Do you support the City’s current “area planning” effort and redevelopment of our commercial corridors? If not, why not? If so, what areas of the City would you focus on, and what kinds of development would you like to see there?

I fully support the current area planning process. The current plan presented to the public looks at the North Washington street area and I believe that is a great area to begin this process. It is a gate way to the city that is underdeveloped currently with a lot of automotive uses. This area is the one of the closest to a metro station in the city. I believe that with the right type of mixed use development and an increase in the density in this area it would give us a unique opportunity to bring in new business and also bringing in the critical mass that they will need to support them. One challenge we have is working with the property owners in that area to find out what it will take for them to consolidate their properties to allow development to move forward. Also the city must look into what type of incentives we can bring to the table to encourage this. But I can’t stress enough that whatever happens this will take time to happen. I would also focus on the area of West Broad Street area near the Giant. It is near our other Metro Station and already has strong retail. Again land consolidation is a major challenge with dozens of land owner. We will need to work on plans to facilitate consolidation.

3. What transportation improvements should the City make and why?

The city has begun to address transportation needs such as traffic calming neighborhoods and the installation of speed signs in locations across the city and we need to continue to do these types of things to make getting around safe for pedestrians and drivers.

With that being said, I believe a study needs to be conducted to add a fully functional traffic light at Gresham Place and North Washington Street. Commuting on Route 29 regularly I have seen near misses of folks coming out of that neighborhood. Also Pennsylvania and Broad Street has seen a number of accidents happen there and warrant a study for a traffic signal. I also fully support traffic studies being conducted as part of any new development that happens to ensure that the flow of traffic does not interrupt the daily lives of citizens.

The city has taken the lead in the region on getting a grant to begin a study on the feasibility of street cars running through the Route 7 corridor. This would allow folks to move up and down the corridor and bring folks into the city to take advantage of the unique businesses, restaurants, and festivals that we have to offer in the city.

4. What should the City do regarding the unfunded liability of teacher pensions?

Both the city and schools should work collaboratively to look for ways to set aside funds to plan for what has become a very volatile VRS situation that leaders in Richmond continue to pass on to local governments. A proposal by one of my colleagues regarding using proceeds from a possible sale of the water system is one consideration in handling the mandate. This suggestion offers a way which I would be open to using these proceeds. I believe this type of shared responsibility would exhibit a step toward a much better relationship with the schools.

5. How do you propose to address recurring flooding issues experienced by some residents and improve storm water management throughout the City?

There has been extensive work done on storm water management by a group of citizens and staff working for nearly two years. This group presented a plan to the council that would address some of the major issues that have caused some of the problems. After seeing the damage that happened last fall it is imperative for the city to begin helping to alleviate theses issues. Many citizens came forward with their concerns about the plan and I believe they had good points but there is no magic bullet. Yet this does help address a problem and as other problems arise we need to be flexible in moving forward to address those issues as well.

6. Should the City sell its water system? How should any proceeds be used?

I am in full support of the action that council took to open invitation for bids for the water system. Litigation has ruled the day since I joined the council with regards to our water system. Even though I totally disagree with Judge Ney’s ruling on the system it has now become an underperforming asset that we should seriously consider reviewing all the options presented to us. This includes currently taking bids, the creation of a water authority, or staying in business in the current state.

Regardless of the outcome I want to stress that the final decision to sale the system will be made by our citizens because our charter mandates this decision be taken to referendum in November for approval. I encourage citizens to come to the town hall meeting on April 21st in the council chambers to voice their opinions. This is still a very open discussion regarding the sale of the system and how we plan to distribute the revenue.

While one member of council suggested using it to help with the ever raising VRS obligations which is a good option I am also open to other possibilities such as acceleration of the storm water management plan or the development of a municipal parking garage in the downtown Falls Church area. Before any of these options are implemented they must be vetted by citizens.

7. Are there any practices or programs you have seen in other communities – nearby or far away – that should be adopted by the City of Falls Church?

A nearby practice in Arlington that has worked and I think we should consider in Falls Church is the revenue sharing agreement between the city and schools. I am a firm believer that if both sides are working from the same balance sheet we can avoid many of the challenges that we have faced over the last four years. I would press the city manager and school superintendent to begin meeting immediately after the budget process to negotiate an agreement that can be ready for the schools and council to review in the fall.

I would also look at ways to increase funding for the Economic Development Office to allow for a more broad campaign to bring business into the city. This increase would allow for opportunities to help the EDA go after more grants that would allow them to become a true partner in the marketing of the city in the way that Fairfax County’s EDA has worked to bring in top tier companies into their jurisdiction.

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This is the fifth of seven candidate questionnaire responses published by the Falls Church Times, and we would like to thank Mr. Webb and all the candidates for their participation. Below are links to the responses of each candidate.

The candidates also have provided responses for the Voters Guide of the League of Women Voters and the Candidate Q&A of the Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society. We encourage all registered voters to review these materials and vote on Tuesday May 1.

Filed Under: Candidates, City Council, City Hall, Elections, P.1
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CANDIDATE Q&A: Dave Tarter

April 24, 2012 by Falls Church Times Staff · 1 Comment

April 24, 2012

Background Information

Tarter is the current Chair of the Falls Church Economic Development Authority and former Interim City Attorney. He is a commercial real estate lawyer in Arlington. Tarter was born and raised in Northern Virginia. He obtained his Bachelor and Law degrees from the University of Virginia. He is married, with three children. His wife, Karen is the Clinic Aide at Mt. Daniel and a Brownie Leader for Troop 6644. Their oldest son, David, is a 5th grader at Mary Ellen Henderson School, and their twins, Cole and Anna, are 3rd graders at Thomas Jefferson. His candidacy was recently endorsed by the Sierra Club, which praised his understanding of smart growth, pedestrian, biking, and other transportation options, and LEED (green buildings). Read more

Filed Under: Candidates, City Council, City Hall, Elections, P.1
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Candidate Voting Records Become Campaign Issue

April 23, 2012 by Stephen Siegel · 28 Comments

By STEPHEN SIEGEL
Falls Church Times Staff

April 23, 2012

A surprising issue has joined taxes, schools, and stormwater management in the race for the Falls Church City Council: past decisions by candidates to vote, or not vote, in local elections.

The issue arose in a comment on the Falls Church Times last week by a man named Elliot Mitchell, who identified himself as being from Arlington. Despite his ostensible Arlington location, he said he was working with a candidate for Council whom he did not identify, and noticed that some of the candidates had not always voted in local elections.

He cited Lawrence Webb and Paul Handly for having inconsistent attendance records at the polls in previous elections. Mr. Webb disputed the assertion, while Mr. Handly appears to have ignored it.

Mr. Mitchell then suggested that failing to vote in local elections is a serious shortcoming that should cause residents to avoid supporting Messrs. Webb and Handly in this year’s Council race.

“Sure, everyone misses a vote here and there,” Mr. Mitchell wrote. “We’re all busy. But it looks like Handly and Webb have chosen, for whatever reason, to NOT (sic) vote in local elections. For someone running for a local office, that’s unconscionable.”

Subsequent opinion on the comment thread was mixed. Some thought it was valuable information that the media should be digging up. Others thought it was slimy or a dirty trick, and wanted to know for whom Mr. Mitchell was working.

But no further information was posted by Mr. Mitchell. So the Times decided to investigate. We quickly learned that the computer he used to write his comment was either the very same computer, or one on the same network, as one of the candidates, because they had the exact same Internet Protocol (IP) address, which is like a street address for computers connected to the Web.

Further research showed that a man named Elliot Mitchell also works at the same organization as one of the candidates. The Times left a message on Mr. Mitchell’s office voicemail Thursday that was not returned, and tried again Friday afternoon, only to get voicemail again.

In both cases, the candidate was the same individual: John Lawrence.

After being unsuccessful reaching Mr. Mitchell, the Times called Mr. Lawrence Friday afternoon while he was out canvassing for votes door to door. Asked what he knew about Mr. Mitchell and his assertion, Mr. Lawrence said only: “I have no comment.”

He promised to speak further about it with a reporter this weekend, but failed to return the call.

That the voting data is available at all may seem somewhat surprising. But it is legally available for a fee from the Virginia State Board of Elections in certain specific circumstances.

Those eligible to buy it must fall into one of three categories: candidates for election, political party committees, and incumbent politicians. People not fitting those categories are not eligible.

The use of the information is restricted to candidates to “further their candidacy”; parties “for political purposes only”; and politicians “to report to their constituents.”

Additional information about obtaining voter histories is available through the Virginia State Board of Elections, www.sbe.virginia.gov.

Filed Under: Candidates, City Council, City Hall, Elections, P.1
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CANDIDATE Q&A: Phil Duncan

April 19, 2012 by Falls Church Times Staff · 1 Comment

April 19, 2012

Background Information

During my years in Falls Church, I’ve worked with hundreds of dedicated volunteers on a wide array of efforts to improve our community, support our schools, and help businesses thrive, playing a leading role in groups focused on meeting transportation challenges, boosting private-sector funding for education, advancing economic revitalization, and drawing more people into the City’s political life.

I am chairman of the City Schools’ Business in Education Partnership, and serve on the City’s Economic Development Authority. Previously I chaired the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on Transportation, served on the City Center Task Force, and was a founding Board member of the Falls Church Education Foundation.

I served on the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce Board, including a term as vice chairman, and in 2001 I was honored to receive the Chamber’s “Pillar of the Community” award. Also, I was a Board member and publicity chairman for the Falls Church Kiwanis Little League, and for four years I coordinated the George Mason HS Athletic Boosters’ mulch sale, which raised more than $25,000 for equipment benefiting GMHS student-athletes.

My City-based business, Civicatalyst Communications, provides editorial, public relations and event-planning services to educational and civic organizations. Journalism was my first career; I worked for 20 years at Congressional Quarterly. I am a native of Knoxville, Tenn., and a graduate of Davidson College, where I was a political science major and editor of the weekly newspaper.

I met my future wife, Leslie DeLong, while we both were at Congressional Quarterly and playing on the company softball team. We were married at the Falls Church Presbyterian Church in 1985, and have lived since then on S. West St. Our children attended City schools K-12 and are now in college — Meredyth a senior at Swarthmore, and Tyler a freshman at West Virginia University.

Leslie is the firstborn of the three DeLong sisters — the daughters of Chet and Carol DeLong, a couple whose record of involvement in the City goes back more than 50 years. Carol served on Council and as Mayor; Chet’s volunteer work includes service on the Board of the Mary Riley Styles Public Library. Leslie and her sisters grew up in the City and graduated from GMHS; Leslie is a Swarthmore alum, worked in journalism and on Capitol Hill, and now is with the Pew Charitable Trusts.

[Duncan's campaign website is www.duncan4fc.com.]

1. Why do you want to be on City Council?

I’m making my first-ever bid for public office because I want carry our community’s terrific volunteer spirit and civic energy into government, helping it become more responsive, creative and dynamic. Falls Church is facing some big challenges — economic revitalization, school facilities, water and transportation infrastructure, fiscal management, and environmental stewardship, just to name a few. Council’s choices on these matters need to reflect the will of an informed and engaged citizenry. In my various volunteer endeavors, I’ve always tried to work in a positive, collaborative manner, bringing people together to identify and achieve shared goals. I’m asking voters to give me a chance to do that on Council.

Economic development is the key issue in this election, as it has been in City elections for most years I’ve lived here. That’s because we have very high expectations for our public schools and municipal services, and quality doesn’t come cheap. We must broaden the City’s revenue base.

Every candidate promises to do this, but of the seven Council aspirants, I have the longest, most proven record of advocating for our current businesses and welcoming proposals to revitalize unattractive and underperforming areas on our main corridors.

I am proud to have played a part in advocating successfully for redevelopment projects that bring in more than $2 million annually in new net revenue to the City, saving the average Falls Church homeowner about $350 each year in property taxes. An added bonus is that these projects include many popular community gathering places and other enterprises with loyal followings, including Panera, Mad Fox, Hoang’s, Vantage Fitness, Sfizi’s, Flippin’ Pizza, Cosi, Penzeys, Pizzeria Orso, and ArtSpace.

Meeting the challenge of economic revitalization requires City government to be highly competent in three areas: First, we must engage the public in a planning and zoning process that is transparent and cognizant of market realities. (The current “area planning” approach in one step in a good direction.) Second, we must conduct an ambitious, energetic and professional marketing effort to recruit private-sector investment. Third, we must commit to a development review process that is inclusive and focused on delivering results in a reasonable time frame.

If I am elected to City Council, my top priority will be prodding City staff to aggressively seek out new private-sector investments that will enhance the quality of life in our community and strengthen the City’s balance sheet, so we can keep our schools great, our services top-notch, and taxes on citizens and businesses reasonable.

3. What transportation improvements should the City make and why?

OK, I know my answers are getting too long, so from here on, let me be more succinct. On transportation, I’d like to see the City make progress in three areas:

a) Parking. Maximize the capacity of our current on-street parking in the downtown area via the low-cost means of painting spaces; make sure that any significant new development downtown includes structured parking.

b) Encourage walking and cycling, to trim the number of cars looking for parking, and reduce air pollution.

c) As we revitalize along Broad and Washington, engage new and existing businesses in exploring a public-private partnership to run a “City Connector” shuttle that would link Broad and Washington streets with the East and West Falls Church metro stations, to bring more customers to our City businesses without bringing in more cars.

4. What should the City do regarding the unfunded liability of teacher pensions?

In all the work sessions and town hall meetings that I’ve attended on the FY 2013 budget, the information presented is that our City school system is keeping careful watch on the matter of pension liability, and that we are doing more thinking and realistic planning about meeting anticipated needs than is perhaps the case with the VRS overseers in Richmond. Obviously this is an area we must continue to monitor closely, and in consultation with officials in state government.

5. How do you propose to address recurring flooding issues experienced by some residents and improve storm water management throughout the City?

I support the funding included in the City’s Capital Improvements Program that in FY13 is targeted to priority projects for flood mitigation and watershed management. In talking with folks around town about this issue, one hears questions about whether the City’s efforts in mitigation and management should be more ambitious. This question was raised at one of the budget work sessions I attended, and the response from front-line City staff was that the $1 million-plus allocated for this work in FY13 is all that we have the capacity to spend in a prudent manner. I don’t have any reason to doubt that, so I’ll just say that we should get started with the priority projects that are funded, and in future years keep up a sustained pace of infrastructure improvements.

6. Should the City sell its water system? How should any proceeds be used?

Since I’m not on City Council, I’m not privy to the secret information about the City’s legal case and negotiating strategy in regards to the water system. Thus, I don’t think it would be responsible for me to give a snap answer now to the “should we sell” question. In the past weeks I’ve talked with some citizens who favor a water system sale, and with some citizens who worry that we’re too focused on the potential for a short-term cash windfall and not concerned enough about the long-term impact of a sale on citizens. Mostly, though, I hear people say that they need a whole lot more information on the pros and cons of a water system sale before they’ll feel prepared to vote in a referendum on the matter. If elected, I promise to quickly steep myself in the secret information about the City’s legal position and negotiating strategy, and then do all I can to make sure that citizens can engage a full and fair debate on the issue before any referendum vote.

7. Are there any practices or programs you have seen in other communities – nearby or far away – that should be adopted by the City of Falls Church?

Falls Church should always be open to learning more about “best practices” in other jurisdictions. The first resource we need to tap in this regard is our own citizenry, which is highly educated, and includes many folks who have traveled widely in America and around the world. If elected to Council, I will be eager and willing to listen to citizens’ suggestions about new approaches we might try here. At the same time, in all that we do in Falls Church, I want to preserve what I see as our premier “best practice,” which is that we put people first. The way our schools teach our kids, the way government delivers services, it’s highly personal. If you’ve got a problem, you can go to the school, or to City Hall, and talk to a real person about it. (Or to me, if I’m elected!) If we keep our focus on treating people well — engaging civilly in public dialogue, and being mindful of those less fortunate — then our City will become an even greater place to live, work, play and educate children.

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This is the third of seven candidate questionnaire responses published by the Falls Church Times, and we would like to thank Mr. Duncan and all the candidates for their participation. Below are links to the responses of each candidate.

Filed Under: Candidates, City Council, City Hall, Elections, P.1
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CANDIDATE Q&A: Nader Baroukh

April 18, 2012 by Falls Church Times Staff · 18 Comments

April 18, 2012

Background Information

I was born in Iran and moved to America as a child. I grew up in the Los Angeles area, and came to Virginia to attend law school at UVA. Currently, I work as a senior attorney at the Department of Homeland Security. My fiancée, Bernadette Fancuberta, and I moved to Falls Church in 2005. I was elected to the City Council in 2008 and have served as Mayor since 2010. On the Council, I serve on the Council/School Board Liaison Group and the Economic Development Committee. I have served on the Watershed Advisory Committee. I am a Board Member of the Winter Hill Community Association.

[Baroukh's campaign website is www.naderbaroukh.com.]

1. Why do you want to be on City Council?

I want to continue the work we’ve done to stabilize the City’s financial situation.

When I ran for Council in 2008, my primary focus was the City’s approach to budgeting and real estate development. I was concerned that our actions in those areas were having a very negative effect on our finances, schools and services.

At that time, the Council’s normal budget process was year-to-year planning and forecasting, which precluded any real long-term planning and led to a number of future unanticipated budget shortfalls. I raised concerns about it, as did others. During my tenure on the City Council, we’ve moved to a multi-year budget modeling process, which provides better forecasting and thereby more stable planning. It allows us to be more proactive and review the City’s finances holistically, rather than considering expenses independently, on a year-by-year basis, and reactively. Since I became Mayor, we have provided the City Manager early budget guidance, which has allowed more time for community input and necessary modifications to the budget.

Regarding real estate development, I felt the City’s approach was not very holistic. The Council was approving virtually every proposed project in a vacuum, without considering how the individual projects collectively would change Falls Church in terms of impacting our schools, finances, and the general economy. Since then we’ve begun a process of area planning, which will create a redevelopment blueprint for the City– I’ll say more on that under Question 2.

As a City we’ve made progress in both of these areas, and I am running again to continue that work. In respect to the budget, I will continue to work to find the best possible balance for all. The schools are important, city services are important, city staff, infrastructure, our fund balance — are all important. There are lots of interests to consider, and we need to do right by all of them. It can be very tricky to assemble that puzzle, but it’s critical that we do it in a manner that weighs all of our priorities, and I am committed to doing that as we go forward.

Yes, I am a big advocate of area planning, and I have been very supportive of our recent movement to an area planning approach. Basically, area planning is a process in which you consider the development of an entire area rather than focus on an individual project. In area planning, you step back and ask, “What do we, as a City, want to achieve in this area?” and then try to use new construction to achieve those goals. That contrasts with the project-by-project approach, which relies more on the vision of developers and what they want to achieve. As I mentioned above, we previously took the latter approach, which I think was flawed. Since I became Mayor, we have moved to an area planning approach, and a tremendous amount of work is now occurring in that regard.

I am very excited about our prospects using the area planning approach. The City of Falls Church has incredible potential, based upon our geographic location alone. When you consider that we lie within the Capital Beltway and have I-66 and two Metro Stations on our borders and are criss-crossed by several major state highways, it’s obvious that the possibilities are great. The areas around the East Falls Church Metro Station and North Washington Street are priorities, as is the commercial area of Broad Street.

As to the kinds of development that should be there, I don’t want to try to dictate the specifics. What I want is that combination of office, retail, restaurant and targeted residential that creates energy and synergy. It should be walkable, but also accessible by car, which means it must have aspects such as wide sidewalks for the pedestrians and inviting public spaces, as well as efficient and available parking garages for the drivers.

As we do all this, we must protect the things we don’twant to change. We have one of the best public school systems in the nation, but one that already is under pressure from a growing student population, so our development strategy must not overwhelm our schools. We have great places like Cherry Hill Park and the W&OD Trial which we must protect, and wonderful residential neighborhoods that should be preserved.

I think we can achieve this. In fact, I’m very confident that we will. We have a lot going for us, and we are doing the work to make it possible. I think we will have some very good area-planned developments in coming years, and I’m very excited about it.

3. What transportation improvements should the City make and why?

A smooth and efficient transportation system is an immense benefit to any community. Think of places you’ve visited with good transportation, and you typically have a favorable impression of those places and want to return. Conversely, if you think of places with poor transportation that give you a negative impression, you likely don’t want to go back. As I mentioned above, the City of Falls Church is blessed to be at the confluence of major transportation networks. What I want to do is utilize those networks to the fullest. There may be a time when we want to create new networks, and I’m not opposed to that. But first, I want to squeeze more value out of what we already have, and I want to find the most effective and least expensive way to do it.

In my view, that means two things. First, we need to improve our public parking so that it’s easy for people to visit, shop, and eat. That means ensuring accessible parking garages convenient to the major thoroughfares. Second, we need to facilitate the use of Metro to allow its users to visit our commercial areas. I think we can do that through “circulators” running between the two Metro stations. Not a George bus approach – that was too big and expensive. A couple of smaller vehicles running constantly between the Metro stops would, for example, allow auto-less DC residents to easily catch a concert at the State Theatre and help resident commuters cut their travel time. Future developments can help fund, expand and run these connector buses, which will create the needed synergy. In my view, these two improvements are the low-hanging fruit of transportation, and I would like to make them happen as soon as possible.

4. What should the City do regarding the unfunded liability of teacher pensions?

This is a very significant issue – its importance goes beyond the schools to possibly affect the financial strength of the City itself. Several years ago pension benefits were awarded without the necessary underlying funding. The State has resisted providing the necessary money to fund the liability, so City taxpayers could be on the hook. If not resolved, it could result in a tax increase or cuts in City services. Proceeds from selling the water system are a possible source, however, the amount of any proceeds remains an unknown at this point. For now, we must closely monitor the liability situation, be careful to avoid making it worse, and push the State for assistance in resolving the issue.

I think this points to the importance of closer coordination of the City and School budgets, as well as improved planning and forecasting. One improvement the Council has made is to work with the School Board to develop multi-year projection of the City’s financial situation (multi-year modeling). That change has helped stabilize the City’s overall finances. This multi-year planning and modeling will also help to facilitate long-term City and school infrastructure needs.

5. How do you propose to address recurring flooding issues experienced by some residents and improve storm water management throughout the City?

This is a long-standing problem that we’ve been working on for the last few years since I’ve been on Council. What is happening is that our stormwater system in some areas of the City can’t handle the runoff in heavy rain. Partially it’s an infrastructure issue, and partially it’s a watershed issue, but the result is that water backs up into residents’ yards and basements, and it’s a real burden. When the ground is saturated, it’s even worse. This has been happening for some time, but it’s gotten worse in some areas over the years, and now we are working to resolve it. We’ve analyzed the issue to understand the basics, like where the water drains from and to, and what can alleviate the problem area by area. While I’ve been on the Council, we’ve increased maintenance and made improvements to the stormwater system.

We also have adopted a Watershed Management Plan designed to make further improvements. That’s our roadmap for meeting watershed management needs and regulatory obligations for the next five to ten years. The goal is to reduce flooding, restore and maintain a healthy aquatic ecosystem, and cost-effectively comply with state and federal water quality and storm water management regulations. I am also supportive of finding dedicated funding to meet our challenges including establishing an enterprise fund. I’m optimistic that we will provide relief to hard-hit areas, and as we continue we will be assessing the impact to ensure we’re making headway. Those affected simply must have relief. I’m committed to helping them get it.

6. Should the City sell its water system? How should any proceeds be used?

Several years ago an earlier City Council entered into litigation against Fairfax Water over what the City viewed as an unjust encroachment on its service territory. Unfortunately, we lost the litigation and in subsequent litigation we have suffered court-imposed limitations on our ability to take a return on our investment. As a result, our water system is today a non-performing asset. I would like to see that asset converted into a benefit, and therefore I support the potential sale of the system. I think that is the best possible stewardship of the City’s assets on behalf of our taxpayers and customers.

It’s too early to decide how any proceeds would be used given that we have just recently requested bids for the purchase of the system. However, any proceeds from the sale should be used to help secure the City’s long-term finances. One option is investing the proceeds in the City pension funds, which will provide the highest return on investment, reduce the required City contribution to those pension funds, and thereby free up significant financial resources to meet the challenges faced by rising pension costs, and City and school capital needs. This course of action could mitigate expected future tax increases for City tax payers. Other options include using the proceeds to pay for capital improvement projects and school construction.

7. Are there any practices or programs you have seen in other communities – nearby or far away – that should be adopted by the City of Falls Church?

Another program we are reviewing is revenue sharing between the City and the schools. Basically, revenue sharing provides the schools a percentage of City revenue, which allows them to enjoy the benefits of economic good times on a percentage basis. The question about revenue sharing is what happens in the bad times when the formula gives the schools a big drop in their budget – or when City revenues remain fairly constant but enrollment surges, as it has this year. The difficulty is designing an agreement that works in all circumstances. Jurisdictions such as Arlington and Manassas Park have moved to revenue sharing, and we are analyzing their experience to gain insights. I am committed to providing our schools the resources they need to continue providing the excellent education to our students, and to balance those needs with City services, City employees, our legal obligations with pensions and benefits, our City fund balance and all of the other requirements we face. It is a challenge to do all of that, but I’m confident we can, and we certainly will not be shy about learning lessons from other communities anywhere we can find them. I am very optimistic about the City’s future and look forward to being a part of it.

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This is the second of seven candidate questionnaire responses published by the Falls Church Times, and we would like to thank Mr. Baroukh and all the candidates for their participation. Below are links to the responses of each candidate.

Filed Under: Candidates, City Council, City Hall, Elections, P.1
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WEDNESDAY, 4/18: City Council Candidate Forum

April 17, 2012 by Falls Church Times Staff · Leave a Comment

The League of Women Voters of Falls Church and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS) will co-sponsor a forum on Wednesday April 18 featuring the candidates seeking election this year to three seats on the Falls Church City Council. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers at 300 Park Avenue, Falls Church.

Candidates will be asked to respond to a variety of questions on issues facing the city; the event will be moderated by Olga Hernandez, past president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia. FCCTV will broadcast the forum live.

“We hope that this event will provide the citizens of Falls Church with an opportunity to get to know the candidates and hear their views on some of the subjects they will have to tackle as City Council members,” said Ellen Salsbury, president of the Falls Church League. Added Michael Volpe, president of VPIS: “This year’s election is critically important, and we want to do what we can to encourage city residents to become informed and get out and vote.”

In addition to the live broadcast of the forum, voters will be able to view it at later times on FCCTV (RCN Channel 2, Cox Channel 11, and Verizon Channel 35). A link to the taped forum will also be made available through the LWVFC and VPIS websites, http://www.lwvfallschurch.org/ and http://www.vpis.org.

Voters will go to the polls on Tuesday May 1 to elect three members of the City Council, three persons to fill full terms on the School Board, and one person to fill an unexpired term on the School Board. The deadline to register to vote in that election is 5 p.m. Monday April 9. In-person absentee voting is available through April 28. Absentee voting is also available by mail through April 24.

Filed Under: Candidates, City Council, City Hall, Elections
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CANDIDATE Q&A: William Henneberg

April 17, 2012 by Falls Church Times Staff · 19 Comments

April 17, 2012

Background Information

Henneberg works for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, where he handles issues relating to Fish and Wildlife, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and General Services Administration oversight.

Henneberg currently serves as Secretary of the Falls Church Tree Commission and President of the Trammell’s Gate Condominium Homeowners Association. He attended Falls Church City Public Schools K-12 and graduated from George Mason High School in 2003. He also participated in the Parks and Recreation Department in Falls Church both as a player and coach.

Henneberg holds a Bachelor’s Degree in environmental science from the University of Mary Washington and a Masters degree in environmental science from American University. His campaign website is www.hennebergforcouncil.com .

1. Why do you want to be on City Council?

I grew up in Falls Church, attended Falls Church Public Schools K-12, graduated from George Mason in 2003, participated in the Parks and Recreation Department as a player and coach, and held my first job at a Veterinary clinic in the City. Falls Church has given me so much and I want to make sure that future generations have the same opportunities I had. So, having returned to FC after college, it is very important that I stay involved and help ensure the future success of the City. With the schools bursting at the seams, an aging high school built in the 1950s, and residential taxes accounting for the majority of revenue in the city, we are still in a precarious financial situation. Further, the litigation over the water system and our approach to commercial development over the past decade shows a lack of vision and leadership by Council. It is time to learn from the past and move forward with a new vision for the future of Falls Church.

I support the City’s current area planning. However, it is important that we move this process forward quickly and begin to pursue developers who will be able to make it happen. Given the location of the East Falls Church Metro station, silver/orange lines, possible western entrance to the EFC Metro station, and current development occurring on the Arlington side of the border, it is imperative that we begin with the North Washington Street area. This is the most logical area of the City to develop and one that we can easily market to developers. Any development that occurs must include office and retail with limited residential (studios and 1 bed room condos). It is also crucial that we stop neglecting green space and parking that is required for successful commercial development. We need a positive development story in just one part of the City for the same to happen in other parts. The development of the North Washington Street area must be the first domino to fall to bring healthy economic growth to other parts of the City.

3. What transportation improvements should the City make and why?

As mentioned above, if we are serious about increasing retail revenue in the City, we must confront the issue of parking. This will help City businesses and ease some of the street traffic around retail corridors. We also must be cognizant of how the addition of residential units to commercial development can impact traffic. Past mixed-use commercial development has included a lot of residential units while neglecting to include transportation improvements. New commercial development, especially around North Washington Street where traffic is already an issue during rush hour, must include traffic reduction measures.

4. What should the City do regarding the unfunded liability of teacher pensions?

I support current City Council member Ira Kaylin’s proposal to invest the proceeds of the sale of the water system in a “yet-to-be-created Falls Church City Teacher Pension Plan.” Over the long term, pension plans can be expected to give annual returns of 6-8%. So, for every $10 million in sale proceeds, the plan can earn $600 to $800 thousand per year. This is 2 to 3 cents on the tax rate. The current minimum bid recently set by the City Council, $44 million, while too low, may generate up to $3.52 million per year or almost 12 cents off the tax rate. This gives you an idea of how much may be generated by a more realistic sale price.

5. How do you propose to address recurring flooding issues experienced by some residents and improve storm water management throughout the City?

Every new commercial development in the City must incorporate green space and include storm water management infrastructure. I am surprised that, for such an environmentally conscious community, almost no green space has been included in the commercial development over the past decade. Further, according to the recently released Watershed Management Plan, the City is facing at least $33 million in water infrastructure needs over the next 15 years. It is vital for the City to create an independent revenue stream to pay for these infrastructure improvements.

6. Should the City sell its water system? How should any proceeds be used?

See answer to #4. Any sale of the water system, though, must be conditional to ensure that Falls Church customers are protected from rate increases. However, it is important to note that if the City keeps the water system, there will be a rate increase of 8% for each of the next two years and a 3% rate increase for each of the following 3 years in order to comply with new EPA regulations and for general upkeep of the system. So, we will see rate increases even if we don’t sell the system but, if we do, we will have a new revenue stream to help fund some of the City’s financial obligations.

7. Are there any practices or programs you have seen in other communities – nearby or far away – that should be adopted by the City of Falls Church?

I recently visited Roswell, GA, just outside of Atlanta. They have one of the most extensive and well run park systems in the country. It was very impressive and it was clear that their park system encouraged a sense of community while giving residents all sorts of opportunities for outdoor recreation. I hope that Falls Church continues to support and improve our park system and I am glad there is an increase for the parks in this year’s budget.

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This is the first of seven candidate questionnaire responses published by the Falls Church Times, and we would like to thank Mr. Henneberg and all the candidates for their participation. Below are links to the responses of each candidate.