LETTER: Let City Police Ticket Private Parking Violators

August 14, 2010

TO THE EDITORS OF THE FALLS CHURCH TIMES:

We live in a small townhouse community with both guest and assigned parking for residents. We recently have had some issues where guests were parking in resident spaces. The board of our homeowners’ association was asked to find a resolution. I was interested to find that our only recourse is to have the offending parties towed. There is no ordinance under which an Falls Church police officer could site someone for parking in an assigned spot.

The Falls Church City Police Department and the City staffs have been exceedingly helpful in developing and implementing a towing policy and we wanted to thank them. However, it would be so much simpler to call the City and have an officer issue a ticket. There would be no issues of predatory towing, the City would receive the fines, and simply turning on the patrol car flashers at night would bring the vehicle owner running. There is already an ordinance for Resident Parking Permits that applies to on-street parking. This could be extended to communities with common, assigned parking areas such as ours. Read more

LETTER: Councilman-Elect Peppe on Choosing a Mayor

May 8, 2010

TO THE EDITORS OF THE FALLS CHURCH TIMES:

“Tonight the campaigning is over, and now the governing begins. “ Or so I thought.  I made that comment at a gathering after the polls closed.  I was exhausted, the final results were in, and I had just spoken with or called each member of the upcoming council.  We each said congratulations, and talked about how we were all going to work together.   Good so far, but then the emails started arriving.  Some of them were from people I know, and a few were anonymous (and from email addresses that would not even accept replies).  Apparently there is one last bit of campaigning left- the choice of a mayor and vice mayor for the council. It was nice to hear that many people thought I should try to be selected by the council to be the mayor, but it also made me think about how the process seems to take place behind the scenes, with a lot of quiet discussions away from the public eye.

The choice of mayor and vice mayor is important, but not for the reasons a lot of people think.  In my mind, the positions are less about leading the charge on specific action items or being in the spotlight and more about facilitating good governance- helping make sure that the council works as a team, that everyone can get things on the agenda, that each member can speak openly, that debates are full and fair, and that the team uses its most precious resource- its time (and staff time) efficiently to learn, deliberate, and make decisions.

How do I know this?  I have spent 11 years on school boards, including almost 7 as board chair and 2 as vice chair.  During that time, I learned (sometimes the hard way) what it takes to help a board or council work together, and how to facilitate civil meetings and discussions among very diverse teams.   I also learned that the selection process for the leadership works best when it takes place in the open, in the light, so everyone can see the choices and think about the best options.   I am hoping the other council members agree on this- especially after an election that appears to have focused very heavily on the need for transparency and thoughtful deliberations.

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LETTER: Councilman Wants to Work with New Colleagues

May 6, 2010

TO THE EDITORS OF THE FALLS CHURCH TIMES:

As I sit and reflect on the outcome of this week’s election I must say that our citizens have spoken and now it is time for us to put our personal issues aside and get to work to make sure that the City of Falls Church continues to be the strong and vibrant city that we all love.

This has been a challenging two years that I have served on Council with one of the largest budget shortfalls, the water lawsuits, and the election change debate.  To put it simply, I received a crash course in local government and politics.  I have been on both the popular and unpopular sides of issues since being on Council. I will tell you that every vote I have cast has been because I think it will help the people in our city in some way.  Before I make any final decision on a vote I always reach out to citizens on both sides of an issue and I read all the comments on it.

Yesterday’s results show how even more important it will be to listen to our citizens’ comments and incorporate them into our deliberations.  But I must also stress the importance of being able to work with all of my colleagues on Council in a civil way.  That is one of the problems with politics that often we would rather “one up” someone instead of working together for the best outcome for our citizens and community.

I want to congratulate my new colleagues Ron Peppe, Ira Kaylin, and Johannah Barry on their election and Dave Snyder on his re-election to Council.  I pledge to work with each of them during what continues to be tough economic times.  We may not agree on everything, but at the end of the day we all do agree that the City of Falls Church is a place that we all love and will fight to make sure that it is here for future generations to enjoy.

LAWRENCE WEBB

Letters to the Editor should be submitted to contact@fallschurchtimes.com. They may be on any subject relevant to our City. Writers should include their full name and city of residence. All submissions are subject to editing.

LETTERS
Save the Library, Save Cherry Hill Programs

April 13, 2010

TO THE EDITORS OF THE FALLS CHURCH TIMES:

We appreciated your coverage of the Falls Church city manager’s public hearing Saturday morning regarding the upcoming budget difficulties.  As you may have noted, the Mary Riley Styles Public Library figured in the city manager’s slide presentation.  This describes the practical results or impacts of the proposed budget reduction.

City Council is now examining alternatives to the City Manager’s proposed increase of the base property tax rate by 20 cents on the dollar, with a view to keeping the increase to only 10 or 15 cents.  City agencies, including the Library, were requested last week to factor in cuts of this magnitude.  We have done so and forwarded our findings to the City Manager, for discussion by Council.  Our findings were frightening and strike at the heart of what constitutes a library.

The cuts proposed by the City Manager to Council would require us, in total, to shrink the library’s budget by 21%.  We would drastically cut our book budget, operating hours, and manpower.

Cuts commensurate with just a 10 cent increase on the dollar–fielded solely by the City’s general government agencies and not also by the school system–would cause us to reduce operating hours by 40% per week, to 40 hours per week, down from 68 hours—requiring full closure each Sunday and Monday, as well as shortened days throughout the rest of the week.

We would seriously reduce our book purchasing budget.  Unfortunately the Library is sustaining cuts to its materials budget at both the City and state levels because state aid to libraries is being and has been reduced significantly for the last several years.  We would cut 168 magazines, journals and newspapers, as well as all electronic databases not funded by the state—although state funding may well cease, leaving the Library with no databases for the public.  Although we are one of only two libraries in Virginia to receive national awards during the past two years, we would now barely qualify as a “library” under the minimum thresholds established by the state.

These cuts would cause us to purchase 3,100 fewer books (including the reference works we used last year to answer many of the 69,000 questions we received from the public—information that is not readily available for free on the Internet), 110 fewer DVDs, and 100 fewer audio books.

Mary Riley Styles Public Library currently receives astonishing usage by Falls Church residents, almost 90% of whom used the Library in some active fashion last year.  Over a quarter million visits occurred last year, during which we circulated, or “checked out”, over 429,000 items to the public.  Our outside drive-by book-return bin, which holds 800 books, has to be emptied at least three times per day.

The Library plays an important role in helping Falls Church residents adjust to or mitigate the effects of the economic downturn.  Our books and manuals on how to find a job and prepare a résumé receive constant use, as does our free wireless network, our computer terminals, and our newspaper and current-events collections.

At this point you, through our City Council, must determine what you value and what you wish us to preserve.  The configuration of cuts associated with a 10 cent rise per dollar on the property tax, and without concurrent cuts by the schools, will require us to cut the Mary Riley Styles Public Library budget by almost one-quarter.  With state aid also continuing its decline, the cumulative effect of these City and state reductions will cause us to eliminate popular children’s programming, a significant number of popular and reference books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, audio books, all public databases, staff, and 28 hours from our weekly hours of operation, to reach a 21% budget reduction.

We wish to do our part to help the City’s finances come into balance in a permanently sustainable way.  But the Library Board suspects this particular nature of cuts may not be what you have in mind for a City service agency you appear to treasure—and use in a consistently huge way.

BRADLEY E. GERNAND
Chair, Mary Riley Styles Public Library Board of Trustees

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TO THE EDITORS OF THE FALLS CHURCH TIMES:

I understand there is a proposal being considered in the City of Falls Church FY 2011 budget discussion to cut the Cherry Hill Farmhouse coordinator position in the Recreation and Parks division. This position is part-time, and the employee, Diane Morse, has served the city and the property faithfully for 20 years. Such a move would be extremely short-sighted.

Since Cherry Hill was restored during the 1975-76 bicentennial, and eventually finished and furnished in period style, it has annually served as the prime location for numerous public events and educational activities that are open to residents and visitors alike. It is also rented for private events, including weddings and receptions.

Dating to 1845 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places (one of only a few such designated historic properties in the entire city), it will take on even more pivotal importance and visibility as we prepare to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Along with its adjoining barn, it is the only such local historic structure in public ownership.

Diane serves not only as the site manager and curator for the complex, but the program planner, organizer and coordinator for volunteer, education, and related activities. It is not realistic to assume that these and related property management tasks could be picked up entirely by volunteers, and therefore the well-being of the property and our considerable public investment in it over more than 30 years would be in serious jeopardy.

For all the discussion about the value of arts, culture, and heritage to the quality of life in our “little city,” very little public investment goes into these activities. I urge the City Council and the City Manager to reject this proposal and look carefully at alternatives to such an ill-conceived action.

RON ANZALONE
Chair, Falls Church Historical Commission

Letters to the Editor should be submitted to contact@fallschurchtimes.com. They may be on any subject relevant to our City. Writers should include their full name and city of residence. All submissions are subject to editing.

LETTER: Heed Alexandria ‘Election Fiasco’ Warning

January 9, 2010

To the Editors of the Falls Church Times:

I would like to bring to the community’s attention a letter to the editor printed last month in the Washington Post from Katy Cannady, President of the Alexandria League of Women Voters.

Ms. Canady’s letter reacted to a recent Post article about the Falls Church City Council’s proposed ordinance rescheduling local elections from May to November.  The caption for Cannady’s letter read “An election fiasco in the making.” It presents a cautionary tale for those on the Falls Church City Council who are rushing helter-skelter to pass this ordinance despite unanswered questions and widespread opposition from within the city, and a clear preference for the citizens to decide the issue in a referendum election.

Echoing similar concerns to those raised before the Council by citizens and Council Member Nader Baroukh in December, Ms. Cannady described the “shocking” process undertaken by the Alexandria City Council to make a similar change.  She noted the estimate of the Alexandria voter registrar that if he had to conduct a local election concurrent with national elections using the same resources as he had in 2008, “the lines of waiting voters would be four to six hours long.”  Cannady also reported the estimate by the head of the Alexandria electoral board that it would cost $200,000 for additional voting machines, polling places, and election workers to conduct a combined election.  The Alexandria electoral board reported that even with those additional resources, it was not clear whether they could get voter waiting time down to 2 hours.

I realize that Alexandria is a larger jurisdiction than Falls Church.  However, there are parallels that make it reasonable to assume Falls Church could experience similar effects, scaled for the size of the Falls Church voter population – traditionally high voter turnout, for example.  I also realize that Alexandria has coupled local elections with national elections, whereas the Falls Church City Council has thus far backed away from even years to odd years, thus coupling local elections with state elections.  If, as the Gardner voting bloc contends, the change to November will increase voter participation, then surely there will be increased demands on the voting machinery and process.

Which brings me to the point made by Baroukh and Council Member Lawrence Webb, and ignored by the 3-member Council majority that moved ahead with their ill-conceived ordinance.  There is much we don’t know about the potential costs and effects of moving city elections to November.  There are other ways of increasing voter turnout and saving costs that the Gardner bloc has stubbornly refused to consider, in the fear, perhaps, that the alternatives might prove viable and preferably to a schedule change.  The matter ought to receive thorough study by a non-partisan organization like the League of Women Voters, as Webb proposed, and the pros and cons should be debated publicly.  Thereafter, the decision should be made by the voters of Falls Church, not by the City Council.  The continued refusal of the Gardner voting bloc to recognize the wisdom of such an approach defies logic and the demands of democratic government.

Linda Neighborgall
Falls Church City

Letters to the Editor should be submitted to contact@fallschurchtimes.com. They may be on any subject relevant to our City. Writers should include their full name and city of residence. All submissions are subject to editing.

LETTER: Thanks to ‘Byrd Feeder’ Sponsors for Helping All-Night Graduation

TO THE EDITORS OF THE FALLS CHURCH TIMES

On behalf of the All Night Graduation Celebration of 2010, we would like to thank Rebecca and David Tax of Clare and Don’s Beach Shack here in the City of Falls Church for their generous sponsorship of the 2009 First Annual Byrd Feeder benefit featuring our George Mason High School Principal Tyrone Byrd. They were very helpful in planning and developing a very successful event, and we appreciate their support of this very worthy program which provides a safe and alcohol free celebration for our graduating seniors.

We would also like to thank Mr. Byrd and his family for lending their wholehearted support to this event. He was gracious and welcoming and made a perfect host for the standing room only crowd that attended.

For those in the community, high school and otherwise, who came out on a cold, wet evening to support our program, we thank you for showing up and making clear to us that this is truly the first of many “Byrd Feeder” events to come. See you all next year!

MELISSA MORSE
Publicity Chair
All Night Graduation Celebration

Letters to the Editor should be submitted to contact@fallschurchtimes.com. They may be on any subject relevant to our City. Writers should include their full name and city of residence. All submissions are subject to editing.

LETTER: Seek Other Ways to Boost Voter Participation

To the Editors of the Falls Church Times:

I am writing concerning the proposed ordinance to change the date of City Council and School Board elections from May to November.

The advocates of this change are selling it as a motherhood-and-apple-pie issue, nothing more than a benign way to increase voter participation.  A change of election dates might increase voter participation, but that’s really not the overriding point.  Inherent in the proposal are consequences that are vitally important to every voter and taxpayer in Falls Church.  Both the decision to change the schedule and the nature of the change are matters that should be left to the citizens in a referendum election.  Moreover, the Council and the voters should examine every available avenue for increasing voter participation before blindly rushing to adopt one method.

An unusually diverse group of citizens view the Council’s actions as politically partisan and self-serving.  Opinions are split about the advisability of piggybacking local elections onto the general election.  However, there is wide-ranging, deep concern over the undemocratic method the Council has chosen to pursue such a consequential change, particularly given the almost universal opposition voiced at the Council’s first reading.

There is mounting suspicion that the election schedule change is a ploy to  take control of the election process away from the nonpartisan citizen groups who have been the backbone of the process in this City since its inception.  People who attended a meeting of the FC Democratic Committee (FCDC) in the prior city election cycle recall an aggressive move by the mayor’s husband and the editor of the local paper to have the FCDC nominate and support a partisan slate of candidates for the Council, thus likely ending our venerable nonpartisan tradition, and certainly putting independent candidates at an almost insurmountable disadvantage.  After a highly acrimonious argument, the move was defeated.

The urge for partisanship apparently is not dead. The mayor, if inadvertently, confirmed the partisan political nature of this latest effort at the first reading of the proposed election schedule change.  A diverse group of citizens appeared before the Council to speak out against the unseemly rush to change.  The mayor repeatedly dismissed  these citizen-dissenters as “the old guard” — that would be the members of both major political parties and members of the nonpartisan civic groups who created and nurtured the successful process we now enjoy — and told them to get in line or get out of the way.

The case for making the change has not convincingly been made, even less so the case for rushing to make the change by ordinance rather than posing the issue to the voters by referendum.  The primary arguments against quick action by ordinance bear repeating:

• Making an immediate change by Council fiat could result in extending terms of office of several Council members for at least 6 months beyond the 4 years to which they were duly elected.  This is self-dealing at its most obvious.  Depending upon timing, the change could also cut short the terms of other Council members.

• Coupling local elections with general elections inescapably will render local races partisan and, accordingly, substantially reduce the ability of federal employees (of which there are many) to fully participate.

• Further, the schedule change will have the effect of divorcing the timing of the election from the budget cycle and, thus, diminish the citizens’ ability to timely hold the Council accountable for the fiscal and budgetary policies they set.

The voters have the right to weigh these substantial drawbacks against the possibility of increased voter turnout and to decide for themselves whether they want the change.  The Council has a duty to let the voters decide a question of this magnitude after a thorough public debate, and to help the voters explore whether other methods of increasing voter participation might succeed, without enmeshing local elections in state and local partisan politics.  In addition to VA Code Sec. 24.2-222 and Sec. 4.17 of the City Charter, which provide for a citizen-initiated referendum on the issue, the Council also has the power under Sec. 4.12 of the Charter to submit the issue to the voters for an advisory referendum before acting precipitously to make the change.  The Council should take advantage of this authority.

On that note, let’s dispense with a couple of canards.  First, reserving to the citizens the right to change the election schedule is not tantamount to opposing increased voter participation.  That claim is transparently false and dishonest.  Second, as noted above, putting a referendum question on the ballot does not require “an expensive and protracted process.”  In any case, we don’t traditionally apply a cost-benefit analysis to the democratic process.

There is a potentially more successful way to maximize voter participation, if the Council is truly and disinterestedly intent on achieving that goal.  I urge the Council to explore the possibility of a superior approach, one that does not risk subsuming our local elections to state and national elections, or enmeshing them in partisan politics.

Many municipalities have instituted vote-by-mail local elections, achieving significant increases in voter participation and cost savings.  Vote-by-mail is a technique that is being used successfully in states including Oregon, Montana, California, Colorado, Alaska, Florida, Kansas, New Mexico, and I am sure there are others.  Some municipalities automatically mail ballots to their registered voters, with instructions and postage-paid return envelopes; others require registered voters to request mail ballots.  Some jurisdictions even combine vote-by-mail with the availability of voting in person at a reduced number of polling stations.

We already know how to do mail balloting and maintain election security – we do it with absentee voting now.  All it would take would be to expand the concept, and incorporate vote-by-mail into our Charter, rather than a change in the election schedule.

Linda S. Neighborgall
Falls Church City

Letters to the Editor should be submitted to contact@fallschurchtimes.com. They may be on any subject relevant to our City. Writers should include their full name and city of residence. All submissions are subject to editing.

LETTER: Study First, Vote Second

To the Editors of the Falls Church Times:

Although I ran over (literally) to the City Council meeting on Monday, since I was chairing a Planning Commission meeting, the public statements had ended, so I didn’t get a chance to talk.

I intended to speak out very simply against making any move now.  I was glad to hear that 2010 is off the table, but I still fail to see why the Council needs to act NOW at all.  I think that this deserves study and, frankly, I don’t know whether I want to change from May to November or not.  I can think of good arguments in both directions.  The question Councilman Dan Maller raised about what state or federal cycle we tie any date change to is very significant.  It deserves an answer.

I now hear that there’s talk of making the change in 2012 and letting Council members appoint “interim” members to fill out the terms of those up that year.  Huh?  For six months what would be the most responsible move?  Find three new people?  What if they’re running for Council?  Give them an “incumbent” advantage against people who were actually elected?  This makes even less sense than letting people vote themselves an extension in office.  And don’t get me started about the idea of reappointing those in office at that time.  Disingenuous at best.

I also hear there might be a resolution calling for a referendum.  Wouldn’t that then force a referendum in 30-60 days?  That wouldn’t help anything and would be a huge negative.  Talk about low voter turnout.

I think the Council should do two things:  1) require a report (led possibly by the League of Women Voters) that would study the issue and report back no later than May 1 on the question of May vs. November; and 2) pass a Sense of the Council resolution saying that after that report the Council (however constituted) should call for a referendum at such a time that it could be put on the November ballot.  Are better-informed voters good?  Use this report to inform them on the issue.  Is better turnout good?  Use it to decide this issue in November.  Sure, it may be an “advisory” referendum, but the Council should want advice on this, not run from it.  And if a change is made, do it in 2014.

John Lawrence
Falls Church City

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