Sze Seeking Reelection to Council, Kearney to School Board

By STAN FENDLEY
Falls Church Times Staff

February 14, 2010

Two more incumbents — City Councilman Dan Sze and School Board member Susan Kearney –  have announced that they will seek re-election and endorsement by Citizens for a Better City.

Sze is a registered architect who leads an energy efficiency program at the U.S. Department of Energy.  He also has worked for the Departments of Defense and State during a 20-year government career.  He and his wife have lived in Falls Church City since 1988.

Sze’s written announcement touts his experience, commitment and vision for the city, and asks voters to ”[L]ook at what we have accomplished in the urban landscape:  Commercial and mixed-use developments built to the highest of environmentally sustainable standards. A multitude of green roofs on all of the new projects; a diversification in tax revenue with sufficient population density to attract major players like the BJ’s under construction. It has been gratifying to be part our collective effort to achieve the green of sustainable environmental stewardship along with the green of development revenue.”

Sze’s statement also calls for “extraordinary schools as a top priority,” leading him to support a minimum reduction to the schools budget.  He also states that he is not an advocate of raising taxes.

Sze is a first-term Council member elected unopposed with the endorsement of Citizens for a Better City in 2006.   Sze has indicated that he intends to seek a CBC endorsement again this year, making him the fourth Council candidate to seek CBC support, including Vice Mayor Hal Lippman, School Board Chairman Ron Peppe, and Barry Buschow, former president of the Village Preservation and Improvement Society and Falls Church Lions Club.

Kearney has served on the School Board since 2006, and as Vice Chairman from 2008-2009.  She is Vice President of Marketing for Voxant, and has served in leadership capacities with Aurora House and the City of Falls Church Women’s Commission.

In her statement of candidacy for a CBC endorsement, Kearney points to FCCPS’ accomplishments during her tenure including its state-leading graduation rate and No. 1 ranking in a recent Washington Post Challenge Index.   Kearney says that if reelected she will continue her four priorities of giving every child a world class education, ensuring that the City’s standard for education is excellence, that the School Board, Superintendent, and staff are accountable to students, parents, and the community, and maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Kearney joins Patrick Riccards in seeking CBC support for School Board.

The election for both City Council and School board will occur on May 4.  Candidates must complete all paperwork by March 4.  The CBC’s nominating convention is Saturday, February 20, from 2-5 p.m. at George Mason High School.

The Falls Church Times policy on local election coverage is:

• Make no endorsements
• Promote informed, civil dialogue on election issues
• Provide equitable, impartial coverage of candidates

Dealing with Ice Damming: Will Our ‘Salt Snakes’ Work?

By STAN FENDLEY
Falls Church Times Staff

February 14, 2010

Saturday night my friend said words that sent a shiver up my spine:  “We’ve got ice damming.”

Oh, no.  Ice damming.  I’ve seen it before, and it is not fun.

Ice damming occurs when snow on a roof melts from the house’s heat, then drains to the eves and refreezes.  At the eves, of course, there is no heat — just cold air.  So the water turns to ice on the bottom shingles.  As more water comes down from above, the “ice dam” grows and creates a small lake above it.  As the lake gets bigger, the water starts inching back up the roof.  That is bad news because shingles are not designed to repel water rising up the roof, they’re designed to repel water going down the roof.  As the water inches up, it goes under the shingles, ultimately dripping down onto the ceiling and interior walls.  Much of that, and you have a mess.

I have been there, done that.  In the snow storm of 1996, when the DC area received 30 inches of snow in one blast, our house in Alexandria fell prey to ice damming.  Water dripping from an upstairs bedroom ceiling, water dripping down the walls, buckets catching the water, several thousands bucks of repairs.  I pledged to avoid future ice damming if at all possible.

Skip to 2010.  I was out of town last week when the second big blast hit, and could only marvel at the amount of snow on our roof when I got back.  And then I saw the six inches of ice on the eves.  oh, my.  We were lucky not to already have water dripping from the ceiling.

But how to deal with it?  Use a blow torch to melt the ice?  Not a good idea around wood and shingles.  Fortunately, a home improvement site on the Internet had a better idea:  ”Ice-melt socks.”  Ice-melt socks are the legs of old panty hose, filled with salt, tied off and laid just above the ice dam.  The theory is that as water runs down the roof to the ice dam, it will run through the sock, take a little salt with it, and melt the ice.

Sounded like it was worth a try.  But first, we had to clear enough of the snow to get the sock to contact the roof.   So Sunday morning, my boys and I were up on a ladder pulling down snow with a garden rake.  Then we poured bucket after bucket of hot water on the uncovered shingles to clear the bottom layer of snow and ice.

Finally, after four hours of work, we were ready to fill the socks with salt and put them in place.  As we filled the first panty hose leg, my son said, “Looks like a snake!”   Hence the new name,  “Salt Snakes.”

The photos below show the situation, before, during and after.  We can only hope it works.

If any of you have a better suggestion, please share.  Hopefully it will be easier than the work we did today!

Budgetary Sweet Spot: Residents Weigh Values/Dollars

By SCOTT TAYLOR
Falls Church Times Staff

February 14, 2010

Dear City of Falls Church Residents,

Here is the question at hand: what matters to you?  What services does the city provide that you truly value?  We’re pretty sure you can think of 70 or more but in the interest of prioritizing those that you believe are absolutely essential – and in acknowledgment of our nine million dollar budget gap for fiscal year 2011 – please list only your top five.

And just to be sure we’re all on the same sheet of music, please understand the following examples are all separate services:

• police patrols;
• fire and rescue services;
• solid waste disposal and recycling;
• snow and ice removal;
• street and sidewalk maintenance;
• operating hours at the Mary Riley Styles Public Library;
• GEORGE;
• co- and extra-curricular activities in the schools;
• curriculum, instruction, and  assessment in the public school system.

Questions like this get to the heart of the budget challenge confronting City leadership. If the facts of life associated with closing the budget gap require the reduction or elimination of City services, precisely which services should be the first to go?  Can some services be saved through increasing the real estate tax rate: $300,000 in revenue is generated for every one-cent increase in the tax rate.  For the median homeowner, that one-cent increase costs an additional $60.

“As we solve our challenges together, we must make sure we also identify our priorities together,” City Manager Wyatt Shields declared Saturday morning to approximately 80 of the City’s citizens assembled in the community center for the first of two budget forums.  Both Shields and City Schools Superintendent Dr. Lois Berlin gave presentations to a group which included the entire City Council, several declared and undeclared Council and School Board candidates, City professional staff, and a broad cross section of concerned citizens and community volunteers.

Shields’ bottom line during the forum, which will be repeated on Thursday, February 18^th, was that $57.5 million in revenue does not cover $66.5 million in expenditures so how do you close the $9 million gap?  His $9 million estimate assumes no tax or fee increases, no pay increases for City personnel, and the carrying forward of fiscal year 2010 reductions.

On the fourth slide of his presentation, he depicted the impact increasing the real estate tax rate would have on the budget gap.  A 20-cent increase would reduce the gap to $2.9 million and leave the median homeowner with a $7,500 dollar tax bill, up from $6,300.  A 30-cent increase would close the gap entirely and the median homeowner would pay $8,100 annually.

Berlin reminded those assembled that “85 percent of our [schools’] operating costs are people.”  She also provided an itemization of $380,300 in reduced revenue from outside the City that plays into the 2011 planning.  That is almost a 5 percent reduction in funding from federal, state, and other sources.

The School Board heard Berlin’s four-tier recommendations linking reductions to decreasing support from the City appropriation during a January 12^th work session.  Tier one has the least impact and assumes a decrease in the appropriation of $270,700 or 0.9 percent.  Tier four reductions would result in a public school system unrecognizable to many in the City today and assumes a decrease in the appropriation of $2.8 million or 9.5 percent.

Berlin was very straightforward as she addressed the forum stating that at tier three, reductions begin to impact key priorities and objectives for the school system.  “These cuts at this level get to the heart and soul of what we do as a school system,” she said.

Both the City Manager’s and the School Superintendent’s presentations appear below.  A Falls Church City Public Schools press release on the school system budget was published in the Falls Church Times on January 25.

Following the presentations, small break out sessions were conducted at eight tables throughout the room.  The exercise being conducted at each table was immediately recognizable to anyone who has been locked in a conference room with business consultants and ordered to accomplish Lean value stream mapping.

The City identified 68 individual services provided to the community which were grouped under nine overarching headings that included education, public safety, human and community services, and development.  Each table was asked to work and play well together as they attempted to achieve consensus in answering the question:  Based on the economy and the financial challenges described earlier, what are the top five City services/programs that our group values the most and should be retained? After 20-minutes, a spokesperson for each table was given two minutes to report the results of their discussions to the forum.

As the spokespersons rose in turn to address the group, it was clear each of the eight tables had been engaged in a classic City of Falls Church public discourse.  It was similar to a classroom filled with precocious and enthusiastic students, none of whom is willing to color inside the lines.

Table one couldn’t see how you could have a City without “each and every one” of the 13 services under public safety so with a quick accounting sleight of hand, 13 became one in their voting.  Table three questioned the validity of the entire exercise and presented both what they valued most and what they thought should be cut. All of the tables reported experiencing challenges and frustration with the exercise.

Despite the contrarians, teeth gnashers, and out-of-the-boxers, it was possible to discern what consensus did exist throughout the room and that boiled down to schools, businesses, and safe, clean streets.  Specifically:

• Education
  • Curriculum, instruction, and assessment
  • Staff recruitment, development, and retention
• Development
  • Economic development and business retention
• Public Safety
  • Police patrol
  • Fire and rescue services
• Environmental
  • Solid waste and recycling collection
• Transportation
  • Streets and sidewalk maintenance

Each participant was also asked to individually distribute a total of five votes across the 68 City services in a separate exercise.  One could choose options for assigning votes from five votes for a single service to one vote for one service.  A review of this voting – results that weren’t influenced by the consensus required during the individual table discussions – mirrored what each table reported to the group but also reflected support for the library, storm water system management, parks maintenance, the community center, and the Cherry Hill Farmhouse.

The concluding portion of the two-hour budget forum was set aside for public comment, questions and answers.  Many participants were talked-out by this time although six questioners did ask about specific approaches to closing the budget gap.  These included City employee furloughs, leveraging regional economies of scale with other government entities, and transferring City courthouse functions to Arlington.  Shields acknowledged all the proposals were either already in place or on the table for discussion.

At the end of the day, the forum participants were left recalling one of Shields’ opening remarks.  He said, “We are a little city.  Not matter what you feel about that phrase, it is factually true.”  And it is now collectively up to The Little City to decide how to balance the services they value against a real estate tax rate that is fifth lowest in the region.

Berlin and the School Board will make a recommendation on the schools’ budget to the City Council, which must incorporate it into the City budget.  The City Council will make its final decisions and adopt the budget on April 26, 2010.  The fiscal year 2011 budget covers July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.

And the Other Groups Were:

SURVEY: What Are Your Budget Priorities?

By FALLS CHURCH TIMES STAFF

February 14, 2010

At Saturday’s City budget forum, participants were asked to select their top five priorities among the City’s “lines of service.”  We want to extend the survey to you.

Shown below are the 68 lines of service presented at the budget forum.  The lines of service are the bulleted items shown under the general subject categories.  You may vote five times for any lines of service you choose, including using multiple votes for a single line of service.  (And if you want to use your votes on general subject categories, we will count those, too.)

To vote, simply list your choices in the comment box beneath this story or email them to “contact@fallschurchtimes.com.  Please cast no more than five votes; entries with more than five will not be counted.  Only adult residents of Falls Church City may vote.

Here are the City’s lines of service.

City Lines of Service – Please Cast Five Votes for Your Priorities

A. Education

• Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment
• Co- and Extra-curricular Activities
• Staff recruitment, development and retention
• Community and Parent Involvement
• Operations: facilities, security, transportation, food service and day care

B. Development

• Economic development and business retention
• Comprehensive/long-range plan
• Development and design review
• Building safety and code enforcement
• Zoning code enforcement
• Erosion control, flood plain, and Chesapeake Bay code enforcement
• Historic preservation
• Geographic Information Systems

C. Environmental

• Stormwater system management and maintenance
• Solid waste and recycling collection
• Leaf collection and mulching
• Recycling (Recycling Extravagance, Metals Recycling, Business Recycling) and household hazardous waste programs
• Urban forestry
• Community programs (Habitat Restoration, Stream Stewards, Invasive Species programs, Neighborhood Tree Program)
• Climate change, air quality, and “green” infrastructure and programs

D. Library

• Operating hours
• Collections and materials
• Public programs (Story Hour, reading groups, etc.)
• Public computer access

E. Recreation and Parks

• Park maintenance, planning and development
• Community center hours of operation
• Classes
• Special Events (Memorial Day, Fall Festival, Watch Nite)
• Senior center/senior programs
• Teen center/youth programs
• Sports and athletic programs (youth and adult)
• Cherry Hill Farmhouse

F. Public Safety

• Police patrol
• Criminal investigation
• Traffic enforcement
• Parking enforcement
• Police community services (Neighborhood Watch, safety education)
• School safety (school resource officer and crossing guards)
• Emergency communications/dispatch
• Emergency management
• Fire and rescue services (Arlington contract, Volunteers)
• Animal control
• Police accreditation
• Courts
• Juvenile and adult detention and probation services

G. Human and Community Services

• Housing and rental assistance (ADUs, fair housing, rent relief, landlord/tenant mediation)
• Social Services (Public Welfare, Family, Health and Dental, and Emergency Assistance)
• Tax exemption and deferrals
• Transportation assistance (Farewheels, Metro Access, FasTran)
• Community support and grants (Falls Church Housing Corp, Home Stretch, Community Services Council, Winter Shelter)
• Mental health, intellectual disabilities, and substance abuse programs
• Area Agency on Aging
• Residential group homes (includes Aurora House and Argus House)
• At-risk youth services (counseling, mentoring programs)

H. Transportation

• Streets and sidewalk maintenance
• Traffic light, streetlight and sign maintenance
• Snow and ice removal
• Street sweeping
• Traffic calming
• GEORGE Bus
• Transportation planning and grant management
• Department of Motor Vehicle services
• Regional programs (Metro, Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission)

I. Community Outreach

• Communications (eFocus, Weekly Focus, web page, social media)
• Boards and Commissions
• Public Policy Development
• Complaint Resolution
• Regional, State and Federal coordination (Council of Governments, Northern Virginia Regional Commission, state and federal legislative programs)

Note:  This list is intended to summarize out lines of service to the community.  Internal functions necessary to support these services, such as human resources, finance, tax collection, facility maintenance, information technology, management, and legal are purposefully not listed here.

—

Again, to vote, list your five priorities in the comment box beneath this story or email them to “contact@fallschurchtimes.com.  (Feel free to cut and paste.)  You may vote five times for any lines you choose, including using multiple votes for a single item.  We will publish the results Monday, Feb. 22.

Thanks for participating!