[Archived] City Manager Proposes $433 Million Operating Budget for FY2005

City Press Release


	City of Alexandria, Virginia Office of the City Manager Alexandria City Hall 301 King Street, Suite 3500 Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3211 www.alexandriava.gov Telephone: 703.838.4300 Fax : 703.838.6343

March 5, 2004
PIO 058-04

City Manager Proposes $433 Million Operating Budget
For Fiscal Year 2005
3-cent Reduction Proposed for Real Estate Tax Rate
9.4 % Increase for City Schools

Alexandria City Manager Philip Sunderland proposed a $433 million general fund operating budget for Fiscal Year 2005, an increase of $35.1 million or 8.8 percent over the FY 2004 general fund budget. The proposed fiscal year 2005-2010 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is $304 million in City funding over six years.

Even with increased costs to maintain current City government services and programs, the budget proposes significant new tax relief for residents in two ways:

1. Reducing rising real estate tax bills and the City's reliance on real estate tax revenue with a 3-cent decrease in the real estate tax rate from $1.035 to $1.005 per $100 of assessed value. (This is the third consecutive year the real estate tax rate has been reduced in Alexandria and makes our rate among the lowest levels in Northern Virginia).
2. Providing further assistance for eligible lower income homeowners with a new home ownership protection program.

Also, the budget provides an additional $300,000 in real estate tax relief for the elderly and disabled through an indexed tax exemption.

To continue the progress toward a fully accredited school system, Sunderland proposed increasing the City’s transfer to the Alexandria City Public Schools by 9.4 percent, to $132.6 million. This amount is 99.3 percent of the amount requested by the School Board for operating expenses. The proposed City budget fully funds the School Board’s capital budget request which includes the schools' estimated cost to build a new T.C. Williams High School and to renovate and expand the Minnie Howard Ninth Grade Center. (Funding for City schools represents 30.6 percent of the City’s general fund.)

Sunderland said, “The proposed fiscal year 2005 Operating Budget and FY 2005-2010 Capital Improvement Program maintain today's level of services and programs, but more importantly, lays the groundwork for a financially sustainable future that works toward the vision and goals being established by City Council.”

Other highlights of the proposed budget:

C $27 million to maintain current services and programs. Of this amount $19.4 million is for compensation-related increases for current City and School employees for merit and 2 percent cost-of-living increases, as well as increases in the cost of health and retirement benefits.

C To facilitate unique livable neighborhoods and vibrant urban villages within Alexandria, the budget and CIP include funds for transportation and transit including:

< $3 million for beginning the widening of Eisenhower Avenue (between Mill and Holland)
< $22.8 million for a new DASH maintenance facility
< $1.1 million to maintain current DASH, WMATA, and paratransit operations
< $1.3 million for DASH buses
< $125,000 for improved DASH bus service
< $0.9 million for pedestrian improvements in the Arlandria area
< $850,000 for planning and transportation studies

C To care for at-risk youth and families, the budget and CIP proposes:

< $1.0 million for Community Services Act services for at-risk youth
< $280,000 for assistance to seniors through companion aides and senior taxi service
< $708,000 for renovations to the Flora Krause Casey Health Clinic and the Women’s Shelter
< $112,000 to establish a Safe Haven facility for hard-to-reach homeless
< $105,000 for the Community Partnership, Youth and Children’s funds providing partnership grants to non-profits

C To “green” Alexandria through a healthy urban living environment and exciting leisure opportunities, the budget and CIP provide:

< $190,000 to fund maintenance of public trees and urban forestry planning, City gateways, and landscaped City medians
< $16 million for acquisition of open space
< $500,000 for energy conservation efforts in City facilities
< $237,000 to expand operations at recreation centers
< $23.6 million to expand Chinquapin Recreation Center in FY 2008 and make improvements to Charles Houston and Patrick Henry Recreation Centers
< $197,000 in recurring costs and $480,000 in one-time costs for expansion of residential curbside recycling through contracting out
< $55,000 for establishment of a commercial recycling program and additional staff to oversee recycling and solid waste planning
< an increase in the residential refuse collection fee from $185 to $205 to keep this activity self-supporting
< $4.5 million for improvements to City athletic fields, ball courts, playgrounds and field drainage systems
< $100,000 for a feasibility study for a City all-sports facility

C To enhance public safety, the budget and CIP provide funding for:

< $303,000 for a new Office of Emergency Management
< $212,000 for the addition of Advanced Life Support-trained personnel to emergency medical service units
< $51.1 million for improvements to the existing Public Safety Center and construction in FY 2008 of a new Police department facility
< $100,000 for a study of the potential need and location for a new Fire station
< $245,000 for upgrades to police and fire information technology systems

C To maintain the City’s public infrastructure, the budget and CIP provide:

< $22.0 million for continuation of substantial reconstruction, rehabilitation and extension of storm and sanitary sewers (funded in part with previously planned 20-cent sanitary sewer fee increase)
< $1.6 million for improved stream/channel maintenance and City marina dredging
< $500,000 for a study of lower King Street flood mitigation

C To ensure a financially sustainable future, the budget and CIP will promote economic development and tourism with

< $243,000 for the Alexandria Convention and Visitor’s Association to increase communications and marketing
< $300,000 for expert assistance in designing a new City-wide signage system to move visitors and residents more easily to points of interest and activity
< a 50 percent increase in City support for the Small Business Development Center providing assistance to Alexandria’s small businesses, potential City support in the possible replacement of the City’s holiday parking program
< $125,000 for increased marketing and other activities designed to bring business to Alexandria during the holiday season
< $25,000 for the 2nd Annual Festival of the Arts

The proposed budget provides $1.5 million in contingent reserves to cover future costs due to uncertainties in the Commonwealth of Virginia budget, the effects of the INOVA Hospital-proposed closing of the INOVA Alexandria psychiatric unit, and new initiatives that may emerge from the City Council's ongoing strategic planning process.

Due to the increase in real estate assessments, felt throughout Northern Virginia, the annual taxes on the average residential home in Alexandria with an assessment of $361,040 would increase by 13.5 percent or about $431 with the proposed $1.005 per $100 assessed value tax rate. For a lower income resident in an average residential home who qualified for the new home ownership protection grant, the increase in taxes would be $181, or 6 percent.

Copies of the proposed FY 2005 Operating Budget and the FY 200-20010 CIP are available on the City’s web site alexandriava.gov/budget .An online form is also available for residents to submit budget comments or suggestions at the City’s web site (see “FY 2005 Resident Input on the Budget”). To obtain a copy of the budget documents on CD-ROM, call the Office of Management and Budget at 703.838.4780.

The City Council is scheduled to receive public comments on the budget on April 12, and adopt the FY2005 budget and set the real estate tax rate on May 3.