Thursday, March 14, 2013
If adopted at the maximum rate, the real estate property tax would result in the average Alexandria residential tax bill increasing up to $314.
Alexandria City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to advertise the maximum residential and commercial property tax rate at $1.038 per $100 of valuation for fiscal year 2014, an increase of 4 cents from the prior year but down from an initial recommendation of a 5.5-cent hike. Council can settle on any rate at or below $1.038 as it works through the budgeting process, which is scheduled to end with adoption on May 6. The tax rate on motor vehicle property is proposed to increase from $4.75 to $5 per $100 of assessed value. The rate on business equipment and other types of vehicles is not proposed to change. In its budget guidance for City Manager Rashad Young, council asked for an optional 3-cent hike to offset cash capital investments on …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
New study shows Alexandria's arts community is a big driver of economic growth.
The arts have a reputation for contributing to inspiration and innovation but when it comes to balancing a budget, the arts also have the right equation, according to new data released Tuesday. Randy Cohen, a vice president with Washington, DC-based Americans for the Arts, outlined that the arts mean business to an enthusiastic crowd at the Little Theatre of Alexandria. Arts and culture are a significant industry in the City of Alexandria – generating nearly $71 million in total economic activity and supporting 1,774 full-time jobs in fiscal year 2010, he said. “The arts are not just food for the soul but putting food on the table,” Cohen said. For the quickest Alexandria updates, join the conversation with Old Town Alexandria Patch on …
Friday, February 15, 2013
City Manager Rashad Young, at the request of City Council, introduces new zoning amendment that if passed will allow city to "get beyond litigation."
Alexandria city officials announced Friday the introduction of a new zoning text amendment that if passed will allow the city to overcome existing litigation and begin implementation of the controversial waterfront small area plan that would spur development along the Potomac River. In an executive session of City Council earlier in the week, Mayor Bill Euille said councilmembers "provided guidance" to City Manager Rashad Young indicating that he should request the Planning Commission initiate and consider the new text amendment to implement zoning of the plan. “This action provides us with an opportunity to get beyond the litigation,” Young said Friday. “We are agreeing to meet the supermajority standards the plan opponents are asking …
Monday, February 4, 2013
Planners now eye mid-2017 opening date for station.
Elected officials serving on Alexandria’s Potomac Yard Metro Implementation Work Group continued to express their commitment to building a Metro station at Potomac Yard during a meeting last week at City Hall. The group received an update on the progress of an ongoing Environmental Impact Study (EIS) required to build a station. The city will determine a locally preferred alternative between three station designs and locations later this year. A no-build option remains in play, but officials underscored the importance of a station in developing Potomac Yard and the city’s economy. “If we don’t make it happen here, [the development] is going to go elsewhere [in the region,]” said Mayor Bill Euille, who sits on the group with Councilman …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
New online platform and hotline aims to help the city respond more efficiently to requests for information and services.
Alexandria launched a new customer service initiative called “Call.Click.Connect.” on Monday designed to help the city respond more efficiently to requests for information and services from residents and the public. At the base of the initiative is a new online system that can be used to enter, track and resolve service requests for reporting things like potholes and filing complaints about trash service. Residents can search for their service request by keyword, category or department on the city’s website. They will be asked to enter the location of a pothole or incident, verify its location, describe the request and enter contact information. Users will then receive verification that their request was recorded with an estimated response…
Thursday, January 24, 2013
City and cab companies working toward requiring ability of credit card payment in all cars by Sept. 1.
Alexandria City Council approved higher taxi rates at its legislative meeting Tuesday night at City Hall. The changes are the result of a biennial review of the city’s taxicab industry. Council approved the new “drop” charge at $3, up from $2.75. The mileage charge increases to $2.16 per mile from $2.04 per mile. An increased waiting charge of $25 an hour kicks in three minutes after a scheduled pick up time. A 75 cents per trip fuel surcharge will be dropped once the new fares take effect March 1. The city’s cab fares have not been adjusted since 2008. The proposed rate increase is expected to increase driver income by as much as 4 percent. There are roughly 748 cabs in the city operating through seven different companies. Other …
Pilot program will take 10 to 12 public parking spaces away from public use.
Alexandria City Council unanimously approved a pilot program Tuesday for on-street carsharing in the Carlyle and East Eisenhower area. The program will take 10 to 12 parking spaces away from public use so Hertz can set up its carsharing vehicles in the area. The company will pay the city $1,500 per space annually. The program was approved for two years, at which point city staff will return to council with data and other considerations. Mayor Bill Euille called the program “a move in the right direction and long overdue.” Zipcar currently operates 16 carsharing vehicles in off-street spaces in private parking facilities and at Metro stations primarily in the Old Town area. The area for the pilot program was chosen because of its density …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
First-time councilmembers granted revote after initially voting against Reed Avenue complex.
Alexandria City Council approved plans Saturday to construct a new affordable housing complex at the corner of E. Reed Avenue and Route 1 with a vote that was conducted twice, after the two dissenting council members asked to vote again so they could support it. The project submitted by nonprofit AHC calls for a three- to five-story building with 78 affordable housing units that will be marketed to residents with incomes up to 60 percent of the area’s median income for 60 years. The hang-up for Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg and Councilman John Chapman—two members of council serving for the first time who both campaigned for more affordable housing in the city—was on parking at the complex. As part of a financing package for the project, …
Monday, December 31, 2012
Short-term recommendations approved; Shared-street concept draws skepticism.
Earlier this month, Alexandria City Council approved a series of short-term changes to Old Town’s Union Street corridor. The changes stem from a recommendation in the Waterfront Small Area Plan that the city review vehicular, pedestrian and other impacts along one of Old Town’s busiest streets between Jones Point Park and Pendleton Street. One of the more transformative recommendations is to design, with input from the community, a pedestrian plaza on the south side of the unit block of King Street next to Mai Thai and Starbucks. Other short-term recommendations include: Council also adopted an amendment to institute improvements at the intersection of Franklin and Union streets. Long-term recommendations of the plan call for pursuing a …
Monday, December 17, 2012
Mayor Bill Euille reaches out to Connecticut officials.
Alexandria police will have an increased presence in and around city schools this week in response to Friday's school shooting in Newtown, Conn. The Alexandria Police Department announced the decision Sunday evening on its Facebook page. “There is NO threat but this is being done as a reassurance to the community, teachers, parents and students that we are here to serve and protect,” the statement reads. ACPS school counselors will be available Monday to talk to children who need additional support regarding the Newtown massacre. Mayor Bill Euille held a moment of silence for the victims prior to Saturday’s City Council meeting. He said he placed calls to Connecticut Governor Dan Mallory and Newtown First Selectman E. Patricia Llodra …
Nate McKenzie
3:37 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Although a bit simplistic, a tool like this (from Fairfax County) would let us see the forest from the trees when we discuss budget numbers: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/braddock/pdfs/letter-simulation.pdf more ›