[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6041444,"mediaKeyId","3722686-67b5cece0f97b5c3c66636e3f1206864","parentId",3722686,"title","Falls Church boosts paving funding to $2.2 million; residents and CACT press for larger sidewalk and safety investments","audioSeconds",1365,"startMs",999000,"endMs",2364000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3722686-67b5cece0f97b5c3c66636e3f1206864&start=999&end=2364","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3722686-67b5cece0f97b5c3c66636e3f1206864/thumbnail_999000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6041444/Falls-Church-City/Fairfax-County/Virginia/Falls-Church-boosts-paving-funding-to-22-million-residents-and-CACT-press-for-larger-sidewalk-and-safety-investments","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6041444-7e0201abe7398ab1d200a13b7dc6a847/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191836&Signature=nzh~nF1m9Ubz67hMXA7LlTL9BAUE-vi6Po355vEYwfy4-q61SC89VtuVdwsWhiwCUugeS1tcmZSDwTEIs8BgyuPdERJZa-U-SZrP62THK2Y5yJT7Lb01tQN6c8LlewO9vrMDKLcxKTK0xv-BPtrBuIdWWiDtSgUvYLGg4LRrMt6qZW8MdzLJQ~7X3KRPeyLeY7tmz6g9~oEUHns5CRjlsDdyICKbeeZD2bAFLo42a-cHfjnGqI~y0Yxk7XW41taqHWjzrlTqOWAqSgOEVN17XSbIX0ikqnw0XB33kEREUOEMHawZG2fR3FAkhLPUBOHWfWxC-Cx59r9ogV57WSyOtw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Falls Church Government","date","2025-04-04T05:21:35Z","article","Transportation, street maintenance and pedestrian safety were recurring topics during the Falls Church budget town hall. City Manager Wyatt Shields proposed a $700,000 increase for roadway maintenance, bringing the proposed total for paving to $2,200,000 in FY2026. He described paving as a core infrastructure priority and tied paving work to opportunities to implement bike-master-plan elements and pedestrian improvements when streets are rebuilt.

Residents and advisory committee members urged larger increases. Arthur Hagen, chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation, said the staff’s unfunded request included an additional $1,100,000 and called for more attention to sidewalks and walkability. Andrew Olson, a CACT member, questioned the long-term return on investment for the Neighborhood Traffic Calming (NTC) program and recommended that the city focus limited dollars where data show actual crash and injury patterns. “We’re gonna spend $200 a year. I hope we can spend it on places where people are actually getting hurt,” he said, referencing the $200,000 NTC allocation.

Shields said the city is using capital reserves and grants to accelerate paving and related CIP projects and that the long-term goal is to transition recurring funding into the base tax rate so the work is sustainable. He cited examples of larger reconstructions where state funding was combined with city funds (West Street) and noted that the transportation portion of the six-year CIP is substantial: he said transportation projects are a major component of the six-year CIP and cited a roughly $60,000,000 total investment over six years in walking and biking improvements.

CACT members and other residents also raised specific concerns about sidewalks that start and stop mid-block and narrow sidewalks that impede accessibility. Shields said major projects such as the Broad Street “Great Streets” effort aim to widen sidewalks in key corridors; that project is in right-of-way phases and will require coordination with affected businesses.

Speakers urged the council to increase the paving and sidewalk budgets to address a backlog of streets rated “poor” or “very poor” in DPW assessments and to prioritize projects with the biggest safety return on investment.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City of Falls Church Budget Town Hall #1 April 3rd, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The proposed FY2026 budget increases roadway maintenance funding by $700,000 to $2.2 million, but residents and the CACT asked the council to fund more paving, larger sidewalk projects and to target traffic-calming dollars where crashes occur.","taxTitle","Falls Church City, Fairfax County, Virginia","taxId",59817,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6041450,"Broadway condominium residents urge Falls Church to study stormwater impacts of nearby redevelopment",334,1480000,1814000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3722686-67b5cece0f97b5c3c66636e3f1206864&start=1480&end=1814","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3722686-67b5cece0f97b5c3c66636e3f1206864/thumbnail_1480000.jpg","/articles/6041450/Falls-Church-City/Fairfax-County/Virginia/Broadway-condominium-residents-urge-Falls-Church-to-study-stormwater-impacts-of-nearby-redevelopment","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6041450-33276ae029ca3ee89baf02f7b332210a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191836&Signature=KWZl9-vs30EZEm9fQlBeY-iLcIA04ppZkRtWQ78EwTm6ZrlPFjy7JK42jnMtKZFKIhPy8wmm5twFzhrUQaCjkBB2DYAQ3P9TfuN0es2oz3G4EZPDiy3nBtQBt3fx7NhyBlLDiNd3z355HxUTu7G73ESOZnQk76XbvW~QW64vtkI4qjBCVAmVHSjA4M8zbQvdMcTss-1j8zOcJniVOQJSgAtfjO2T9O8nU6x4074KvWOQdecKlgjwwLdnh5HR8peXHSQWXZDdj66d5qghseaRrrWr4zsvKHYQOworsmdnhIWgZ-9t9SwGT53IGTnncF6FDnTLM7cBPPao9UvZUJuwGQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Several residents raised localized stormwater and sanitary-sewer concerns at the Falls Church budget town hall, saying redevelopment and grading on nearby parcels is worsening flooding in the Broadway area.

A resident identifying their building as 502 West Broad Street (the Broadway condominium) described the site’s location at the confluence of multiple drainage flows and said the building “empties into that already overloaded system.” The resident said a nearby redevelopment site was being graded to a “50 to 100 year storm” standard and argued that the developer had not analyzed where stormwater would go after it left the site. “I would like to see the city include in its budget funds to actually study what are the impacts of t zone,” the resident said, referring to missing-middle rezoning proposals.

City Manager Wyatt Shields responded that the city has performed extensive stormwater analysis in recent years — including pipe inspection, Army Corps and engineering studies following the July 2019 floods — and that staff maintains modeling and a prioritized set of stormwater projects. He said the city has been administering roughly $21,000,000 of stormwater projects appropriated earlier and that the city prioritized the most frequent property-damage locations for the “big six” stormwater projects, naming Hillwood and the Trammell Branch project as recent examples. Shields also said the Greening of Lincoln project will reduce flows toward Broadway’s watershed in time but acknowledged that major, rare storms can still overwhelm the entire system.

Council member Laura Downs sought a numerical clarification and Shields provided it: the proposed stormwater fee increase in the budget would be about $7 annually for the average homeowner, and the sanitary-sewer fee increase would be about $14 annually. Shields said stormwater and sanitary sewer fees have been annually adjusted roughly by CPI over the last five years to avoid large rate shocks.

The resident asked the city to study the cumulative effects of zoned redevelopment on downstream sewer and stormwater capacity and asked the council to consider funding such an analysis as part of budgeting. Shields said the city would continue to assess and that the council is making targeted investments to mitigate flood risk.","Residents of 502 West Broad Street (Broadway condominiums) told city staff they are experiencing frequent flooding and urged the city to study whether recent and proposed redevelopment (T-zone) has been evaluated for downstream impacts on stormwater and sanitary-sewer capacity.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6041454,"Falls Church begins public discussion of replacing tax-funded curbside service with a fee; multifamily equity questioned",772,1266000,2038000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3722686-67b5cece0f97b5c3c66636e3f1206864&start=1266&end=2038","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3722686-67b5cece0f97b5c3c66636e3f1206864/thumbnail_1266000.jpg","/articles/6041454/Falls-Church-City/Fairfax-County/Virginia/Falls-Church-begins-public-discussion-of-replacing-tax-funded-curbside-service-with-a-fee-multifamily-equity-questioned","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6041454-84c46aab26c4ce4904a3f7ea8f540840/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191836&Signature=o-Dnx9clzzkjHbLpt-eDRkJoiOtEE9tJM3Vs70QPvzUBQ-yHSzi9Ig0eKcxDRNFCBwRvDGRX9qsT8HTNWyk~g5IszwHE4y0ETHDJF0sBrJklqZ71xjrFRb22Fhpy9JUtAAFVscVdV8pAkL0EwoAP64RbIVwWLVWDnnZnpo61BjhwI9k3f2NYl2MUWBn9hpIb2K-g23Wo3FOHG8LxP-RoqNpkIFM1dTVxzwwEoXBxJ6pI-Ho0zDjjMnjjiXRu1V9r8syiR303oxm5UWKwJ8ZxYbIWwsaWZ24vanXxPC8wOPZuO~smhiL9CvzY58RA8VAyxSFLlAzNgLk0Gj6XGF4akQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a Falls Church City budget town hall, City Manager Wyatt Shields told residents the council has asked staff to revisit a long-standing recommendation in the city’s solid waste management plan to consider a fee replacing tax support for curbside trash, recycling and optional compost pickup.

Shields said the council will discuss options at a work session on April 7 and that staff will post materials for public review. “What it’s going to be is taking the fall discussion and updating it with some additional thinking and some, some some more up to date numbers,” he said. He emphasized the staff’s view that the packet and an organized work session are the right places to walk through options rather than ad-libbing details.

Residents from multifamily buildings said the current arrangement is inequitable: Matt Adams of Park Towers said “multifamily, owners owners in multifamily, buildings, also pay the tax but do not receive the service,” and Gail Wadsworth, also from Park Towers, reminded the council she has raised the issue for decades and asked for comparisons with other jurisdictions.

Shields acknowledged the options are complex and said staff is not recommending expanding curbside service to all multifamily buildings because that would add major complexity to the service model. “Really, you know, what we'll where I I think this will be going is really discussing the the fee option or just keep it in the the general tax rate,” he said. He added that if the council pursues a fee, “the ordinance will be very clear about who pays that fee and who gets that service.”

Shields and residents noted differing approaches in nearby jurisdictions: some Northern Virginia localities build curbside service into general taxes while others use a stand-alone fee. Park Towers residents urged the council to publish comparative information so affected residents can assess potential impacts.

Staff has said curbside service today serves roughly 3,000 households (single-family and townhouses) and that multifamily buildings can have different arrangements; specific definitions of who would pay under a fee would be clarified in any ordinance the council approves.","City staff said the council asked staff to revisit an option to replace general-tax support for curbside solid-waste service with a user fee; multifamily residents and property-owners urged clarity because many multifamily buildings pay taxes but do not receive curbside pickup.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6041459,"Falls Church manager proposes 2.5-cent real estate tax cut in $134 million FY2026 budget with $500,000 contingency",4488,73000,4561000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3722686-67b5cece0f97b5c3c66636e3f1206864&start=73&end=4561","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3722686-67b5cece0f97b5c3c66636e3f1206864/thumbnail_73000.jpg","/articles/6041459/Falls-Church-City/Fairfax-County/Virginia/Falls-Church-manager-proposes-25-cent-real-estate-tax-cut-in-134-million-FY2026-budget-with-500000-contingency","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6041459-ddfefd61ac4478a68d0825f35535ce48/orig.mp4?Expires=1771191836&Signature=jAg3hQ97QMdH3nVW7v-MuQR87zQJr6d2JOKz6pQtrFhUIPgVo54nzxLtDvT6Cd4x1dPGW0AvqvOj2jSo7~Yww6bFKRkkPl0TQDmPP~-8KczkRiloDLpXXAKsMzRXGxmfMkiLGqgAAMGuKogbS3UHFOvjM54em0qKwxcHmlEZYOnwggGyvpvzQ4c15kynrS~0pTgl7gO8bxnVjnmhFh3tQuzpxFcdZT7bibj42TUfmBLUJIQt0FkP62kpDVtGRYrnYfIXoQp~-AsRt9Hi2lZgVY45b8LatMOHwNAOZQ178azz9SOqaKoEOlwvUNY4jRfwby0qJaJjFk27FryJfs3aoA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City Manager Wyatt Shields laid out the City of Falls Church’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget at a public town-hall meeting, saying the plan would lower the real estate tax rate by 2.5 cents from $1.21 to $1.185 and put a $500,000 contingency into the budget to guard against revenue shortfalls.

Shields said the budget is “just under a hundred and $134,000,000,” and that education represents roughly 42 percent of the total. He told the audience the proposed tax-rate change and other items reflect both local growth and regional economic uncertainty: “we are a growing city” with 10–10.5 percent overall growth in assessed value, he said, and noted about 16 percent of the city’s workforce are federal employees whose incomes may be affected by federal developments.

The nut grafs: Shields described the package as a limited set of new investments while preserving progress on council priorities. New operating proposals in the plan include a 5 percent compensation increase for employees, additional funding for interjurisdictional contracts ($903,000), a $700,000 increase for street maintenance (raising roadway maintenance funding to $2,200,000), $150,000 for IT and finance-system improvements, a $133,000 allocation to refresh police body-worn cameras and a continued $500,000 commitment to affordable housing. He also proposed a $500,000 revenue contingency to buffer the general fund and school transfer against revenue volatility.

Shields said the city has reduced its real estate rate in four of the last five years because assessed value has risen; for the median homeowner he projected a roughly 3.4 percent change in their tax bill — “about $400” in the city’s examples. He said personal property (vehicle) tax and sales tax revenues are forecast to increase, while meals and BPOL are expected to be flat amid regional uncertainty.

On debt and the capital program, Shields said debt service will decline roughly $1.8 million next year as the Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School debt is retired, and that the six-year capital-improvement plan totals about $148,000,000. He noted the city is already administering roughly $21,000,000 of stormwater work the council previously appropriated, and that about $46,000,000 of CIP funding is expected to come from federal and state grants. Shields said the CIP will use just under $10,000,000 of capital reserves in coming years and that no general-tax-supported new debt is planned until FY2028.

Mayor Hardy, who opened the meeting, framed the budget as a core community decision: “this is 1 of the most important decisions we make each year, is to ensure we are being good fiscal stewards of taxpayer dollars and that the budget reflects the priorities of the community.”

The city staff emphasized the timeline: materials and presentations are posted on fallschurchva.gov/budget; council work sessions and ordinance first readings are scheduled in April with a final council vote planned for May 12; the fiscal year begins July 1.

The presentation closed with an invitation for public comment and a reminder the town-hall materials and the April 7 work-session packet would be posted for public review.","City Manager Wyatt Shields presented a proposed FY2026 budget at a town hall that would cut the real estate tax rate by 2.5 cents, hold other tax rates steady, add a $500,000 revenue contingency and increase operating spending while reducing reliance on capital reserves.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Falls Church boosts paving funding to $2.2 million; residents and CACT press for larger sidewalk and safety investments

Broadway condominium residents urge Falls Church to study stormwater impacts of nearby redevelopment

Falls Church begins public discussion of replacing tax-funded curbside service with a fee; multifamily equity questioned

Falls Church manager proposes 2.5-cent real estate tax cut in $134 million FY2026 budget with $500,000 contingency