Beginning August 4, 2010, approximately 50 Global Express cash payment centers will be available throughout Northern Virginia at grocery stores, markets, convenience stores, dollar stores, and check cashing stores, many with extended business hours.  This includes several Alexandria locations including locations on Mount Vernon Avenue, Beauregard Street, and at Potomac Yard. Payments will be posted the next day, but considered received on the date of submission.

In addition to offering convenience for residents, this service, in conjunction with online and by mail payment options, should help to diminish the long lines typically experienced at the Treasury windows during peak tax season.

After a few weeks of monitoring the program activity, staff will begin actively publicizing the availability and locations of this service mid-August, in time for the mailing of personal property and business personal property tax bills.  In addition, an article concerning the centers will be including in the September issue of FYI Alexandria, preceding the October 5 tax due date.

Financial Impact:

Customers will be charged no fee for this service.  The City will pay $1.25 per transaction, for an estimated annual cost of between $800 and $1,000.”

On May 3, the Alexandria City Council approved its FY 2011 Budget which increased overall spending by .3 percent. Approval of the budget is likely the most important action we take each year as it is a true statement of our priorities concerning the expenditure of public funds and how they will be employed to serve our citizens. I believe by its action, the Council acted prudently and in the best interest of our citizens, increasing important spending categories which are part of our core public services and helping to ensure the basic infrastructure necessary to our City to meet increasing demands.

Please find the rest below.

Our $531 million blueprint started with the City Manager’s proposed budget which eliminated 67 positions, many of which were vacant, but nonetheless represent a savings over the current fiscal year. These reductions along with others approved by the Council permitted the Council to check spending, keeping it fundamentally at its current levels. Most important, are the improvements which have been approved in the FY 2011 budget.

Notably, the Council increased spending to the Alexandria City Public Schools by generally 2 percent over this year in order to address increasing enrollment. We are committed to providing quality education for all of our youngsters, and this increase in tight economic times is further evidence of this commitment. In concert with the School Board, the Council also took necessary action to address unfunded future pension liabilities by setting aside funds in light of the General Assembly’s failure to adequately fund these obligations.

In a significant move to improve emergency medical response, the Council approved approximately $1 million for two peak-time ambulances which will greatly enhance response time to those in need of emergency medical services. The Fire Department’s goal for response time is that 90 percent of emergency calls should have medic units’ on-scene within six minutes. Unfortunately, we only achieve this goal 62 percent of the time and an increasing number of our emergency calls are handled by other jurisdictions under the regional mutual aid agreement. These new peak-time ambulances will greatly improve our abilities to meet our emergency goals, especially in the City’s West End and provide the service our citizens both expect and deserve.

The Council also restored funding for two police positions in the popular and effective Community Oriented Policing program as well as a deputy sheriff position. These positions along with the new ambulances again show our commitment to public safety, a core local responsibility.

When it came to transit, the Council wisely provided additional funds to fund Alexandria’s share of Metro expenses recognizing that mass transit is critical to our mobility as a City. We also restored $100,000 to Alexandria DASH in order to avoid service reductions.

The council also took initiative to improve some of our basic infrastructure by approving a 1⁄2 cent increase in the property tax rate dedicated to addressing storm water runoff projects which have long plagued some of our neighborhoods. These resources will allow us to begin to tackle a long list of storm water projects which impact roadways and public lands. These funds will be reserved in a special revenue account and can only be used for storm water infrastructure projects. The Council also rejected proposed cuts to street paving and sidewalk improvements, recognizing that we have just come out of the most challenging winters in recent memory and the condition of some of our streets deserve our attention and not less. I, for one, have never seen a pothole that got filled due to a reduction in spending.

The Council also chose to fund merit increases for the City workforce. The $3.4 million designated for merit raises recognizes the overall quality performances by city workers who had not had salary increases for almost three years. Each employee will get an average increase of 1.8 percent. These professionals are the ones who are there when we call 9-1-1, who keep our City clean and safe, and who take care of our most vulnerable citizens. Many of our employees were also pulling double shifts as we confronted three record snowstorms this past winter. We are fortunate to have such a professional workforce.

I believe the Council made significant reductions, keeping spending in check, and most importantly provided the needed improvements to city services — education, emergency medical and basic infrastructure — while essentially maintaining almost the same level of spending.

Throughout the fiscal year we will continue to monitor City spending and, where possible, we will reduce any unnecessary expenditure.

Kerry J. Donley
Vice Mayor

Nearly $9 Million Awarded to Improve Transit on Route 1, Beauregard-Van Dorn Corridors

News Highlights

• Grants are part of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Program, established through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
• Nearly $9 million in grants will support improvement of transit services along Route 1 and the Beauregard-Van Dorn Corridor

For More Information

• alexandriava.gov/Recovery

The City of Alexandria has been awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation today for improving transit services in two major traffic corridors. The first grant, for $8.5 million, is for construction of an exclusive transitway in the median of Route 1 between Monroe Avenue and East Glebe Road. The City was also awarded a second grant of $670,000 for planning of new facilities to assist priority transit service in the Beauregard-Van Dorn Corridor. Under the second grant, these facilities could include super stops (enhanced bus stops with real time bus information, solar lighting, and other amenities) and queue-jumping lanes (dedicated lanes that buses can use to advance from a traffic signal before the rest of traffic, moving more quickly through the roadways). These features should greatly assist future high-quality transit services in both of these corridors.The grants are part of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Program, established through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This competitive program, partially developed as an economic stimulus measure, can fund any type of transportation project, including roads, freight railroads, ports, passenger railroads, or public transit.

More than 1,400 applications requesting nearly $60 billion in projects were submitted from across the country. The nearly $9 million in grants to the City of Alexandria represented 30 percent of the $30.4 million awarded to projects in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The U.S. Census Bureau is recruiting temporary, part-time census takers for the 2010 Census. These short-term jobs offer good pay, flexible hours, paid training, and reimbursement for authorized work-related expenses, such as mileage incurred while conducting census work. Best of all, census takers work right in their own communities.
Census taker jobs are excellent for people who want to work part-time, those who are between jobs, or just about anyone who wants to earn extra money while performing an important service for their community.

Hundreds of thousands are needed for temporary jobs

Conducting the census is a huge undertaking. Hundreds of thousands of census takers are needed nationwide to help locate households and conduct brief personal interviews with residents. Most positions require a valid driver’s license and use of a vehicle. However, use of public transportation may be authorized in certain areas.

Your community is counting on you

Every 10 years, the Census Bureau takes a snapshot of our population, determining how many people reside within the nation’s borders, who they are, and where they live. The results help determine your representation in government, as well as how federal funds are spent in your community on things like roads, parks, housing, schools, and public safety. As a census taker, you’ll play a vital role in making sure that everyone is counted.

Bilingual speakers are encouraged to apply

All census takers must be able to speak English, but people who have bilingual skills are needed in communities where a large number of residents primarily speak other languages. If you have the appropriate language skills and cultural knowledge to communicate well in your community, we encourage you to apply.

2010 Census Jobs: http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/
Call: 571-730-6390 if you live inside the VA beltway.
Call: 1-866-861-2010 if you live outside of the beltway.

Vice Mayor Kerry Donley knows a good argument when he hears one. After serving on the City Council from 1988 to 1996 and then as mayor from 1996 to 2003, Donley has heard it all. So when speakers arrive at City Hall for a public hearing, Donley wants to hear a solid case. And he’s not afraid to make suggestions.

When a contractor asked for an exemption from fire-code regulations because Alexandria was the only jurisdiction to enforce fire-code regulation, Donley didn’t hesitate to offer his advice for a better argument.

“Be careful,” warned the vice mayor. “I don’t think you want to say it’s not being enforced in other jurisdictions. It’s just being enforced in a different manner.”

Later that afternoon, when a resident of the Carlyle neighborhood announced that he would file an application for a concealed weapon permit as a result of City Council’s decision to approve a special-use permit application for a 7-Eleven on John Carlyle Street, Donley didn’t like what he was hearing. The vice mayor said he was willing to hear the case against noise, loitering and alcohol sales. But he didn’t think concealed weapons should be part of the discussion.

“I just don’t buy the hyperbolic argument of you feeling the need to arm yourself because a 7-Eleven is coming in there,” Donley told the speaker. “I think that line of reasoning isn’t helping your argument one bit.”

Read the full article here.

H1N1 vaccine is being made available to children in both public and private schools in Alexandria through the following mechanisms:

1. Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) have been signed between the Alexandria Health Department and the Alexandria City Public Schools and the Catholic Diocese for health department staff to assist in providing H1N1 vaccine in those schools. Other private schools in the city have been approached about also signing MOAs with the health department; the health department has been in contact with private schools in Alexandria a couple of time over the past 4 weeks to offer assistance if needed.
2. In both public and private schools, the youngest children will be vaccinated first. Starting today, children in K and 1^st grade will be vaccinated in a few public schools. We plan to schedule similar vaccination events for children in K and 1^st grade in the catholic schools next week, if we receive more vaccine. After vaccinating the youngest children, we will vaccinate older children, again in both public schools and those private schools with which we have MOAs.
3. Private providers are also receiving H1N1 vaccine, though so far only in limited supply. Private providers need to register with the Virginia Department of Health to receive and administer H1N1 vaccine. The focus is on providing vaccine to pediatricians, obstetricians, and primary care providers, and other providers caring for high risk populations. More vaccine is expected to be shipped to private providers next week. Parents should check with their pediatricians to request H1N1 vaccine once it is available.
4. The Alexandria Health Department will be having weekend vaccination events, starting on Saturday, October 31, contingent on receiving additional H1N1 vaccine. The Oct 31 event is planned for George Washington Middle School – information will be on the City of Alexandria web site concerning times and dates for weekend vaccination events. The plan is to have these vaccination events during weekends in November, assuming vaccine is available. The October 31 event will focus on vaccinating young children, especially pre-school children and others not receiving school based vaccination, and parents of young children, especially children under 6 months of age.
5. Pregnant women can call the Casey Health Center at 703-519-5979, extension 252, to make an appointment to receive H1N1 injectable vaccine, contingent on vaccine supply. Pregnant women cannot receive H1N1 nasal vaccine.
6. Early vaccine supplies have included a significant number of doses of nasal H1N1 vaccine. The health department is providing nasal H1N1 vaccine to children and parents of young children at the King Street site today, October 23, at 4480 King Street, until the supply of nasal H1N1 vaccine is gone. Nasal vaccine can be given to healthy children and adults between 2 and 49 years old who are not pregnant and do not have asthma.

Please follow the City of Alexandria website for the most up-to-date information on receiving H1N1 vaccine.

But in many respects “you get what you pay for”, and if our region wants a first class transit system we must put the needed resources in place for Metro to meet our growing needs. Additional federal, state and local resources are needed by Metro, and I wish to be counted as one elected official who advocates for additional funding. In fact, I propose an increase in the Northern Virginia gas tax as the first step for additional Metro funding.

Northern Virginia presently has a 2% gas tax which is devoted to Metro funding, and this levy has not been increased since the 1980s. Every 1% increase in the gas tax would yield approximately $19.3 million in additional funding for Metro. Our local dollars represent a substantial down payment on improving our regional transit system which moves thousands of people each day, and hopefully our funding will leverage federal and state funds for Metro.

Additionally, there are other reasons for Northern Virginia to consider an increase in the gas tax:

• Additional transit revenues should come from the driving public and not from real property taxpayers. In many respects, gas taxes are much like user fees. Travelers and visitors to the region should pay more of the burden as they are some of the direct beneficiaries of reduced congestion brought to the region by Metro. Additional gas tax revenues will also diversify our revenue base and ease the burden on real property owners who presently pay the difference between current gas taxes and our jurisdictional shares of Metro funding.

• The potential for more federal funds for Metro operations and maintenance may come with a requirement for additional local funding, and a gas tax increase will help satisfy that requirement.

• Additional local funding from Northern Virginia serves as a powerful statement to state and federal officials that we value Metro and that we, as a region, are willing to pay more for a safe, reliable mass transit system.

• The Northern Virginia gas tax rate has not been substantially increase since the 1980s, and even with a 2% rate increase Northern Virginia remains competitive with the Maryland and the District where local gas taxes are higher.

• Additional operating revenues will help keep fares at their current levels so they do not become a deterrent to transit usage, keeping commuters off already crowded roadways.

I think it is apparent that our localities will be facing high Metro allocations next year for both operations and maintenance, and we must be forward thinking when anticipating this increase. I believe a modest gas tax increase affords us to best opportunity to meet this growing demand in a fair and equitable manner.

Sincerely,
Kerry J. Donley
Vice Mayor
City of Alexandira

[The above oped was published online in the Alexandria Times on October 7th, 2009 and the Alexandria Gazette Packet on October 8th, 2009 - Brian]

The event was a fundraiser and adoption event for the Washington Humane Society, as well. They raised quite a bit of money, and got a dog adopted! In addition, the Washington Times wrote a piece on Drs. Perkins and Vyfhuis

Thank you to everyone who came out and thanks to the guys at fidojournalism for the great pics:

More pictures available at fidojournalism.

Remarks by Kerry J. Donley

City Council Installation

July 1, 2009

The campaign is over and it is now time for us to govern – for this Council to work together, to compromise, to coalesce, and to make decisions which will shape this community for decades to come. All of us come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences, but we now all share a common bond – we have been elected by our citizens to represent their interests, to provide for their common safety, and to make decisions on matters which come before the Council. I look forward to working with each on my colleagues over the next three years as we take up the public’s work here in such a great and historic city.

I have often said that Alexandria is big enough to solve our problems but not too big so that we lose our sense of community and civic pride. And it is this dynamic, this special quality which will enable us to meet the challenging times ahead.

The national recession has mired our commonwealth and our region in an economic slowdown we have not seen since the Great Depression, and while our City is much better off than the rest of the country, we will still face daunting times. Revenue is down, unemployment is up, and we face budget cuts from the state. Ironically all of this comes at a time when many of our citizens look to us for help and to ensure that essential services like public safety and public education are maintained. No doubt, economic and financial matters will dominate our agenda, most certainly in the short term.

However these challenging times also present unique opportunities and the Council must now seize those opportunities.

Robert Kennedy once said, “All of us might wish that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don’t. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.”

I am convinced that, despite our economic hardships, Alexandria has many opportunities to ensure our future fiscal health, to expand and diversify our revenues and thus provide the essential services our citizens expect and deserve. We cannot be idle and wait for better times. We must, however, establish clear priorities and action plans in order to be successful:

• Redevelopment of the Landmark Center must be our top priority as we seize the concept of new urbanism, combining mixed-use development and mass transit in order to transform a dying retail center into a vibrant neighborhood.

• Development at Potomac Yards is another opportunity. Zoning has been in place for a number of years and, in fact, the previous Council has made improvements. But the time has come for this project to take-off. We must move with haste to evaluate a new Metro-rail site and work with the owners to get the project going as our economy improves.

• The Old Town waterfront presents great opportunities to take advantage of a natural resource and bring fun, unique uses to Old Town which benefit residents and visitors alike.

Finally, I want to mention our dedicated and professional staff who ever day provide our public services. From policemen to firefighters to teachers to sanitation workers to the administrative staff at City Hall, these folks help make our City a great place to live and work. Much like our citizens, the tough economic times have confronted our workforce with stagnant salaries and in some cases reductions in staff. And our employees have faced these trying times with professionalism and dedication. We understand your plight, and we are grateful to you for your service each and every day. To each of you I say thank you on behalf of our residents.

I am grateful that the citizens of our great City have provided me with the opportunity to return to public service. It is great to be back and I look forward to the next three years with excitement. Now it is time to get to work.

Thank You and God Bless America and God Bless Alexandria.

Thank You List

Retiring Members

Campaign Staff
Scott Donley
Jim McIntyre
Judy Stack
Sandy Murphy
Dak and Mary Beth Hardwick
Diane Charles and Kevin Grim
David and Marcia Speck
Clare McIntyre
Brian Devine
Kellie and Brian Meehan
Sandra Troutman
Robert Burns
VCB
Peter Converse and Mike Anzilotti
Our Alexandria staff from Prince Street, King Street, Del Ray and Cameron Station

Family
Don and Grace Shamblin
Kristin, Jimmy & Jackson
Kaitlin, Colleen Cara, and Kelsey
Eva

Thank you for your generous donations of money, time, and talent during my campaign for City Council. I am humbled by your support and the support of so many Alexandrians who made my election victory possible.

As a member of the Alexandria City Council I intend to work tirelessly for our citizens, ensuring our financial stability during this economic crisis, that City services we have come to enjoy and expect are maintained, and to include public safety and education as part of the important dialogue we will have on the Alexandria City Council.

I am so privileged to be able to serve this great City and I could not have been successful without your support for which I am extremely grateful.

Very truly yours,

Kerry J. Donley