November, 2005 - Volume 90, No. 3
ACCF General Meeting Notice
Tuesday, November 1, 2005 at 7:00pm
Hazel Conference Center
Virginia Hospital Center-Arlington
1701 North George Mason Drive
Agenda
Tuesday November 1, 2005
7:30pm
1. Pledge of Allegiance (formal start of meeting)
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes (Sept 6, 2005)
4. Treasurer's Report
5. Membership Committee Report
6. ACCF Legislation Committee Program on ACCF Legislative Package
7. Adjournment
Message from the President
ACCF Legislative Program
The Legislative Committee concluded its work with its third meeting on Monday, September 12. The committee's report includes a main, or basic package, and six Additional Items for consideration by Federation delegates.
- Urges the General Assembly to prohibit the use of cell phones by drivers on state and federal roads.
- Amend the Constitution to allow for the automatic restoration of voting rights to felons released from prison.
- Calls on the County Board to study the most effective way to match the annual real estate assessments with the start of the state fiscal year so that that tax rates match the fiscal year.
- Supports developers, the County Board, and other interested parties in reaching a consensus on appropriate mechanisms consistent with state law for a process to continue providing for affordable units and/or affordable housing resources.
- Amend the Constitution to allow the Governor to serve two consecutive terms.
- Supports a Constitutional amendment to provide real estate tax relief in the form of a homestead exemption for owner-occupied residential properties.
Items Proposed by Delegates will also be considered. However, they must be submitted in writing no later than 3 days before the meeting to the President and the Legislative Committee Chairman, preferably by e-mail. (for President Patrick Smaldore, e-mail to pat@civfed.org or to Legislation Committee Chairman Tim Wise to tim@civfed.org). In addition, 100 copies of the proposal must be on the table in the lobby of the Hospital's Hazel Conference Center by 6:45 p.m. on November 1st.
Copies of the draft legislative package were available at the October 4, 2005 meeting, and copies will be available at the November 1 meeting. The draft package is also available on the Federation's website - www.civfed.org.
As in past years, a Special Rule will be offered for the debate. The proposed Special Rule follows:
Special Rule. The Legislative Package will be considered in two parts - the main, or basic, part and additional items. For inclusion in the main part, the committee required a unanimous vote. If the Special Rule is adopted, there will be a single vote to accept or reject the main, or basic, package. If the "vote to accept" fails, we will consider each section separately. The Committee also is proposing six Additional Items for consideration by Delegates. These Additional Items were supported by a majority of committee members. After they are discussed and debated, they will be voted on separately. Items proposed by delegates to the President and Committee Chairman, as described above, will be considered as Additional Items. If Additional Items are approved by delegates, they will be incorporated into the overall package.
For more information please contact Tim Wise, Chair, tim@civfed.org, (703) 243-8345
Patrick Smaldore
ACCF Correspondence
The 2005 ACCF Revenues and Expenditures (R&E) Committee Budget report addressed a number of areas that we feel should receive attention and merit a response from the Arlington County Board and the Arlington County Manager in the areas of:
- Residential real estate values and assessments have increased at an unprecedented rate over the last five years, with the real estate tax on the average single family home to approximately doubling from CY 2000 to CY 2005. The size and complexity of the budget has increased correspondingly; transparency, timely and accurate information and clear presentations are essential.
- There is no entity in the Manager's office, and none eternal to County Government, that is tasked with saving money, reducing expenditures, or insuring that taxpayers are given equal consideration with the wants and needs of various constituent groups.
- County revenues are consistently underestimated and associated surpluses are not returned to taxpayers.
- County expenditures have consistently outpaced both population growth and the rate of inflation, without adequate explanation or justification.
- Increases in residential assessments over the past four years have resulted in a disproportionate tax burden on Arlington County homeowners.
- Increased property taxes directly impact housing 'affordability', for everyone. A number of important expenditure categories, including for the first time Pay As You Go Capital Expenditures, were omitted from the base budget in the 2006 presentation. Total employee costs and trends are not adequately broken out in budget presentations.
The ACCF R&E Committee is looking to arrange a meeting with appropriate County staff so that these concerns may be addressed, and that we may communicate them to our membership.
For more information please contact Burt Bostwick, Chair (burt@civfed.org) 703-527-5415
October 12, 2005
Arlington County Board
Arlington County, Virginia
#1 Courthouse Plaza, Suite 300
2100 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
Honorable Jay Fisette, Chairman
Subject: ACCF Lot Coverage Resolution
The Arlington County Civic Federation Recommends:
(1) That the Arlington County Board not adopt any of the three lot coverage options that have been advertised.
(2) The Arlington County Board adopt the revisions to Section 35-A-4 related to rebuilding of destroyed homes and the deletion of Section 35-A-3 related to expansions of homes on undersized lots.
We look forward to your response to our resolution. Please feel free to contact me via telephone at: 703-528-3935, or via email at: pat@civfed.org.
Thank you
Sincerely,
Patrick A. Smaldore Jr.
Patrick A. Smaldore Jr.
President, Arlington County Civic Federation
3859 North Second Street
Arlington VA 22203-3803
CC: ACCF Planning and Zoning Committee Chair
ACCF Committee Chairs
Ad Hoc Airports Committee
By-Laws Committee
Community Relations Committee
Cultural Affairs Committee
Environmental Committee
Ben Axelroad, Chair - 703-525-3083
Housing Committee
Legislation Committee
Membership Committee
Frances Finta, Chair - 703-528-2882/fax 703-528-0182
Parks & Recreation Committee
Planning & Zoning Committee
Public Services Committee - Amy Levin, 703-521-4894+
Revenues & Expenditures Committee
Scholarship Committees
9/11
Jim Pebley - 703-525-0766
Tim Reese 703-533-0091, Co-Chairs
Teachers
Schools Committee
Special Events Committee
Frances Finta - Phone 703-528-2882/ Fax 703-528-0182
Transportation Committee
The Arlington County Civic Federation 2005-2006
Executive Committee Officers
Executive Committee Members
Arlington County Civic Federation
C/o Patrick A. Smaldore Jr.
3859 North Second Street
Arlington, VA 22203-3803
This page was last revised on: October 21, 2005.
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Arlington County Civic Federation