THE NEW PROCESS:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Arlington County Civic Federation that it commends the County Manager and County staff, especially the members of the Capital Action Team, for their improvements to the Capital Improvement Program process, including, but not limited to:

1. Separation of planning and design funds from construction funds;

2. Focus on "master planning"; and

3. Distinguishing between new projects and capital asset preservation.

PRIOR FEDERATION RECOMMENDATIONS:

2. WHEREAS the full effects of existing improvements cannot be achieved until all of the recommendations of the Capital Action Team are implemented; including those recommendations that include concepts supported by the Federation in the past, such as publicizing a detailed financial and performance analysis of ongoing improvement projects;

BE IT RESOLVED by the Arlington County Civic Federation that it encourages the County Manager to complete expeditiously the adoption of the recommendations of the Capital Action Team and publicly announce a timetable for such adoption. In particular, the inventory of all County capital assets and their current status (e.g. needed repairs and renovations as well as use patterns) should be expeditiously completed and made available for public comment.

3. WHEREAS the credibility of the County's bonding process depends upon fully informed public understanding and participation;

BE IT RESOLVED by the Arlington County Civic Federation that it recommends to the Arlington County Board that it undertake an initiative so that voters may have more detailed information (e.g. the equivalent of 'home mortgage disclosure' information) on all bond issues approved for submission for public referendum.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Arlington County Civic Federation that it recommend to the County Board and the County Manager that it would be more beneficial for public participation to have preliminary estimated numbers or ranges of numbers, with appropriate qualifications noted, rather than to have no estimates at all.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Arlington County Civic Federation that it encourages the Arlington County Board to place funding for dissimilar projects (including non-coloctaed projects) into separate referendum issues.

4. Consistent with prior recommendations of the Federation which set the goal of achieving the most economical cost of financing, BE IT RESOLVED by the Arlington County Civic Federation that it transmit the following policy recommendations to the Arlington County Board: a) it supports bonded indebtedness not to exceed a period of twenty (20) years; b) it finds the justification for the proposed switch to variable rate financing to be inconclusive; and c) refinancing options for debt management should be a part of future Capital Improvement Program presentations.

SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS:

5. BE IT RESOLVED by the Arlington County Civic Federation that it recommend to the County Board that in the future public hearings on the Capital Improvement Program not be scheduled to conflict with meetings of the Civic Federation so that many more concerned Arlingtonians may participate in those hearings.

6. WHEREAS the Neighborhood Conservation Program has long been supported by the Arlington County Civic Federation and others as a distinctive and unique method for managing selected improvements within the County with a maximum of public participation;

BE IT RESOLVED by the Arlington County Civic Federation that it recommend to the Arlington County Board that the County Manager be directed not to merge, as he has proposed, currently separate programs, such as street lighting or block improvement projects, into the jurisdiction of the Neighborhood Conservation Program.

7. WHEREAS the Arlington County Civic Federation has recommended that the County establish an explicit debt management plan with a maximum of public participation that would balance more effectively competing needs, and WHEREAS such a comprehensive plan would provide a cap on total bonded indebtedness and a prioritized list of projects to utilize the capacity remaining between the current level of debt and the debt ceiling;

BE IT RESOLVED by the Arlington County Civic Federation that it recommend to the Arlington County Board that the November 2002 bond referendums not exceed $130 million until such a plan is in place.

This page was last revised on: December 27, 2003.