Op-Ed By Daniel F. Drummond
Should the Beatles song “Let It Be” be the slogan for every City of Fairfax Mayoral and City Council candidate this election cycle?
I think so. Using those “words of wisdom,” as the song goes, those currently serving in City leadership and those seeking to sit on the dais should slow down, take a breath, and really think about the current state of the City and its future.
Don’t get me wrong, we still need to improve our vehicle-powered transportation system, have policies to boost our local economy, and make smart investments. What we don’t need, though, is more high-density building, exorbitant taxes, and changes to our governing structure.
As someone who served on City Council, I certainly understand the challenges current and future leaders have. There are pressures from a variety of constituencies as well as the need to respond to events. That said, I encourage these leaders to have a new mindset when it comes to leading our fair city.
To start, don’t change the City Charter. The Mayor-Council form of government has proven to be an effective way of balancing the needs of the community with strong leadership, when needed, from the Mayor’s chair. Unfortunately, we have already seen unfiltered partisanship
and a shift from May to November elections, making City elections less about the issues and more about a party. And that’s really sad. We shouldn’t be voting based on the color of a sample ballot. Modifying the Charter, as some have suggested, will only make the situation
worse.
Second, tap the brakes on construction around the City. I have been a supporter of mixed-use projects that bring apartments. I have been a supporter of the upcoming Sherwood Center expansion. But what I am against is increasing the size and scale of buildings in our City, resulting in buildings that tower over all of us and create the feeling of driving, walking, and biking through caverns. If you don’t believe me, go to the “Little City” of Falls Church. Driving through there is like Luke Skywalker flying through the Death Star to get to his target. We don’t want that here.
Third, find ways to cut the budget and lower taxes, or at least keep them flat. When I was on Council, my colleagues and I worked hard to keep the tax rate as low as possible. We would often find the “sweet spot” in a rate that had little to no impact on what people paid out of pocket, even with steeply rising housing valuations. That principle seems to be thrown out the window. Instead, the Council keeps hiring people, jacking up the tax rate, and avoiding hard budget decisions. It needs to stop.
According to the budget section of the City’s website, the average homeowner will see an increase of $426.50 per year in real estate taxes. That’s just the average. Keep in mind this is on top of increases of about 7 percent each year over the last several years, according to the City Manager’s budget. Now, that is a great, consistent annual return on investments, but not the tax rates that real people have to pay with real money. As another example from the City budget document, if the average dollar amount in taxes went up by $720 last year for a house valued at $694,000, then it goes up again by around that same amount; it means that just in the last two years, a homeowner is now shelling out an additional $1,400 in real estate taxes. That is not a formula to make the City more affordable. It’s just the opposite.
Finally, I would strongly encourage our City leaders to refrain from engaging in infrastructure projects because, as one City staffer said to me, “we get free money,” and we should proceed with them despite their negative impact on the community. The unnecessary bike lanes on
University Drive and the Blenheim Boulevard project are just two examples of boondoggles that needn’t have happened. I should note that there is never “free money” – it comes from somewhere. Again, it’s the mindset that matters. If you think taxpayer money is “free,” then you clearly don’t value the taxpayer or his or her money.
Ultimately, though, our City leaders – as well as staff – need the mindset that we are a small City. We are not trying to compete with Arlington, Fairfax County, or even the City of Falls Church. People take great pride in living in the City of Fairfax because of its small-town charm, high-quality services, and special events. None of that should go away. But it will if we continue the path we have been on for several years.
We are certainly a part of Northern Virginia – the heart of it, I would say. We don’t want to blend into it, though, where we lose our distinctiveness. We need to get back to valuing taxpayers, having development that retains our City’s character, and maintaining our governing structure to meet the needs of our citizens.
[Daniel F. Drummond is a former member of the Fairfax City Council and a resident of the Green Acres neighborhood.]
