Photo Red Light System Killed in Richmond, F.C. Council Furious

Only a slight "flicker of hope" remains in Richmond for the otherwise doomed photo red light program that numerous Northern Virginia jurisdictions, including the City of Falls Church and Fairfax County, have utilized in recent years. The requirement that the state legislature act to extend the program fell short during the just-ended legislative session with the speaker of the house stripped a transportation bill of an amendment that would have preserved it.

Falls Church City Manager Dan McKeever, briefing the City Council on the development at its meeting Monday, said that the governor can still add the amendment back in prior to the legislature's veto session on April 6. If that were done, then it would have to survive a veto vote by the legislature.

"This is a tyranny of the illogical," charged Falls Church Mayor Dan Gardner in response to the news. "There is no excuse for it. I would not want to be responsible if there is any loss of life as a result of this."

Council member David Snyder, to is the point man for the Council on transportation and safety issues, used even stronger language criticizing the legislature. "The relationship between the state government and the legitimate concerns of Northern Virginia has deteriorated to the point that it is not only dysfunctional but is harmful," Snyder said, reading a prepared statement.

He blamed "the narrow interest of extremist ideologies" in the legislature and "special interests" allayed against a "bi-partisan group of courageous legislators" representing Northern Virginia.

"This session had the usual fiscal unfairness, in which a huge subsidy is paid by Northern Virginia to the rest of the state," he went on. "This session was, however, the most offensive because the government in Richmond aggressively assaulted Northern Virginia's ability to provide for the welfare, safety and security of its own citizens" including "life-saving highway safety measures such as red light running enforcement technology that prevents some of the most lethal car crashes."

He noted the legislature also killed Northern Virginia's efforts as finding financial support for the upkeep, safety and security of Metro and its effort to protect citizens from the ability of gun-toting gangs and terrorists to enter government and recreational facilities.

"These bizarre actions are possible because of a unique combination of state tax and funding formulas, the control of extremist ideologies in Richmond and the Dillon Rule of law that prevents local governments from acting unless the state grants them permission," he said.

In echoing Snyder's remarks, Councilman Sam Mabry asked the City Manager to research the options for the City to challenge the Dillon Rule in court.

In Fairfax County, Gerry Connolly, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, was not quite as critical of the legislature, although he acknowledged that while Fairfax constitutes 14% of the state's population, it provides 26% of the state's tax revenues, and gets back from Richmond only 21 cents in funds or services for every dollar in taxes it sends down.

In comments to the News-Press Saturday, he said that small gains in local jurisdictions' abilities to add revenues were allowed by the legislature in the form of hotel, cigarette and recordation taxes which, in the case of Fairfax County, will add $19.3 million, or the equivalent of about one cent on the county's real estate tax rate.

A "little more" transportation and education money was also provided, he said, adding that he'd pledged that all new revenues from the state would be used to lower the tax rate. It also helped, he said, that the county sponsored its second annual reception in Richmond that brought the entire Northern Virginia legislative delegation together.