The devastating effect in the wider region of federal sequestration and the ongoing uncertainty about where the federal government is headed has not been lost on the City of Falls Church, attendees at an extraordinary joint work session of the City Council, School Board and Planning Commission held at George Mason High School Monday night learned.

Recent data shows that Virginia’s economy overall has nosedived to 48th place in the U.S., City Manager Wyatt Shields said in opening remarks, adding that Maryland sank to 49th and the District of Columbia to 51st.

This is the backdrop, he said, for lower than projected numbers for tax collections in the first quarter and an overall revenue growth of only 1.1 to 2.4 percent for the coming fiscal year.

With an ambitious schedule of new capital projects on the horizon the City has the benefit of a solid fund balance, solid capital reserves and a lot of economic development in the pipe line that can afford a way forward, Shields said.