By Letty Hardi, Mayor, City of Falls Church

Dear Friends,

After a spring break recess, it’s now budget season!

We kicked off the week with the City Manager’s presentation of the FY25 Operating Budget and the Capital Improvement program (CIP). Over the next 6 weeks, City Council will meet weekly or more to dig into the details and listen to your input at town halls (our first one was last night), public hearings, and our office hours. Budgets should reflect the community’s values and priorities. While I think it’s important everyone is engaged year-round (the origins of this blog) – budget season is when it’s especially important to pay attention so we ensure our tax dollars reflect the community’s top priorities.

Read on for a digestible summary of what’s in this year’s budget. Besides the headline of a 1 penny real estate tax reduction (note: this is meaningful as nearly all of our neighbors are facing tax rate increases this year), I’ll share my initial thoughts on the budget, why we’re in this unique position, and the schedule ahead of budget adoption on May 13.

I look forward to hearing from you. Take note that I’ll hold my personal office hours next Friday, April 12 at 12 pm at the Broad St entrance of the Howard Herman Trail.

https://www.lettyhardi.org/updates-from-letty-april-5-2024-budget-edition-1

Best,
Letty

Blog posts are the personal views of Letty Hardi and not official statements or records on behalf of the Falls Church City Council