by Letty Hardi

Dear Friends,

In the vein of celebrating many milestones this year (namely, the city and FCCPS’s 75th birthdays, the library’s 125th birthday, and the W&OD’s 50th birthday) – this is my 370th post! Since 2015 when I first ran for City Council, these posts, my office hours, and “going to the people” via building visits, door knocking, and neighborhood meetings have been central to how I engage and listen to the community. I have aspired to write an easy-to-understand digest of city business, with links to the details should you want to dive deeper, while separating out my opinion. If you are a new reader or you have a burning question – I encourage you to check out one of my FAQ posts which covers all the usual suspects and misconceptions I hear especially when there’s a local election: development, school enrollment, traffic – you might be surprised by the facts. Other blogs have definitely come and gone since 2015, so I’d welcome your input on what has been useful for you and suggestions going forward.

Three main call outs this week:

• ‘Tis The (Leaf) Season: Falls Church Forward is launching our Leave the Leaves effort to encourage our community to try a different routine for leaves this season that is more eco-friendly and way less work. As a Leave the Leaves convert, I can give my personal endorsement. Let us know if you are interested in learning more or helping spread the word.
• Accessory Dwelling Meeting on Sunday: since the summer open houses, board and commission input, and work sessions – staff has synthesized the input plus national best practices into a “draft framework” that will be shared in these open houses for additional feedback.
• Letty’s Office Hours: as it’s looking rainy again next Monday, I’m moving my office hours indoors to Northside Social.

Read on for the city’s year end financial update. Being good stewards of the city’s finances – which includes generating the revenue to pay for new infrastructure and top quality services while keeping the tax burden on residents and businesses as low as possible (we have lowered taxes 14.5 cents, which is a rarity in the region right now) – is a critical part of the City Council’s job. So even if you’re not a numbers person, read on. And because next week is a 5th Monday, we have no meeting – so these posts will be on hiatus until the week of October 7, so you have two weeks to read!

https://www.lettyhardi.org/updates-from-letty-september-27-2024

Stay dry,
Letty

Email: lettyhardifcc@gmail.com, lhardi@fallschurchva.gov

Blog: www.lettyhardi.org/category/news/