News

Alexandria City Council sets Nov. 1 budget retreat

By James Cullum
The Alexandria Permit Center is located in the Redella S. “Del” Pepper Community Center at 4850 Mark Center Drive (via City of Alexandria)

The Alexandria City Council will open its budget season with an annual retreat in the West End on Saturday, Nov. 1.

The meeting will be held in-person in the first-floor community conference room of the Del Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive) from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Council will receive a revenue forecast, expenditure overview and a preliminary budget gap from city staff, as well as a presentation from Alexandria City Public Schools and other city departments.

The meeting can be accessed via Zoom with the webinar ID 957 8662 6070 and passcode 805714.

The budget will be adopted on Wednesday, April 29, 2026.

Below is the city’s budget calendar for the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

  • February 24, 2026 – City Manager’s Proposed Budget Presentation
  • February 25, 2026 – Budget Work Session #1 -City Capital Improvement Program
  • February 26, 2026 -Public Presentation of FY 2027 Proposed Budget
  • March 4, 2026 -FY 2027 Budget Work Session #2 ACPS
  • March 9, 2026 – City Council Budget Public Hearing
  • March 11, 2026 – FY 2027 Budget Work Session #3
  • March 14, 2026 – City Council Budget Public Hearing
  • March 18, 2026 – FY 2027 Budget Work Session #4
  • March 25, 2026 – FY 2027 Budget Work Session #5
  • April 18, 2026 – FY 2027 Add/Delete Public Hearing
  • April 21, 2026 – FY 2027 Budget Work Session #6 Preliminary Add/Delete
  • April 27, 2026 – FY 2027 Budget Work Session #7 -Final Add/Delete (if needed)
  • April 29, 2026 – FY 2027 Budget Adoption/Tax Rate Adoption
  • July 1, 2026 – Fiscal Year 2027 starts

About the Author

  • Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.