city government | ALXnow

Advocates ask City Council to cut sheriff’s budget over inmate transfers to ICE

Published March 10, 2026 at 2:45PM | Updated March 10, 2026 at 3:03PM

City Council budget public hearing on March 9, 2026 (via City of Alexandria)

Critics of Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey asked City Council last night (Monday) to withhold his funding unless he stops voluntarily transferring inmates to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

More than two dozen speakers appeared before City Council at its public hearing on City Manager Jim Parajon’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal. For nearly a year, activists have protested against ASO’s transferring of Alexandria inmates to ICE custody via the agency’s detainers and administrative warrants.

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ACPS board asks City Council to postpone resolution vote on new school funding measure

By James Cullum

Published March 9, 2026 at 1:45PM

Alexandria School Board meeting in 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria City School Board is asking City Council to postpone voting on a resolution this week that would change how the city appropriates funding to the school system.

Mayor Alyia Gaskins introduced the proposal at City Council’s joint work session with the School Board on March 4. The new system would authorize Council to approve funding allocations by major classification, instead of an annual lump sum. School Board Chair Michelle Rief says that more discussion is needed.

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Alexandria’s professional employees agree to unionize in near-unanimous vote

By James Cullum

Published March 5, 2026 at 3:00PM

A City of Alexandria vehicle (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria’s professional employees have officially voted to unionize.

On Tuesday, the city’s professional employees voted 155-1 in favor of unionizing with AFSCME Council 20, an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. With significant support, the vote “marks 5 of 5 eligible Alexandria bargaining units to file and win their union representation elections since 2021,” according to a release from AFSCME Council 20.

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Democratic City Council candidate Sandy Marks lays out stakes in upcoming special election

By James Cullum

Published March 2, 2026 at 1:00PM

Sandy Marks, the Democratic nominee for the open City Council seat, at St. Elmo's Coffee Pub in Del Ray (staff photo by James Cullum)

Fresh from her recent Democratic firehouse primary win, City Council candidate Sandy Marks says there’s a lot on the line in the upcoming special election.

Marks is facing independent candidates Frank Fannon and Alison O’Connell in the race, which is slated to coincide with a proposed constitutional amendment to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts.

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Independent candidate Alison O’Connell turning in signatures to join City Council special election

By James Cullum

Published February 27, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated February 27, 2026 at 4:53PM

Alison O'Connell (courtesy photo)

With today’s 5 p.m. deadline fast approaching, Alison O’Connell is working to submit 125 signatures needed to file an independent candidacy to run for Alexandria City Council.

O’Connell, a founding member of Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights, is hoping to run for City Council with platform issues that include affordable housing, ethical investment and anti-immigration enforcement measures. She and her team have been collecting signatures and turning them in throughout the day to the city’s registrar’s office, she told ALXnow this afternoon (Friday).

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Plaintiffs against Alexandria’s Zoning for Housing initiative raise $28K needed for appeal

By James Cullum

Published February 27, 2026 at 3:00PM

The Alexandria courthouse in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

The plaintiffs in Alexandria’s Zoning for Housing/Housing for All lawsuit say they have raised the $28,000 required to pay for attorneys in their appeal against the Circuit Court’s November dismissal.

The plaintiff group, the Coalition for a Livable Alexandria, announced this morning (Friday) that it raised the funds for a fee agreement to move forward with attorneys at Dunn, Craig and Francuzenko. Last month, members of the group asked for donations in their continuing effort to reverse the city’s 2023 zoning overhaul, setting a Feb. 27 deadline.

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Alexandria residents fuel 3.4% rise in tax base, new assessments show

By James Cullum

Published February 27, 2026 at 12:15PM | Updated February 27, 2026 at 12:36PM

A street lined with American flags in Old Town, Alexandria (staff photo by James Cullum)

The gap between Alexandria’s residential and commercial tax bases continues to grow, with residents shouldering more of the city’s tax burden, according to the city’s released real estate tax assessments.

As of Jan. 1, Alexandria’s overall tax base increased by 3.4% in value, or nearly $1.7 billion, to reach $51.4 billion in 2026. The city’s residential tax base increased by 4.4% in value, or $1.4 billion, while the commercial tax base gained $334.8 million in value, up 1.9%, and the non-locally assessed tax base declined by $20.5 million, dropping 2.8%.

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Officials break ground on 377-unit affordable apartment complex at Victory Center

By James Cullum

Published February 26, 2026 at 10:30AM | Updated February 26, 2026 at 7:45PM

The Victory Center at 5001 Eisenhower Avenue (staff photo by James Cullum)

Officials kicked off the residential conversion of the long-vacant Victory Center yesterday (Wednesday) with a symbolic wall demolition, as the site is expected to welcome hundreds of housing units along Eisenhower Avenue.

The project at 5001 Eisenhower Avenue by property owner Stonebridge, the City of Alexandria and Amazon’s Housing Fund promises to bring 377 housing units to the 9.73-acre Victory Center property, including committed affordable and workforce units.

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City Manager unveils $977 million budget proposal without tax increase

By James Cullum

Published February 25, 2026 at 3:45PM

Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon at the George Washington Birthday Parade in Old Town, Feb. 19, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon unveiled his proposed $977.3 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget last night (Tuesday).

While the budget is a 2.2% increase from the current FY 2026 budget, Parajon’s proposal keeps the real estate tax rate of $1.135 per $100 of assessed value, and does not change the city’s refuse rate. He was able to achieve the feat through $9 million “in efficiency reductions, cost cutting savings, and vacant position reductions to balance the budget.”

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DEVELOPING: National Park Service denies approval of pump station at Waterfront Park

By James Cullum

Published February 25, 2026 at 2:10PM

Rendering of the pump station at Waterfront Park in Old Town at night, seen here looking east down Prince Street (via City of Alexandria)

The National Park Service has denied approval to build a pump station at Waterfront Park, the City of Alexandria has confirmed today (Wednesday).

The Alexandria Times was the first outlet to confirm the news. NPS sent the city a letter on Feb. 20 “indicating a reversal of their previous position on the City’s Deed Modification request for the Waterfront Flood Mitigation Pump Station,” according to the city website.

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Developer proposes converting office complex into townhomes on Eisenhower Avenue

By James Cullum

Published February 25, 2026 at 12:15PM

Tri Pointe Homes wants to redevelop 4701 and 4801 Eisenhower into a residential development (via Google Maps)

A plan to convert a two-story office complex into a residential community with 37 townhomes on Eisenhower Avenue is headed to the Planning Commission in April.

D.C.-area homebuilder Tri Pointe Homes is asking for permission to convert property at 4701 and 4801 Eisenhower Avenue into a residential development with 80 back-to-back units and 24% ground-level open space. The proposal, considered “phase 2” of the existing Eisenhower Pointe housing development, is expected to go before the commission on Tuesday, April 7.