The George Washington Birthday Parade returned to Alexandria on Monday after a two year hiatus. The streets of Old Town were lined with celebration for Washington’s 290th birthday.
Alexandria’s health care workers and first responders marched as parade grand marshals. The parade, which started at Gibbon and Fairfax Streets and snaked around City Hall, was attended by thousands. The event is the largest of its kind in the world honoring the founding father and first president.
(Updated 3 p.m.) Alexandria’s been a little more laisse faire about zoning restrictions in some ways for local businesses since the pandemic started, and a new amendment put forward by city staff could see that extend until the end of June.
Not long into the pandemic, the city approved a temporary relaxation of handful of ordinances to help make life a little easier for local businesses going through the worst throes of the pandemic’s economic impact.
The Alexandria School Board unanimously adopted Superintendent Gregory Hutchings’ $346 million fiscal year 2022 Combined Funds Budget last Thursday night.
The proposal, which was approved without discussion, is a nearly 4% increase ($9.3 million) over last year’s request from the City, and asks for approximately $248.7 million from the city to give employees a 2.6% salary step increase and a 2.5% market rate adjustment. The school system is banking on the hope that the city will endorse former Governor Ralph Northam’s proposal to raise teacher pay by 10.25% across the state.
Other than the stabbing, this week was relatively sedate — especially compared to last week.
With the drama behind Governor Youngkin’s recent visit mostly in the rearview mirror, the city’s been getting to the internal business of budget issues. Residential property assessments are up and hotel revenue down, not to mention an election safely behind a new Council, but remains to be seen whether the city will see a tax rate increase.
Alexandria’s residential property assessments are climbing this year and, for the first time in years, that includes a significant increase for condos.
Mayor Justin Wilson, in a virtual town hall last Thursday, said the assessed property value increase comes after years of that being essentially stagnant.
(Updated 2/7) Busy week at the intersection of state and local politics.
Yesterday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin visited an Alexandria Safeway for a roundtable discussion only to get heckled for not wearing a mask indoors. There’s even a shirt referencing the incident being produced as a fundraiser. Meanwhile, members of Youngkin’s administration made better headway in meeting with state and federal leaders to discuss increased infrastructure funding for a local bridge project.
An unmasked Governor Glenn Youngkin made a surprise stop at the Bradlee Shopping Center Safeway yesterday (Thursday), and afterward the Alexandria Democratic Committee tweeted for him to “get out of Alexandria.”
Youngkin, a Republican, spoke without a mask inside of the store at noon. He discussed “the elimination of the grocery tax, the rising costs of groceries, and the impacts of inflation on Virginia families and the high cost of living,” according to an email.
If you or a loved one have gotten a red light ticket at Duke and South Walker streets you may be entitled to financial compensation.
The City of Alexandria is dismissing erroneously issued red-light speeding citations from the intersection and providing full refunds to impacted customers. The city said camera was not using the 0.5 seconds of amnesty required by law.
(Update at 2:45 p.m.) It’s no secret that Alexandria’s public safety agencies want a raise in the upcoming city budget, but if they are to get a compensation increase it will be outside of the boundaries of collective bargaining.
After more than a year of organizing, the elections for collective bargaining representation for the city’s first responders will be held between Feb. 5 and Feb. 22. But with a staffing crisis and compensation issues within the Fire Department, Police Department and Sheriff’s Office, it will not be until 2024 until negotiations will be fruitful.
Just hours before a Joint City Council/School Board Subcommittee meeting, new Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon spoke with Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr.
Parajon, who started work earlier this month, said it was a great conversation and that he looked forward to working collaboratively with Hutchings, who wants a 2.6% salary step increase and a 2.5% market rate adjustment for all eligible ACPS employees in the upcoming fiscal year 2023 budget.
The Alexandria City Council will likely extend the city’s state of emergency from the end of January to June 30, 2022. Tuesday night’s (Jan. 11) vote will be the fifth extension of the declaration since the pandemic began in March 2020.
The declaration, which was first approved by Council in March 2020, has been continually updated, and finds that “the emergency continues to exist and will exist into the future.”
