Campaign Email #3 - Affordability
Hope this email finds you rested and relaxed after a sweltering holiday long weekend! I know the Independence Day parade cancellation (among many other local event cancellations) was a major disappointment, but I appreciate the City staff putting public health and safety at the forefront of their decision-making. It's never fun or easy to deliver unpopular news and deal with the subsequent fallout, but successful leaders know it's part of the job.
I promised in my last email that I'd tackle the topic of affordability, so let's get to it. I know many of the candidates for Fairfax City office this fall are putting taxes and fiscal responsibility at the forefront of their campaigns. I think this reflects the reality that recent City property tax, meals tax, and property assessment increases, in combination with nationwide price increases on basically everything else, have left City residents feeling squeezed. I certainly feel this pain, too! Personally, I find some comfort in the City's budget transparency and the many ways we have as residents to make our spending (or saving) priorities known. Per the aforementioned note about delivering bad news: our budget is quite tight. Any candidate promising to make significant cuts to spending or tax rates should be asked some hard questions about what public services they are willing to eliminate. As mayor, I'm open to having any and all of these conversations - but I expect them to be data-driven, risk-informed, and transparent to all residents.
Looking ahead, I'm optimistic that this fall, City voters will have an opportunity to pass a sales tax referendum that will provide earmarked funds for education and transportation. If passed, tax dollars collected under this program would make a significant dent in the $220M bond for capital improvements to City school approved by voters in the 2024 election, thereby lowering the basis of estimate for any future property tax calculations.
In terms of true "affordable housing", I believe the City's 2020 Affordable Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance didn't go far enough in terms of ensuring new development provides affordable housing options that are accessible to those most in need. Most approved projects that are subject to the ordinance will provide studio or 1-bedroom units with no requirements regarding accessibility/ADA compliance. I would be in favor of strengthening the ordinance to require that designated affordable rental units reflect the proportions of unit sizes offered in the overall property, and that some portion of both rental and for-sale units meet defined safety and accessibility requirements for senior residents or residents with disabilities. I'd also love to explore the possibility of designated workforce housing for City employees, which could potentially offset the recruiting and retention impacts of municipal salaries that are in many areas lower than our surrounding jurisdictions. Lastly, I'd like to see the City reinvigorate its outreach to places of worship and civic organizations regarding future development options for their properties with the goal of proactively identifying opportunities for designated affordable housing, public-private ventures, or other uses benefitting the general public.
Affordability - whether that's your rent, your home purchase price, your property taxes, or your bag(s) of groceries - is a tough, multi-faceted problem to address. But I believe with solid analytics, innovative management of City assets, and effective long-term planning, Fairfax City will remain a truly special AND accessible place to live, work, and play.
As always, thanks for hanging with me this long! I'm always interested in hearing your thoughts about what topics or perspectives you'd like for me to cover next, so please let me know.
Stay cool,
- Kirsten