Arlington

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County Board Approves $1.16 Billion Budget
From Page 5
to do.”
Other cuts included the elimination
of the Kids in Action After
School program for $158,416. According
to Hynes, the program is
duplicated in other existing afterschool
programming sponsored by
the schools.
“[This is] a duplicate of afterschool
programming in three locations,
and in two it’s possible to
work with extended day to blend
the programs,” said Hynes. “We
will be providing $36,000 to support
transition of this program to
APS extended day programs.”
Also in the budget were $2.5
million in funding from a transfer
of the Housing Grants Program
and PAYG (pay-as-you-go) from
ongoing funding to the general
one-time funding budget. Hynes
said the transition was, in some
ways, just moving the funding
from one source to another. However,
Hynes also noted that with
these two items put on the onetime
budget funding, their funding
levels next year is not guaranteed.
“These projects were transferred
from ongoing funding to one-time
funding,” said Hynes. “Next year,
the County Board will have to decide
if there are enough funds to
bring these back to ongoing funding.”
PAYG is a general capital
projects fund which primarily finances
maintenance projects, particularly
replacement and renewal
of existing infrastructure. PAYG
funding was reduced to $10 million
in the 2016 budget from $23
million in 2015 and $37 million
in 2014.
The Housing Grants Program
provides rental assistance to lowincome
Arlington residents. The
total funding to the Housing
Grants Program is maintained at
the proposed $8.9 million, a $1
million increase over FY 2015
funding. However, $1.5 million of
that funding is being transferred
from ongoing funding to one-time
funding.
The $2.5 million addition from
the third quarter review comes
from an overlap between the tax
and budget cycles.
Among the additions to the budget
from the County Board was
$80,000 to the Public Defender’s
office, part of a two-year set of
budget increases that will provide
a 15 percent salary supplement.
County Board members said they
were motivated by the testimony
from members of the Public
Defender’s office at the March 24
County Board public hearing.
“[These salaries] are not competitive
in our region at all,” said
Hynes. “They did come to talk to
us because they were having a
great deal of difficulty attracting
the caliber of people they need to
work on these cases.”
“They wanted to be equal to the
Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office,”
said Tejada. “That’s a very
tall order, I’m not sure we’re going
to get there, but this is a step
in the right direction.”
The County Board is also adding
five full time employees to the
Arlington Sheriff’s Department,
increasing funding to mental
health services in the detention
center, and adding a nurse practitioner
position to Arlington
Drewry Center, a mental health
and substance abuse treatment
center.
The total Arlington County Budget
for FY 2016 is $1.16 billion, a
1.1 percent increase over the FY
2015 $1.15 billion budget.
“Flourishing After 55”
“Flourishing After 55” from Arlington
Office of Senior Adult Programs, for May
4-9.
Senior centers: Lee, 5722 Lee
Hwy.; Langston-Brown Senior Center,
2121 N. Culpeper St.; Culpepper Garden,
4435 N. Pershing Dr.; Walter Reed,
2909 S. 16 th St.; Arlington Mill, 909 S.
Dinwiddie St.; Aurora Hills, 735 S. 18 th
St.
Senior trips: Monday, May 4, tour
VMI and George Marshall Museum, Lexington,
$51;Wednesday, May 6, lunch at
Carroll’s Creek Café, Annapolis, $58;
Thursday, May 7, National Gallery of
Art, D.C., $7. Call Arlington County 55+
Travel, 703-228-4748. Registration required.
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Arlington Connection ❖ April 29 - May 5, 2015 ❖ 7