Clear Divide Among Council Candidates on Referendum Question

3 of the 6 Candidates for City Council do NOT support the proposed Charter Change Referendum which will be on the ballot May 6th for City voters. The CBC Candidates: Robin Gardner, Lindy Hockenberry and Lawrence Webb are clearly against the Charter Change Referendum.

Nader Baroukh, Margaret Housen and Ed Hillegass have all declared they support the Charter Change Referendum.

Gardner, Hockenberry and Webb give reasons why they don't support the Charter Change:

• "The proposed Referendum would restrict the ability of City Council to seek and approve commercial developments (which ultimately places more of a tax burden on residential homeowners)."
• "It's bad government to start changing your City's Charter of Government; it should only be done for very compelling reasons and when there are no other governmental tools available, and that is not the case here."
• "The proposed Referendum would create a hostile climate towards developers seeking to build any commercial development in our City - and would actually drive projects away. Again, without the much needed commercial tax base, the tax burden of supporting our schools and city services would fall squarely on the backs of the residential homeowners."

Nader Baroukh finally gave a clear YES answer in support of the controversial Referendum when put on the spot by Mayor Gardner at the Chamber of Commerce's Candidate Debate Tuesday night at the Falls Church Community Center. Baroukh had formerly been vague on the Yes or No question of "Do you support the Referendum?", at both the Chamber debate and the League of Women Voter's Debate last week, by sidestepping actually saying Yes, he supports the referendumb.

Margaret Housen had already declared her support for the Referendum at the LWV Debate. Ed Hillegass, the perennial No-Show Candidate (he did not show up at either the Chamber or LWV Debates), declared his support for the Referendum in flyers which he handed out around town.

Patrice Lepcyzk stated she did NOT support the Referendum, for many of the reasons cited above (bad government, too restricting, would increase taxes, etc), at the LWV Candidate Debate as well.

Letter to Falls Church - from Sharon Schoeller

Below is a Letter to the Editor of the Falls Church News-Press from Sharon Schoeller, a long time resident and highly regarded advocate of Falls Church schools. This is a shortened version for the News-Press. Click HERE for the original, full version.

Dear Editor,
As a 29-year resident of Falls Church and a past president of PTAs at every level of our schools, I’m concerned about some of the candidates running for City Council and their “plans” for our City. Our schools are among the best in the nation and we want to keep them that way. To keep our schools competitive, we need funds to support them.
For decades, Falls Church tried with little success to attract significant commercial development. Then a number of expert studies showed that a key factor in attracting business is incorporating high-end, mixed-use development - because new residents in the mix add the buying power needed to draw businesses.
Recent Councils have successfully increased our tax base through mixed-use development, so much so that we will pay lower taxes this coming year, while we fully fund the School Board’s budget request.
New development has replaced blighted sites with high-end buildings, new shops and restaurants (e.g., The Broadway replaced the long abandoned AdCom building and The Spectrum replaced an overgrown lot vacant more than two decades).
Some candidates say the new development “overcrowds” our schools. This is not the case. Buildings such as the Broadway and Byron house very few school children. These kinds of mixed-use projects generate substantial new revenue for the City, and put little load on our schools. They also mean more customers for our local businesses, helping them prosper and generate more sales tax revenue, further enhancing school funding.
Thanks to diligent planning by recent School Boards & Councils, and strong community support for construction of our new middle school and expansion of Mt. Daniel, our schools have ample capacity. As the current School Board chair stated in a letter Feb. 24th, “we can handle the anticipated influx of students in our current buildings and classroom space in the upcoming years.”
I plan to vote for Robin Gardner, Lindy Hockenberry and Lawrence Webb for Council because they support reasonable mixed-use development as part of an overall strategy to attract business, citizens and tax dollars to Falls Church to support our excellent services and schools.

Sharon Schoeller
Falls Church

Information on the proposed REFERENDUM to change the City Charter

Check out this article by Bob Burnett - he interviews a former Mayor of Seattle for information on referendums in general and specifically on the Charter Change referendum which Falls Church voters will face when they go to the polls on Tuesday, May 6th. Click on the title above, or here: Link

Falls Church & Surrounding Jurisdictions' Proposed Tax Rates for 2008 - THE FACTS

Fact: The Real Estate tax rate for Falls Church for 2006 and 2007 remained steady at $1.01 - coming in at #5 out of the 11 Northern Virginia jurisdictions tax rate comparison schedule. See table*
Fact: Falls Church's projected Real Estate tax rate for 2008 is $1.04 - - - coming in even lower at #8 on the list of the 11 Northern Virginia jurisdictions. See table**
Fact: While some of Falls Church's neighbors have been hit with 20%+ increases in their Real Estate tax rates for the coming year, most Falls Church homeowners can expect to see LOWER tax bills in 2008 for their homes. Average homeowner's tax bill will decrease by $112.
Fact: Falls Church's ability to lower most homeowner tax bills for '08 is due to increase in new commercial construction/assessments. See http://www.fallschurchva.gov/ article on RE Assessments dated 3-5-08.
So, please. Remember the FACTS when the doomsday naysayers begin their campaign season rhetoric!

Falls Church Real Estate Assessments up 1% overall. Decline in existing Residential Assessments Offset by New Construction..

Press Release from City of Falls Church, March 5, 2008:
FALLS CHURCH CITY, VA. – The total assessed value of real estate as of Jan. 1, 2008 increased slightly less than 1 percent over 2007. Assessments declined on most existing single family dwellings, townhouses, and condominiums. The value of commercial and new residential construction (primarily condominiums) offset the decline to yield an overall increase in real estate values by 0.8 percent. The City plans to mail assessments for 2008 to property owners by Monday, March 10.

Click here for the full article: http://fallschurchva.gov/government/officeOfCommunications/documents/RealEstateAssessmentsRelease030508.pdf