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TextBoard Announces Community Outreach on 2012 Budget
September 14, 2010 – The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors today announced its community outreach plans for the FY2012 Budget. Chairman Sharon Bulova said that community outreach has been a critical component of the budget process, and that outreach has become even more important while the country continues to struggle economically.
“During the past two years, as our community has struggled with the effects of a severe national economic breakdown, we have benefitted from a generous level of community participation in the Budget Process,” Chairman Bulova said at the meeting. “The process for identifying priorities, areas for savings and reorganizational efficiencies has been enriched and improved thanks to our residents and workforce who have joined us at the table during these challenging times.”
Chairman Bulova said the County is expanding its outreach this year with the creation of a new take-home package for residents to hold their own budget discussions. This Do-it-Yourself Toolkit will be distributed online, and will available to anyone who cannot attend the two public forums in October or anyone who would prefer to lead a small-group discussion at home.
“This toolkit is meant to get residents all the information they need, when they need it, so that they can offer us suggestions on how to improve Fairfax County through the budget process,” Chairman Bulova said. “The budget affects residents in a profound way, and therefore its development should involve not just policy experts and officials, but a well-informed community.”
The Toolkit will include an educational 15- minute video produced by Channel 16, background information to guide the discussion, suggested questions for the group to use to frame their discussions, and an online form to provide feedback to the County.
On October 5th and 23rd, Fairfax County will hold community forums in the tradition of the successful Community Dialogue series. These meetings provide a good opportunity for board members to hear directly from Fairfax County citizens, and a healthy dialogue will contribute to a budget that takes into account the needs of all residents, Chairman Bulova said.
The October 5th forum will be held at the Fairfax County Government Center from 7pm to 9pm, and the October 23th forum will be held at Hayfield Secondary School from 2pm to 4pm.
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