|
Thank you for being here tonight for the
swearing in of the 9th Urban Board of Supervisors and Constitutional
Officers of Fairfax County.
When I was a little girl, back when Harry
Truman was president, when 1949 became 1950, I used to calculate
how old I’d be at the turn of the century, and wonder
what the world would be like when 1999 became 2000. Well,
now we don’t need to wonder what the future will be like
. . . because the future is here.
At this time, in this Country, in this County,
we are truly blessed. More of us are better off than ever
before. Our unemployment rate in Fairfax is less than 1.5
percent. Our median household income is $82,000 a year, the
economy is thriving. More than half of the world’s internet
traffic moves through Tysons Corner. Our crime rate is one
of the lowest of any jurisdiction our size. More than 90 percent
of Fairfax County high school graduates go on to college.
Our fiscal house is now in order; the structural
imbalance of four years ago has been eliminated, and we have
established a rainy day fund to help insulate the budget from
future temporary downturns in the economy. Unlike the previous
two Boards, this incoming Board of Supervisors will not have
to raise taxes to balance the budget this spring.
Fairfax County government revenue, however,
still is not growing at the same rate as the local economy,
or the state’s revenue. Indeed, all Virginia counties
struggle with the same, outdated tax structure. Hopefully
when the Commission on Tax Reform is finished, the state will
make revisions that will reduce this locality’s heavy
dependence on local property taxes and antiquated business
taxes. The state budget surplus is generated because Northern
Virginians, with their high personal incomes, comprise 25%
of the state’s population but contribute 39% of the state’s
income tax revenue.
In 1997 another rating house awarded Fairfax
County a AAA bond rating, making Fairfax one of a very select
group of triple-triple A jurisdictions. One of twenty-two
to be exact. Fairfax earned this designation because the Board
of Supervisors has been willing to make tough fiscal decisions—and
this Board of Supervisors will continue to do that.
Times are so good that it may seem that
an incoming Board of Supervisors might not need to do much
of anything – other than stay the course or stay out
of the way. But we know that to stand still is to lose our
place in a competitive global economy. To be satisfied is
to be overtaken. The challenge that faces us is to maintain
our quality of life while we sustain our economic vitality.
What must we do to maintain that quality
of life? Our first priority must be our young people, ensuring
them the opportunity to attend strong, safe public schools
with excellent teachers. We cannot possibly know all the choices
our children and grandchildren will have when selecting their
future careers, but we have an obligation to prepare them
for whatever they choose. How many of our parents thought
any of us would grow up to be webmasters?
Our local economy in the twenty-first century
will depend on our ability to develop a workforce that has
the necessary skills to succeed in the information age. The
immediate challenge -- one I pledge to work with the School
Board to meet-- is to find a way to accelerate the school
construction program to add classrooms and reduce the number
of children in trailers.
Our schools, our neighborhoods and our business
centers must continue to be places where we live, learn, work
and play without fear for our personal safety. Working together
we will continue to find new ways for public safety officers
to work with our community, in our neighborhoods and schools,
in non-traditional ways.
As county government strives to deliver
the high quality services our citizens expect, we will continue
to streamline it to make it more efficient, more customer
service oriented and flexible enough to meet the needs of
the future.
One way to do that is to continue to incorporate
technology into government operations. Fairfax County has
taken a three pronged approach to public access technology,
allowing residents to transact business with the County using
the Internet, interactive kiosks, or touch-tone telephones.
This approach has been recognized as among the best uses of
technology by a local government in the Commonwealth of Virginia
and, for that matter, in the Nation.
Residents can now pay county taxes, report
changes of address, pay traffic tickets, or apply for a job
with Fairfax County without coming to the Government Center.
This year nearly 60,000 residents paid their personal property
taxes using one of these new technologies.
As successful as we have been, we can do
more. Residents should to be able to schedule inspections;
request special trash pick-ups; submit land use plans and
track the progress of land use cases from their homes.
As we enter the 21st century, Fairfax County
is leading the way in creating a government without walls,
clocks, or waiting lines. By making it possible to do business
with the County from anywhere, at anytime citizens can spend
more time in their neighborhoods with families and friends,
and less time in their cars.
Neighborhoods are the places we call home,
and there are thousands of different neighborhoods in Fairfax.
The quality of life in an entire community is enhanced when
citizens have the opportunity to choose their neighborhood
from a variety of options: rural, urban, large yards, no yards,
cul-de-sacs, on a transit line. For instance, many neighborhoods
have streams running through them. We must focus on improving
the quality of the water in our streams, and therefore in
the Chesapeake Bay. The Tree Preservation Task Force recommendations
on how to save trees should be implemented, and we will pursue
creative ways to preserve parkland and open space.
Some of our neighborhoods, particularly
in older commercial areas, need revitalization. Revitalization
is the smartest growth of all, because it takes advantage
of the investment already made in existing infrastructure.
Over the past four years we have put mechanisms and incentives
in place to facilitate revitalization. What is required now
is more investment and new partnerships, as well as continued
community involvement, to stimulate activity.
Speaking of partnerships, Fairfax County
will form many new ones during the next four years, because
government cannot and should not do everything itself. County
government needs business, community, and non-profit partners
-- not only for revitalization, but for additional recreational
opportunities, for keeping our roads litter free. Partnerships
to help nurture small businesses and promote an entrepreneurial
spirit. Partnerships like the successful Fairfax Partnership
for Youth that strives to prevent youth violence and gang
activity by providing mentoring and supervised activities,
and of course partnerships to help those who need emergency
assistance.
Although this is an exciting and prosperous
community, there are those who are not prospering. As a county,
we must weave together a fabric of services -- government,
non-profit, the faith community and the business community
-- to help those who desperately need it.
Much has changed in Fairfax County over
the last 100 years. Between 1890 & 1900, Fairfax County’s
population grew from 16,655 residents to 18,580. Fairfax County
had fewer residents that Fauquier. In 1999 alone our population
has grown by about 18,000 residents, from 948,000 to an estimated
966,000. In 1899 there were 6 magisterial districts: Centreville,
Dranesville, Falls Church, Lee, Mount Vernon and Providence,
or one Supervisor for every 3000 residents. Today, the Sully
District has well over 140,000 residents. There were no women
or minorities on the 1899 Board of Supervisors. In 1999 there
are both.
In 1899 almost everyone in Fairfax County
owed his or her living to agriculture. In 1999 Fairfax County
is one of the hottest hi-tech business locations in the Country,
home to the companies that are building the information-age
economy. As I said at the outset, the future is here. The
Board of Supervisors will do what needs to be done to see
that it stays.
Yes, a lot has changed, but some things
have not changed, at least not as much as we would like.
I’m quoting now from the book Fairfax
County Virginia, A History, during the 1900-1925 time period
from a chapter titled Transportation Aggravations, and I quote
"The most serious problems facing the
Fairfax farmer, and affecting the remainder of the population
as well, could be traced to the transportation system connecting
the county to the capital."
and
"Editorials continually condemned the
disregard for speed limits and the ‘joy riders,’
who race over public highways and streets . . ."
To be a world-class community, this region
must have a world-class transportation system. A system that
is balanced between roads and transit, one that does not cause
hours of wasted time and frustration. Working with the federal
government, the state and the region, rail must serve Tysons
Corner and ultimately Dulles Airport. Metrorail should be
extended to Centreville.
While major projects like the Woodrow Wilson
Bridge and the I-95/395/495 interchange get lots of attention
and must move forward, the transportation network also depends
on intersection improvements, secondary road improvements,
signal synchronization, better pedestrian access and increased
bus service to reduce congestion. This region has recently
approved the Northern Virginia 2020 Plan; now all of us, working
together, must make the Plan a reality.
As a popular high-technology business location
there is a unique opportunity to take advantage of an alternative
to traditional commuting that does not involve getting into
cars -- telecommuting. Encouraging County employers to allow
their employees to work from home is another way to ease traffic
congestion. Currently only three percent of Fairfax County
government employees telecommute. Fairfax County should lead
by example, and increase that number.
Transportation is becoming more than a commuter
issue. The lack of adequate access to transportation for senior
citizens can be a significant barrier to their ability to
enjoy a high quality of life. This Board of Supervisors must
find ways to remove those barriers by implementing recommendations
from the recent report on senior transportation options.
Not only will Fairfax County’s population
continue to grow older, it will also continue to become more
diverse. Our Fairfax County community is unique in the wide
range of diverse cultures that make up our population. That
diversity is an advantage in the global economy.
It is important that as we redouble efforts
to develop a sense of community, we improve our outreach to
our civic associations, and other community based and ethnic-based
organizations. We must also make sure that we reach out to
the ethnic media so they can help us be inclusive and build
a community that can not easily be divided by misunderstanding
and insensitivity. Given the number of different cultural
threads that make up the fabric of our community, it is important
that all of us work to make sure those threads are woven into
a fabric that is both strong and flexible. It must be resilient
enough to resist being torn apart by distrust, by divisiveness,
or by bigotry.
At this time, in this place, we have the
opportunity to create and sustain a world class community,
connected to each other and to the world.
The future is here, here in Fairfax County,
let us make the most of it.
Thank you, happy holidays, and goodnight.
|
