Public Affairs

Fairfax County’s Health and Human Services Office of Strategy Management has selected Lisa Potter to be the county’s new Diversion First manager.

Potter will work closely with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, senior county leadership, police, fire and rescue, the Sheriff's Office, courts, the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB) and community stakeholders to continue the success of the county’s Diversion First initiative. She will be responsible for leading a multi-year, comprehensive cross-systems initiative designed to improve delivery of services and outcomes of the individuals served by the program, while also demonstrating solid economic investment. Potter will also work on implementing cooperative policies and programs across multiple agencies to forward the success of Diversion First.

Diversion First offers alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness, developmental disabilities and co-occurring substance use disorders who come into contact with the criminal justice system for low-level offenses. The program aims to prevent repeat encounters with the criminal justice system, improve public safety, promote a healthier community, save public dollars and – most importantly – help people who are in crisis recover and take control of their lives. Since Diversion First began in Fairfax County, over 1,000 people were diverted from potential arrest.

Potter has worked for the CSB since 1994 and has held various clinical and administrative positions during her tenure. She has worked as a prevention specialist, clinical supervisor, quality assurance coordinator, quality improvement manager, and most recently, as CSB’s director of strategy and performance management. Potter holds a master’s degree in community agency counseling from George Mason University, and is a certified substance abuse counselor and certified process manager. She has worked as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Education, the Mid-Atlantic Technology Transfer Center and several local universities. Potter has extensive experience in data analysis and evaluation, strategic planning, process improvement, project management, program development and cross-system initiatives, such as Diversion First. 

Potter will assume her role as Diversion First manager on Sept. 1.

The Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) recently announced that Fairfax County Government has received three VACo Achievement Awards, which recognize excellence in local government programs. VACo received a record 106 submissions, the highest in the program's history. Winning entries focused on addressing high-priority issues that challenge counties today.

Fairfax County was recognized for the following programs:

Program Category: Information Technology

Next Generation Security Program
Fairfax County protects businesses and residents' data with regards to taxes, sensitive personal information, business permits, land, critical infrastructure, health and human services and public safety. The Next Generation Security Program  is part of the main Cyber Security program. Its mission is to protect citizen's data, develop and enforce security policies and use technology that best protect data assets that will be on pace with modern and emerging security threats to maintain the county's no data breach, business continuity and service delivery performance record. The program follows a security defense in depth architecture approach by deploying NextGen application aware security technologies to detect, block and alert threats where data moves both inside and outside the network.

Program Category: Health and Human Services

Financial Exploitation Prevention Taskforce
The older adult population is steadily increasing with the addition of the Baby Boomer population over the next 30 years. As people age, the ability to complete day to day tasks like grocery shopping, self-care, or money management may be weakened and the need for assistance increases. This dilemma is the perfect storm for scammers to exploit older adults for their retirement savings and other valuables. Fairfax County noticed an increase of financial exploitation cases and desired to make a change. The Department of Family Services and the Police Department have formed a collaborative approach to address financial exploitation and fraud cases, which  led to the development of the Financial Exploitation Prevention Taskforce and created a network of professionals. The taskforce is a multidisciplinary team that is composed of professionals from private, local, state and federal agencies with a shared focus.

Program Category: Environmental

Revitalize, Restore, Replant!
The Revitalize, Restore, Replant! (R3) program transforms existing Stormwater facilities on Fairfax County Public School campuses into  real-world teaching tools. In this free-of-charge program, stream ecologists from theDepartment of Public Works and Environmental Services introduce students to stormwater and watershed ecosystems management through hands-on native plant installations in existing bioretention or dry pond facilities. Plant species are chosen to complement existing Virginia Standards of Learning requirements. The goal of the program is to encourage students and teachers to use their local stormwater management facility as a long-term outdoor learning classroom without leaving their campus.

For more information, visit the VACo website.
 

Fairfax County helped to lead the effort to create a new regional agreement with Dominion Energy that lights the way for converting existing streetlights to more energy- efficient LEDs.

The agreement makes transitioning to LEDs less expensive for local governments and offers more options in the future.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova’s leadership moved forward this initiative undertaken by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission and Northern Virginia’s local governments.

“LED streetlights are longer lasting and more efficient than traditional streetlights,” said Bulova. “Many thanks to all those involved in this effort, including Dominion and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission.”

Dominion installs, owns, operates and maintains most of the nearly 58,000 streetlights in Fairfax County. The new agreement presents an opportunity to begin converting these lights to LEDs, according to county officials. The county would be responsible for paying to replace existing high-pressure sodium, metal halide and mercury vapor streetlights with LEDs.

As the negotiations with Dominion were ongoing, the county hired a consultant to consider the best ways to utilize streetlight infrastructure in the future. This study is expected to be completed in the fall, and county staff will develop an associated budget proposal.

New Agreement’s Benefits

The new agreement with Dominion offers many benefits, including:

• Lower costs for converting existing streetlights to LEDs. Dominion will charge $130 to convert what is currently considered a standard, basic, streetlight fixture to either a basic or premium LED light. This upfront cost is recouped in the long run because LEDs are more energy efficient and last longer.
• No-cost, LED conversions for existing streetlight fixtures that fail. Dominion will not charge the county for these conversions.
• Lower monthly costs to operate the LEDs. Previously, Dominion charged about $12 in electricity distribution and supply costs for a basic LED streetlight based on the utility’s rates last year. This cost will be about $7 for a basic LED light under the new agreement.
• More choice in the type and style of LED streetlights. Before, Dominion only offered two LED fixtures. Under the new agreement, up to 18 different fixture styles may be available, although the county would not use all available types.
• Warmer color temperatures. Until now, Dominion only offered 4,000-Kelvin LEDs. Under the agreement, 3,000-Kelvin lights, which produce softer light, will be available.
• Smart technology ready with a “seven-pin capability.” This allows future smart technologies to be added to the lights, such as dimmers, remote monitoring, outage reporting and other sensor arrays. Further discussions with Dominion will be required to begin implementation of these “smart city” applications.

LED streetlights use 40 to 60 percent less electricity when compared to conventional streetlights, and they last up to three to four times longer.

Cities across the nation have begun making the switch to LED streetlights, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The move saves governments money in the long run with lower utility bills, and it also helps the environment through reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

LED Conversions in Fairfax County Buildings

The county’s move toward LEDs outside on the street complements its efforts off the street, inside its own buildings. More than 2,277 LED bulbs have been installed in county facilities since last July, reducing utility bills and greenhouse gas emissions. This has resulted in:

• $544,546 in lifetime savings on electricity costs.
• More than 6.8 million kilowatt hours saved in lifetime energy use.

This is equivalent to avoiding the release of 50,607 metric tons in planet-warming, greenhouse gases.

Fairfax County also recently adopted a new, broader operational energy strategy that aims to significantly lower utility bills and carbon emissions. This strategy will cut energy consumption in county buildings and facilities by 20 percent per square foot over 10 years.

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As it vies for more data centers, Fairfax County approved Coresite Realty’s plans for a new, more than 943,600 square foot data center in Reston on a second campus.

The Board of Supervisors signed off on the company’s plans on July 31, 2018. This marks the first approval under new provisions in the county’s land use policy that were put in place to more easily allow data centers to locate in Fairfax County.

Coresite will build its new data center at Sunrise Technology Park which it bought from Boston Properties for $60 million in 2016. The almost 22-acre property is located at Sunrise Valley Drive, near Glade Drive.

Coresite will transform the site that currently has four, 1980s-era office buildings. The project will remake 463,212 square feet of office space into a data center with up to 943,600 square feet.

Two of the existing, one-story buildings will remain, and Coresite will demolish the others. Six new buildings ranging from two to four stories will replace them. Coresite plans to build out its overall campus in four phases.

Construction is already underway on the first phase. The company is renovating the office buildings at 12369 and 12379 Sunrise Valley Drive into data centers. With its development plans now approved, it will be able to add a new, two-story data center building and a four-story, infrastructure building as part of this first phase.

Data Centers Drive Economic Growth

Fairfax officials want to attract more data centers and other technology firms to the county as part of its strategic plan to grow and diversify the economy.

Data centers create high paying jobs, attract high skilled workers and generate a large economic impact. For example, Coresite says that it’s new center may employ about 150 workers, and it could invest up to $500 million in this facility when fully built out. At its current center in Reston, the company invested $417 million and employs 73 workers.

Data centers account for more than 8,600 jobs in Northern Virginia, and they generated $5.7 billion in economic output, according to a recent report by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Workers earn $121,688 on average in our area.

In Fairfax County, there are at least 43 data centers occupying about 2.5 million square feet of space, according to the county’s Economic Development Authority.

Land Use Policy Encourages More Data Centers

Fairfax County updated its land use plan about 18 months ago to make it easier for data centers to build larger facilities in certain industrial districts, such as Coresite’s newest campus.

The change was made specifically to support the county’s efforts to grow the economy.

The new policy allows for centers that are bigger than what’s recommended as a baseline in the Comprehensive Plan. Importantly, it also eliminates the need for qualified centers to go through the process to amend the land use plan first in order to seek a larger facility. This makes it both faster and easier to open up shop.

However, data centers must meet specific criteria to benefit from this policy. This includes demonstrating they will generate less traffic than the amount of development recommended in the land use plan.

Coresite's Presence in Fairfax County

Denver-based Coresite opened its first data center in Reston 10 years ago, purchasing property at 12100 Sunrise Valley Drive from AOL. This two-building facility offers more than 390,000 square feet of turn-key data center capacity, and the company is working to expand its capacity at this location.

The center offers direct connections to five of the major public cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, and Alibaba.

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Fairfax County Executive Bryan J. Hill presented his recommendations for use of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 carryover funds to the Board of Supervisors today. Carryover is the process by which certain unspent or unencumbered funds for commitments to pay for goods and services at the end of one fiscal year are reappropriated to the next fiscal year. FY 2018 ended on June 30, 2018.

The FY 2018 carryover balance, after funding prior year obligations and associated reserves, is $58.16 million, which is approximately 1.4 percent of the county’s total General Fund budget. Hill’s recommended allocation:

• $47.66 million to be allocated in the carryover package as follows:
  • $34.89 million for funding county reserves and infrastructure needs based on county policy.
  • $6.03 million to support infrastructure needs at county facilities, including emergency repairs in the event of major systems failures, infrastructure replacement and upgrades at county facilities, space realignment and reconfiguration projects to maximize owned space. Also included are renovations and improvements to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  • $2.42 million for new and continuing information technology (IT) projects.
  • $0.50 million to expand the capacity of the Artemis House domestic violence shelter.
  • $1.03 million for other requirements such as increasing the capacity of the School-Age Child Care (SACC) Program, extending the hours of the Rec-Pac Program and providing forestry services to address hazardous trees in county parks. In addition, at no net cost to the county, 26 positions are added to address increasing public assistance caseloads, eight positions are added to address increasing caseloads in Adult and Aging programs and eight positions to enhance the TARGET Program that identifies vehicles that are not properly registered.
  • $2.79 million in reserves associated with disbursement increases funded in the carryover package.
  • Other adjustments with no net impact to the General Fund includes $2 million to replenish the Economic Development Support Fund funded with debt service balances.
• $10.50 million to be held in reserve to address critical one-time requirements and funding needs. When added to the $0.12 million held in reserve as part of the 2019 Adopted Budget Plan, a total of $10.62 million is available for the Board of Supervisors' consideration as part of the carryover process.

Next steps: Sept. 25 is the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Supervisors, which will include public hearings on the carryover recommendations and a vote on the FY 2018 Carryover Budget Package.

2018 Carryover Budget Package

For the 16th year, Fairfax County has been recognized for excellence in performance management by the International City/County Management Association.

The county is among only 29 jurisdictions nationally to receive ICMA’s Certificate of Excellence in 2018, for its commitment to collect and analyze data, report it transparently and use it to continuously engage our communities and improve our performance.

The ICMA recognition is based on established criteria and awarded at three levels: Achievement, Distinction, and the highest level of recognition, Excellence. Recipients at all levels collect and verify data to ensure reliability, train staff in performance measurement, and report data to the public through budgets, communications and information provided to elected officials.

Certificates of Excellence go to jurisdictions that also track and report key outcomes, survey residents and local government employees, incorporate data into performance dashboards or other visual communications and foster the development of a performance culture throughout their organizations.

The county will be recognized at the ICMA’s 104th annual conference in Baltimore in September and in the October 2018 issue of PM (Public Management) magazine.

Fairfax County performance data is published along with the annual budget; the latest data is available at FY 2019 Adopted Budget Performance Measures. This data set includes data for three prior years as well as current and future year estimates. Additionally, Fairfax County has developed a set of 35 measures and indicators for the Economic Strategic Success Plan.

Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Judge Todd G. Petit began his term as chief judge on July 1. He takes over from Judge Thomas P. Sotelo, who served for a two-year term. Petit has been a Fairfax County JDRDC judge since July 1, 2016. The court currently has six judges elected by the General Assembly for six-year terms.

Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court hears cases involving juveniles, crimes against juveniles and family matters (except divorce) in Fairfax County, the city of Fairfax and the towns of Herndon, Vienna and Clifton.

JDRDC programs include a Pre-Trial Supervision Program that allows juvenile offenders to remain in the community under supervision while awaiting trial, offering assessment, treatment and needed support while maintaining public safety.

Over the past year, JDRDC staff, the Fairfax County Police Department and Fairfax County Public Schools increased opportunities to divert youth from the juvenile justice system while still holding them accountable for their actions. The key components of the project include expanding the Alternative Accountability Program and implementing a new juvenile intake process to encompass additional opportunities for diversion.

Petit graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern University. His law degree is from Catholic University of America – Columbus School of Law.

Fairfax County General District Court Judge Lisa Mayne began her term as chief judge on July 1. She succeeds Judge Michael J. Cassidy, who has been the chief judge since March 2015. General District Court chief judges are elected every two years.

Mayne has been a Fairfax County General District Court judge since Oct. 1, 2006. The court currently has 10 judges elected by the General Assembly for six-year terms.

The General District Court handles approximately 300,000 court cases per year through its three divisions: civil and small claims; criminal; and traffic. Cases include landlord/tenant disputes, traffic summons, protective orders, personal injury claims, violations of local ordinances and criminal misdemeanors, among others.

Additionally, Mayne will oversee a court that, like the Fairfax Circuit Court, has one of the five Veteran Treatment Dockets currently operating in Virginia, an intensive court-supervised docket for military veterans with substance abuse and/or mental health issues. The Fairfax County General District Court is also involved in Diversion First, a county initiative that promotes alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness or developmental disabilities coming into contact with the criminal justice system for low level offenses.

Mayne received her undergraduate degree from Pitzer College and her law degree from the George Mason University School of Law (now the Antonin Scalia Law School).

Fairfax County General District Court Judge Lisa Mayne began her term as chief judge on July 1. She succeeds Judge Michael J. Cassidy, who has been the chief judge since March 2015. General District Court chief judges are elected every two years.

Mayne has been a Fairfax County General District Court judge since Oct. 1, 2006. The court currently has 10 judges elected by the General Assembly for six-year terms.

The General District Court handles approximately 300,000 court cases per year through its three divisions: civil and small claims; criminal; and traffic. Cases include landlord/tenant disputes, traffic summons, protective orders, personal injury claims, violations of local ordinances and criminal misdemeanors, among others.

Additionally, Mayne will oversee a court that, like the Fairfax Circuit Court, has one of the five Veteran Treatment Dockets currently operating in Virginia, an intensive court-supervised docket for military veterans with substance abuse and/or mental health issues. The Fairfax County General District Court is also involved in Diversion First, a county initiative that promotes alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness or developmental disabilities coming into contact with the criminal justice system for low level offenses.

Mayne received her undergraduate degree from Pitzer College and her law degree from the George Mason University School of Law (now the Antonin Scalia Law School).

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors today appointed John S. Butler as the county's next Fire and Rescue Department chief. He succeeds Chief Richard Bowers, who retired in April. Butler’s appointment is effective Sept. 1.

Butler has been with the Howard County, Md. Department of Fire and Rescue Services since 1993 and was appointed chief in 2014. He began as a firefighter-paramedic in Howard County, rising through the ranks to serve in a variety of roles with that department, including as battalion chief, emergency medical services chief and administrative chief. In addition to his firefighting experience, Butler served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 21 years, including two combat tours.

“After an extensive search including a community engagement process, Fairfax County is pleased to appoint Chief Butler to the position of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Chief,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova. “He will have the opportunity to lead an elite world-renowned department and I look forward to working with him.”

During his tenure in Howard County, Chief Butler expanded services, hired the most diverse firefighter/paramedic trainee class in the department’s history, helped establish the first and only local affiliate of the International Association of Women in Fire and Emergency Services (iWomen), established numerous community outreach programs, led the construction of several fire stations and improved service delivery and response times.

“We had a number of strong candidates, however, Chief Butler demonstrated the leadership, vision and communications skills that will move our excellent Fire and Rescue Department forward,” said County Executive Bryan Hill. “His proven experience and successful leadership at the helm of a large department will continue to strengthen our culture and contribute to a positive future for the department.”    

Butler holds a Master of Science in management from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Baltimore. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and holds a certificate from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Leadership in Crisis Program. He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Human Relations Committee and Maryland’s Emergency Medical Services Board and is a 2014 recipient of Johns Hopkins University’s Global Achievement Award for his humanitarian work in Africa.

He will receive an annual salary of $201,878.77.