Fairfax County Overview

Deputy County Executive David Rohrer Barbara Emerson, Office of Public Affairs

March 2015

Three Levels of Government

• Federal – United States

• State – Commonwealth of Virginia

• Local – County of Fairfax

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Three Branches of Government

• Executive

• President - Federal

• Governor – State

• Board of Supervisors – County • BOS appoints County Executive

• Legislative

• Congress – Federal

• General Assembly – State

• Board of Supervisors - County

• Judicial

• U.S. Supreme Court

• State Supreme Court

• Fairfax County Circuit Court

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• Federalism is a system of shared, distributed power between federal, state and local government.

• Each level of government in the United States has its own separation of powers, as well as checks and balances.

• All provisions of state constitutions must comply with the U.S. Constitution.

• Local government is the form of government that is closest to the people and with which people come into contact most frequently.

• As of 2015, there are more than 30,000 municipal governments and over 3,000 counties in the United States. In addition, there are nearly 50,000 school and special districts in the U.S.

• In Virginia, there are 38 cities and 95 counties.

Federalism

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True or False

• Virginia cities are part of counties that surround them.

• There are three towns in Fairfax County.

• Fairfax County was established in 1742.

• False. Virginia is different from the other states.

• True. They are Clifton, Herndon and Vienna.

• True. It was formed from the northern part of Prince William County.

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Distributed Power Exclusive Powers of the

Federal Government Exclusive Powers of State Governments

Services Typically Provided by Local Govt

Print money (bills and coins)

Establish local governments

Education

Establish an army and navy

Issue licenses (driver’s, marriage, etc.)

Police

Declare war

Ratify amendments to the U.S. Constitution

Fire and Emergency Medical Services

Enter into treaties with foreign governments

Conduct elections Human Services

Regulate commerce between states and international trade

Regulate intrastate commerce

Planning and Development and Public Works

Establish post offices and issue postage

Provide for public health and public safety

Parks/Recreation and Libraries

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Virginia is a Dillon Rule State

What does this mean? Is it named after:

Marshal Matt Dillon

Captain S. Dillon

Judge John Forest Dillon

Bob Dillon

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Dillon Rule

• Dillon Rule: Used in interpreting law when there is a question of whether or not a local government has a certain power. • The Dillon Rule narrowly defines the

power of local governments.

• It states that if there is any reasonable doubt whether a power has been conferred on a local government, then the power has NOT been conferred.

• Home Rule: Unless a state has specifically told a local government it cannot do something, the local government has the authority to pass ordinances as it sees fit.

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Dillon Rule doctrine was established by Iowa State Supreme Court Justice John Forrest Dillon in 1872.

It was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1907.

Virginia is a Dillon Rule state.

Fairfax County Government Urban County Form of

Government • Full municipal services

Board Members - 10 Elected

• 1 Elected-at-Large Chairman • 9 Representing specific districts

• Districts must be approximately the same population

• Redistricting every 10 years Board serves four-year term

• No term limits • Election this year

Appointed County Executive

(Chief Administrative Officer) • Serves at the pleasure of the Board • More than 36 years experience

with Fairfax County 9

County Executive Ed Long

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Match the Board Member with Their Title 1. Michael Frey

2. Penny Gross

3. Pat Herrity

4. Linda Smyth

5. Sharon Bulova

6. John Foust

7. Cathy Hudgins

8. Gerry Hyland

9. John Cook

10. Jeff McKay

Supervisor, Mason District

Chairman, BOS

Supervisor, Lee District

Supervisor, Mount Vernon District

Supervisor, Dranesville District

Supervisor, Braddock District

Supervisor, Sully District

Supervisor, Springfield District

Supervisor, Providence District

Supervisor, Hunter Mill District

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Board of Supervisors Priorities

• Quality education system

• Safe streets and neighborhoods

• Clean, sustainable environment

• Living, caring and affordable communities

• A vibrant economy

• Efficient transportation network

• Recreational and cultural opportunities

• Taxes that are affordable

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FY 2015 General Fund Receipts: $3.71 Billion

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FY 2015 General Fund Disbursements: $3.72 Billion

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In addition to FY 2015 revenues, available balances and transfers in are also utilized to support disbursement requirements.

Budget Process The Board of Supervisors provides budget

policy guidance/direction.

The Department of Management and Budget works with agencies to compile budget requests.

The County Executive presents his proposed budget to the Board of Supervisors in February each year.

The Board holds public hearings and meetings to get feedback; marks up the budget with changes; and then approves the final budget at the end of April.

Budget information is online for public review: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dmb/

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Fiscal Year is July 1 through June 30

Budget Input

• Residents provide input on the budget through: Public meetings held by Board of Supervisors in their

districts where county staff attend to provide information and answer questions

Online comments

Letters, emails, phone calls

The Board holds three evenings of public hearings (more if needed)

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Snapshot: Fairfax County

• Land area:

• 407 square miles (land and water)

• 260,380 acres or 1,054 sq. kilometers

• Population: 1,130,924

• Reached 1 million milestone in 2002

• More people than 8 states

• Average household size: 2.75

• FY 2015 budget: $6.97 billion (all funds; General Fund Disbursements = $3.72 billion)

16 Sources: Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, U.S. Census Bureau and FY 2015 Adopted Budget Plan

Snapshot (continued)

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• More than 590,000 jobs • County has a 3.5% unemployment

rate

• State rate is 4.8%

• National rate is 5.5%

• Median household income: $111,079

• 60.0% of persons age 25 and older have a college degree, one of the highest percentages in the U.S.

• 5.8% of residents live below the poverty level

• 36.4% of people speak a language other than English at home

Snapshot (continued)

• Fairfax County…

• Is home to ten Fortune 500 company headquarters

• Is the largest commercial office market in metropolitan Washington DC area (over 114 million square feet of office space)

• Has the only Economic Development Authority nationwide to have seven marketing offices worldwide

• Is one of only 39 counties nationwide to receive a AAA bond rating from all three investor services (Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investor Service and Fitch Investors Service)

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Sources: Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, and Department of Management and Budget

2015 Age Distribution

26.3%

19.2% 30.1%

12.1%

12.1%

All Persons Median Age: 37.3 years

Under 20 years

20-34 years

35-54

55-64

65 and older

Under 20 years

65 and older

35-54 years

55-64 years

20-34 years

19 Source: Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services Numbers may not total 100.0% due to rounding.

Racial/Ethnic Origin

White, 63.6% Black, 9.7%

Asian/Pacific Islander, 18.4%

American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.2%

Other, 8.1%

2014

White

Black

Asian/Pacific Islander

American Indian/AlaskaNative

Other

Source: U.S. Census 2014 American Community Survey Hispanic/Latino households comprise 16.2% of all county households and may be of any race.

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Organizational Structure

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Board of Supervisors appoints

Voters elect

County Executive who oversees day-to-day operations

of agencies

Clerk of the Court Commonwealth's Attorney

Sheriff

Legislative-Executive /

Central Services

Judicial Administration

Public Safety

Public Works

Parks and Libraries

Human Services

Community Development

Boards, Authorities and Commissions

Parks • County:

• More than 23,000 acres

• 733 athletic fields (county and schools)

• 421 parks

• Over 320 miles of trails

• 203 playgrounds

• Ten historic sites

• Nine RECenters

• Eight golf courses

• Five nature centers

• Two water parks

• One ice skating rink

• Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority: • Almost 11,000 acres

• 24 regional parks

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Police Department • More than 1,300 sworn

police officers

• Approximately 450,000 calls for service in CY 2014

• 47,401 arrests in CY 2014

• Online crime reporting for some crimes

• Benchmark data shows Fairfax County as among the safest in the country

• Strong emphasis on crime prevention

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Office of the Sheriff

• More than 500 sworn deputies

• Largest Sheriff’s office in Virginia

• Founded in 1742 as the original law enforcement agency of the county

• Manages the Adult Detention Center (average daily inmate population of approximately 1,200)

• Provides security at the Courthouse (over 800,000 people passed through the courts in FY 2014)

• Serves civil process (evictions, subpoenas, etc.)

• Oversees Community Labor Force (low-risk inmates) which cleans up trash, graffiti and signs in medians, as well as cleans bus shelters, mows grass at county facilities and removes signs off high-volume public rights of way. Value of CLF work performed in FY 2014 was over $1.5 million.

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Fire & Rescue Department

• Founded in 1949

• More than 1,300 uniformed staff and 600 volunteers

• VA Task Force One: specialized search and rescue team dispatched to disasters worldwide

• 38 fire stations

• Over 91,000 incidents in FY 2014

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McConnell Public Safety and Transportation Operations Center • Opened Oct. 4, 2009

• Model of multi-agency coordination and cooperation

• Partnership between Fairfax County and the Commonwealth of Virginia

• Enhances effectiveness of public safety response and traffic congestion management, as well as enables better management of response to and recovery from major emergencies

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Fairfax County Public Schools

• Elected School Board sets policies for FCPS

• Enrollment (2014-2015): More than 186,000

• Approximately 1 of every 6 residents is a public school student

• Largest school system in Virginia

• 10th largest in the U.S.

• Largest school bus fleet in the nation

• 2014 SAT scores for FCPS averaged 1668

• Virginia average: 1520

• U.S. average: 1470 27

Housing

• Average monthly rent: $1,590

• Owned homes:

28 Source: Department of Neighborhood and Community Services

Type of Housing

Percent of Total

Number of Units

Median Market Value

Single Family Detached 47.5% 194,733 $557,678

Single Family Attached 24.3% 99,714 $342,400

Multifamily 28.2% 115,532 $221,287

All Units 100.0% 409,979 $447,541

Transportation

• Fairfax Connector

• FASTRAN

• Metrobus

• Metrorail

• VRE

• Seniors-on-the-Go (taxicab program for seniors)

• Washington Dulles International Airport

• Virginia Van Pool Assistance

• Amtrak

• Trails

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Other County Services

• Animal Control and Shelter

• Building Plan Review/Permits/Inspections

• Code Compliance

• Consumer Protection

• Courts

• Elections/Voter Registration

• Health

• Human Services

• Recycling

• Stormwater Management

• Trash and Leaf Collection in petition districts

• Wastewater Collection/Treatment 30

e-Government Residents access government through: Fairfax County Web Site

Phone and Email 703Fairfax (Office of Public Affairs)

Directly to agencies

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Access Services Via Touch-Tone Phone

Mobile Apps

Cable TV Government Access Channel

Social Media Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Online Chats, Blogs, Flickr, SlideShare

Podcasts

RSS Feeds

Emergency Alert Text Messages

Fairfax County Internet Radio

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e-Government (continued)

Fairfax County is continually making services available online

Enables residents to interact with us, in many cases 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Government “without doors and clocks”

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e-Government (continued)

Online services (continued) Examples include:

• Apply for a building permit • File a consumer complaint • Pay a parking ticket • Reserve a library book • Sign up for classes • Report certain types of crimes • Request a special trash pick-up • Report a code violation • Report a lost or found pet

www.fairfaxcounty.gov

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Social Media (continued)

Facebook

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Social Media (continued)

Twitter

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Social Media (continued)

YouTube

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Social Media (continued)

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Mobile Access

The official Fairfax County government app connects you with key information and services on your smartphone.

For More Information

www.fairfaxcounty.gov

www.facebook.com/fairfaxcounty

www.twitter.com/fairfaxcounty

http://www.youtube.com/fairfaxcountygov

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