Blog posts are the personal views of Letty Hardi and not official statements or records on behalf of the Falls Church City Council

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all the kind notes last week about my blog’s 10th birthday. This week’s post will be brief but important – I’ll explain our unanimous vote on solid waste changes (but we’re not done yet), capital projects around the city, and my personal office hours this fall if you’d like to catch me for more one-on-one conversation. You can always email me if those times don’t work for you and we can set something else up.

Also – some of you may remember the Fault Lines documentary in DC I plugged last winter. It’s now coming to us in Northern Virginia on Sunday, Sept 7 with a free screening, panel discussion, and happy hour. While the film focuses on San Francisco, its themes are deeply relevant to our challenges here: how to ensure that people at all income levels can continue to live and thrive in our communities. After the movie, I’ll join a panel of colleagues in government, nonprofit, and development who will explore how these lessons apply locally and discuss potential solutions we can pursue together. Seats are limited – get your free ticket here.

Good luck to fellow FCCPS parents with kiddos starting school tomorrow! Please be on the lookout for students walking/biking and school buses on our streets again. City Council will be back on the dais after Labor Day, so I’ll be back in your inboxes in September.

Take care,
Letty

What Happened This Week:

(1) Solid Waste Changes

After several hours of discussion, we unanimously passed changes to how we charge for Solid Waste (trash, recycling, and soon, compost). Ordinance changes require two votes – so this is not a done deal until we vote again at second reading on September 8 where we again will take public comment (in person, virtual, or via email in advance). The exact fees are pending legal review between now and then – more on that below.

My post last week included a lot more information including how the tax rate cut + new fee impacts different valued homes, so if you’re coming up to speed now, I encourage you to read that post first.

What Did We Vote For: This proposed change would replace the percentage of everyone’s property taxes (1.5 cents tax rate cut) with a solid waste disposal fee that would only be charged to the ~3000 property owners who have access to the service. For reference, there are an additional ~4000 properties in the City that are ineligible for solid waste services whose property taxes have long subsidized waste collection for the 3000 who receive these services.

1. The tax rate would be lowered and the fee would then be applied to those households which are eligible for weekly City trash services.
2. The fee would be higher for larger trash cans (65 gallon) and lower for smaller trash cans (35 gallons). This would ensure that going forward, people who generate more trash pay more (“pay as you throw”).
3. There would be a new third “organics” bin – that would take both yard waste and food waste (ultimately replacing the Compost Crew service that a number of City homeowners subscribe to). 
4. The system of brown bags & tags would still be available for overflow yard waste that doesn’t fit in the organics bin.
5. The tax reduction / fee addition would show up on the next property tax bill (December 2025) and the new organics bins would be delivered in phases throughout the first half of 2026.

What’s Still Pending: The specific amount for the two tiered fee is pending legal review – either $292/$327 or $236/$336 for the 35 gallon and 65 gallon trash bins, per year.

Background – staff had proposed a two tiered fee structure of $292 for the 35 gallon and the $327 for the 65 gallon trash bin. The fixed cost for solid service is higher than most people think – about 2/3 of the cost is fixed. In other words, regardless of the amount of trash created, the cost to go from home to home to pick up trash and recycling is mostly the same whether it’s a townhome or single family home. The $35 difference between the $292 and $327 is the variable cost part of the service (more trash costs the city more in “tipping fees”).

During our meeting, we heard feedback and support for a larger difference between the two fees – $100 difference between small and large cans, $236/$336 – so there is a larger financial incentive that may encourage more people to shift behavior to produce less trash. As we’ve received legal guidance that fees have to be reasonably related to the service that is provided, the $236/$336 option is pending legal review so we will finalize on September 9.

Letty’s Thoughts: I’m grateful for staff and residents who served on the Solid Waste Task Force and volunteered their time digging into this issue. Their solid work (pun totally intended) is indicative in our unanimous vote on a complex, long-standing issue. Having watched their meetings through the summer, I saw how they were thoughtful, analytical, and focused on what will be fairest to everyone in the city. I am also grateful for the residents who have shared their thoughts with us to make sure we were thinking through the details fairly. I am cognizant that there’s never a perfect time to make a change to a system that we’re used to, especially when we’re dealing with local and regional economic worries, many of which are beyond are our control. At the same time, the fairness issue does grow every year and we’ve also made commitments to advancing our environmental priorities. Government should be solving problems and not kicking the can down the road, so it was time we addressed this issue – especially one that’s very much in our control.

(2) Berman Park Opening & CIP Wins

It’s been a busy week (summer) for capital projects. Since the beginning of the summer, many of us now use the long awaited HAWK signals along Broad St for safer, mid block pedestrian crossings. And this week, we celebrated the latest park renovation/upgrade with a large crowd of eager kids and families at Berman Park.

Every quarter, City Council also reviews our capital projects and Council priorities, as part of our governance role in providing oversight on key priorities across the city. And ICYMI, the Falls Church Focus had a special edition this week that celebrated capital projects that completed recently – take a look at and see all the projects – from transportation to stormwater to parks to schools to public safety – that have been delivered. And speaking of parks and open space, the next two big things happening will be the new park at Fellows Property (mostly a passive space with walking trails) and demolition of two residential properties the city acquired in the floodway for open space/eventual greenway connection at Cameron and Sherrow.

Construction of capital projects also means messiness and disruptions on streets and neighborhoods – so we appreciate the community’s patience as we make reinvestments across the city.

Letty’s Thoughts: Our quarterly review of capital projects has always been one of my favorite topics because it’s such a physical manifestation of our tax dollars at work. And when government functions well, maintenance and infrastructure upgrades should just happen without a huge backlog. We are now on a good cadence with infrastructure projects and it’s evident by the breadth of completed and underway projects in the two reports above. Of course there is always more work that can be done and done faster. It’s also our job to weigh fiscal responsibility with how much and how fast we take on capital work and ensuring we also maintain all the new infrastructure. Much of these projects are made possible due to grant dollars as well as strong local revenues over the years.

What’s Coming Up:

Tuesday, September 2 – City Council Work Session*

Wednesday, September 3 – Ask the Council Office Hours (9 am, City Hall)

Monday, September 8 – City Council Meeting*

Monday, September 15 – City Council Work Session*

*Mondays (except 5th Mondays and holidays) at 7:30 pm. You can access the agenda and livestream here, including recordings of past meetings

Letty’s Office Hours:

Monday, September 22 (9 am) – Semicolon Cafe

Thursday, October 16 (12 pm) – The Happy Tart

Tuesday, November 18 (5 pm) – Harvey’s