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Alexandria City Council members submitted a batch of 10 budget add/delete proposals ahead of last week's April 9 deadline, outlining a spending agenda centered on transit, equity services, and a one-time study of the city's jail operations — with public hearings on those proposals set for this Saturday.
The proposals, which must be weighed against City Manager James Parajon's proposed $977.3 million general fund budget before final adoption April 29, range in cost from $25,000 to restore a multilingual secret shopper program for city recreation services to $619,920 to increase the frequency of DASH Bus Line 32.
The Line 32 proposal, sponsored by Councilman Abdel-Rahman Elnoubi, Councilman Canek Aguirre, and Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley, would cut wait times on what sponsors describe as the only DASH route that operates seven days a week with 60-minute headways outside of weekday peak service — improving midday, evening, and weekend frequency to every 30 minutes across the entire line. The sponsors noted the proposal is contingent on verifying projected savings in the city's WMATA contribution first documented in Budget Answer No. 86.
The largest recurring commitment in the batch is a $458,500 annual increase to the city's emergency rental assistance program, also sponsored by Elnoubi, Aguirre and Bagley. That proposal would be funded by raising the Business, Professional and Occupational License tax rate for financial services businesses by 5 cents — from $0.35 to $0.40 per $100 of gross receipts — effective January 1, 2027. According to the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, which outlined the changes in its weekly newsletter Monday, the increase would affect a defined category of financial services businesses and is estimated to generate approximately $458,500 in general fund revenue in fiscal year 2027. City Council introduced the ordinance on first reading at Tuesday's meeting.
Several proposals target what sponsors describe as inequities in city services. Councilwoman Jacinta Greene's $83,000 one-time add would continue the Healthy Homes Action Plan into fiscal year 2027, a program launched in April 2025 to improve housing conditions for low-income residents after federal grant funding expired. Elnoubi and Mayor Alyia Gaskins jointly propose $123,480 a year for Therapeutic Recreation seasonal staff in the city's Out of School Time Program to ensure children of all abilities have equal access across sites.
Gaskins also submitted two proposals of her own — a $30,000 annual increase in arts grants for visual and performing arts organizations, and a capital reallocation of $350,000 toward improvements to the 200 block of King Street, which City Council permanently closed to vehicles in September 2025. The funding would be pulled from the so-called "Option 3" alternative within the existing Waterfront Flood Mitigation capital project and used to install platforms and bollards similar to those already in place on the 100 block.
Vice Mayor Bagley and Elnoubi submitted a delete that would redirect $200,000 from the Sheriff's operating budget to fund a one-time study of jail operations. The proposal points to data showing the jail has averaged 281 inmates over six years despite being staffed for a full capacity of 340, with federal inmates outnumbering local ones in recent years.
Councilman John Taylor Chapman proposes eliminating an artificial turf installation at Chinquapin Park in favor of natural turf and basic field improvements — a move that would generate capital savings of roughly $427,000 annually, which he proposes transferring to the city's park maintenance funding pool.
The remaining proposals include Bagley's $116,000 one-time investment in courtroom technology for the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Aguirre's $25,000 annual add to reinstate a multilingual secret shopper program for city recreation services, and a $27,000 annual add from Gaskins and Bagley to address pay disparities for Alexandria Animal Control officers, who are contracted through the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria. Budget data showed those officers are underpaid relative to counterparts in neighboring jurisdictions performing similar roles.
Also on Saturday's public hearing agenda, though separate from the add/delete process, is a proposed ordinance to expand metered parking to Sundays citywide and increase the hourly rate from $1.75 to $2.50. That change is estimated to generate approximately $500,000 annually and would take effect July 1 if approved.
To move forward, each proposal must have at least three co-sponsors — including the original sponsor — and be balanced by a corresponding cut or revenue source. With the council currently operating with six members while the seat vacated by former Councilman R. Kirk McPike remains open until after the April 21 special election, four co-sponsors constitute a working majority and the threshold needed to land in the consensus column at the preliminary work session. Proposals with fewer than four supporters are not automatically eliminated; sponsors can add or shed support through the work session process.
Notably absent from this year's proposals is any direct funding for Alexandria City Public Schools — a contrast to last year's add/delete cycle, which included a $1 million one-time transfer to ACPS. The school board adopted a $408.2 million combined funds budget in February requesting a $9.8 million increase in city funding. Parajon's proposed budget includes $4.2 million of that increase, leaving a $5.6 million gap. In a post published last week, School Board Chair Michelle Rief and Vice Chair Christopher Harris wrote that closing the gap "is not about expansion" but about honoring Alexandria's first-ever collective bargaining agreements with school employees and remaining competitive with neighboring divisions projecting raises of 4.5% to 7.5%. Before making the request, ACPS identified $7.5 million in cuts, including the elimination of 13.8 positions. No council member submitted an add/delete proposal to address the shortfall — though council deliberately left the door open in March when it voted to set a one-cent ceiling on the real estate tax rate, a move championed by Councilman John Taylor Chapman that preserves the option of a rate increase before final adoption April 29. One cent on the rate generates approximately $4.7 million in revenue.
Residents can weigh in Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Written comments may be submitted at alexandriava.gov/Budget through April 22. A preliminary add/delete work session is scheduled for April 21 — the same day as the special City Council election — with a final work session set for April 27 if needed, ahead of budget adoption on April 29.
The full list of proposals is available online.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the amount of the Animal Control officer pay proposal. The original story listed the figure as $150,000, reflecting the contingency fund described on the add/delete form. Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley subsequently clarified to The Alexandria Brief that the proposal was revised and the correct annual figure is $27,000, consistent with Budget Question 89. The total new operating spending figure in the subhead has been updated accordingly.
