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Alexandria City Council reached majority support on all of its fiscal year 2027 add/delete budget proposals Tuesday night, dropping a plan to extend metered parking to Sundays, approving a $200,000 delete from the Sheriff's Office budget to fund a jail operational efficiency study, and advancing a package of spending additions funded in part by a business license tax increase.
The session was held at Del Pepper Community Resource Center. No public comment was permitted during the work session, but Sheriff Sean Casey and members of ICE Out of Alexandria were among those seated in the audience. With majority support reached on all items, Mayor Alyia Gaskins announced the April 27 follow-up work session has been taken off the calendar. Final budget adoption is April 29.
Sunday parking — dropped
Council dropped the proposed expansion of metered parking to Sundays and instead adopted Option E, raising the parking meter hourly rate from $1.75 to $2.75 and parking citations from $40 to $55. Four members supported Option E: Mayor Gaskins, Councilman Canek Aguirre, Councilwoman Jacinta Greene, and Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley. Councilman John Taylor Chapman and Councilman Abdel-Rahman Elnoubi did not support Option E, with both preferring options that relied less on citation and meter increases.
Option E closes the $726,844 gap that Sunday meters were projected to fill, generating $605,900 from the meter rate increase and $450,000 from the citation increase. The option produces an additional $329,056 beyond the gap, which will go into general fund contingency. Council indicated it would direct how to allocate those funds after budget adoption.
Bagley had advocated throughout the discussion for preserving revenue re-estimates for other uses rather than applying them to cover the Sunday parking gap. Gaskins noted that the city manager's base budget already proposed raising meters from $1.75 to $2.50 and citations from $40 to $50 — Option E takes both higher still.
Jail operational efficiency study — approved
Council approved the $200,000 delete from the Sheriff's Office budget to fund a jail operational efficiency study. Bagley, Elnoubi, and Aguirre were the original co-sponsors. Gaskins added her support as the decisive fourth vote after an extended discussion about the scope of the study. Chapman did not support the proposal.
Gaskins said she was satisfied that a direct dialogue with the sheriff could happen in parallel with the study process, and that the proposal is consistent with the reductions being asked of other city departments.
Chapman raised concerns about scope, arguing that many of the questions the co-sponsors want answered could be directed to the sheriff before spending money on a consultant, and that asking a separately elected official to cooperate in scoping a study conducted against his wishes presented practical challenges. Elnoubi said the expectation is that staff would work with the sheriff throughout the process. Bagley said a central question she wants the study to address is what it means financially for Alexandria to continue hosting federal detainees — noting the city contributes $18.4 million to the jail's roughly $35 million budget while the federal contract brings in $7.5 million. City Manager James Parajon said staff would develop a detailed scope of service if the study moves forward.
BPOL tax and rental assistance — approved
Council approved raising the Business, Professional and Occupational License tax rate for financial services businesses from $0.35 to $0.40 per $100 of gross receipts — the first increase in that category in at least 30 years — with the proceeds funding a $458,500 annual increase to the city's emergency rental assistance program. Chapman did not support the increase, expressing concern that financial services businesses are among the most mobile in the city and that the increase could prompt some to relocate their licenses elsewhere.
Finance Director Kevin Greenleaf confirmed Fairfax County has been at 19 cents for at least 30 years, and that at 40 cents Alexandria would be within the regional range — Arlington is at 36 cents. Council discussed limiting the BPOL allocation to FY27 and FY28 only, with a reevaluation in FY29 to preserve flexibility in future budgets.
Council also added $100,000 from council contingency to the rental assistance program, bringing the total allocation to $558,500.
DASH Line 32 — approved
Council approved $619,920 to increase the frequency of DASH Bus Line 32, contingent on verification of projected savings in the city's WMATA contribution. Elnoubi recused himself from the discussion and vote due to his employment with WMATA. With Elnoubi recused, Bagley, Aguirre and Greene — the original co-sponsors — constituted a majority of the remaining five members. Gaskins added her support. Chapman did not support the proposal, arguing council needs to address the long-term funding sustainability of fare-free DASH service before continuing to expand it year to year. Gaskins said she would work to ensure a dedicated sustainability conversation happens in the fall.
Remaining add/delete proposals
All remaining proposals with majority support moved forward:
Arts grants received an additional $30,000 annually from revenue re-estimates. Elnoubi added his support during the session.
The Alexandria Animal Welfare League of Alexandria animal control officer pay disparity proposal was approved at $27,000 annually from revenue re-estimates, bringing officer compensation in line with neighboring jurisdictions.
The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court courtroom technology upgrade of $116,000 was approved as a one-time expenditure from council contingency. Council also approved approximately $20,000 in additional one-time funds for year-two maintenance. Chapman did not support the maintenance addition; the remaining members did.
The RPCA multilingual secret shopper program was approved at $25,000 annually from revenue re-estimates.
Therapeutic Recreation staffing for the Out of School Time Program was approved at $123,480 and placed in contingency, with staff directed to assess space and staffing needs across all nine program locations and return to council with a plan.
The Healthy Homes Action Plan received $83,000 in one-time funding. Bagley added her name as the fourth vote.
Capital items
Council approved a reallocation of $350,000 in capital funds from the waterfront flood mitigation project to improvements on the 200 block of King Street, including platforms and bollards consistent with those on the 100 block.
Chapman's proposal to redirect capital funds away from a planned single artificial turf field at Chinquapin Park toward two natural grass fields was approved. The money stays within the athletic fields program for general maintenance, with decisions about turfing to be revisited before the project's planned FY32 implementation.
What's next
The budget ends with $59,320 going to cash capital. The April 27 work session has been cancelled. Final budget and tax rate adoption is Wednesday, April 29 at 6 p.m. at Del Pepper Community Resource Center, 4850 Mark Center Drive.
Ryan Belmore
