Tonight's budget work session canceled due to weather; rescheduled for Wednesday

Tonight's City Council budget work session has been canceled due to inclement weather and rescheduled for Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center, 4850 Mark Center Drive. In a change from the original calendar, Work Session #4 (Livable, Green & Prospering) and Work Session #5 (Healthy, Thriving & Equitable) will now be held jointly in a single session.

The meeting is open to the public and will be webcast at alexandriava.gov/Dockets. Public comments are not taken during work sessions, but can be submitted online at any time.

What's on the table Wednesday

The combined session covers two of the budget's largest functional areas. "Livable, Green & Prospering" totals $210,829,282 and encompasses housing, transit, transportation, economic development, historic preservation, planning, and code enforcement. "Healthy, Thriving & Equitable" totals $511,219,649 — by far the largest functional area in the budget — and covers Alexandria City Public Schools, Community and Human Services, the Health Department, the Library, Recreation and Parks, and other health agencies.

Livable, Green & Prospering highlights

Transit Services totals $62,537,432, up 2.4%. DASH funding rises 2.8% to $35,459,246; WMATA increases 3.7% to $12,943,554. King Street Trolley, DOT-Paratransit, and VRE hold flat.

Transportation & Environmental Services proposes $96,606,070 — down 2.8% — but adds 24.5 positions for a total of 279.5 FTEs, a 9.6% increase. Transportation Planning jumps 32.6% to $20.7 million; Mobility Services grows 18.9%. A new $2.3 million Project Implementation line appears for the first time.

The Office of Housing proposes $17,963,230, up 4.3%, driven by a 61.4% jump in capital project transfers — from $6.57 million to $10.6 million — reflecting continued investment in affordable housing development. Planning & Zoning falls 6.7% to $8,934,586 and sheds one FTE. Economic Development rises 5.5% to $9,560,920, with a line covering Small Business Development and related agencies nearly doubling to $968,092.

The full 71-page Livable, Green & Prospering section is available here.

Healthy, Thriving & Equitable highlights

ACPS is by far the dominant budget item in this functional area at $336,917,245, up 2% from the current year. The city's General Fund transfer for ACPS operations rises 1.5% to $286,620,329, while school-related debt service grows 5.1% to $50,296,916. Enrollment is projected at 16,023 — up slightly from 15,993 this year — and ACPS staffing dips modestly by 8.9 FTEs to 2,742.1. Alexandria's cost per pupil stands at $22,242 in FY 2026, below Arlington ($25,406) but above Prince William ($20,223), according to WABE data.

The Department of Community and Human Services proposes $118,036,492, up 2.1%, though total staffing falls by 9.1 FTEs to 615.51. The Alexandria Fund for Human Services sees the sharpest program-level increase at 27.5%, rising to $2,546,430. Early Childhood programming grows 6.4% to $11,824,010. Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault services rise 4.7%. The department draws funding from a wide range of sources including $92.8 million in fiscal year grants.

Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities comes in at $34,948,513. The Library is proposed at $10,204,743, the Health Department at $9,910,775, and other health services — including the Coroner's Office, ANSHI, Inova, and Community Health — at $1,186,507.

What's next

Work Session #6 (Accountable & Effective Government) remains on the calendar for March 25. After that, the process moves toward add/delete with an April 9 council deadline, public hearings on April 18, and final budget and tax rate adoption on April 29.

FY 2027 Budget Calendar

Feb. 25 — Work Session #1: CIP & Revenues
March 4 — Work Session #2: ACPS Operating & Capital Budgets
March 9 — City Council Budget Public Hearing
March 11 — Work Session #3: Safe, Secure & Just
March 14 — City Council Budget Public Hearing
March 16 — Work Session #4: Livable, Green & Prospering (canceled, weather)
March 18 — Work Sessions #4 & #5 (combined): Livable, Green & Prospering / Healthy, Thriving & Equitable, 7 p.m., Del Pepper Community Resource Center ← Wednesday
March 25 — Work Session #6: Accountable & Effective Government
April 6 — Deadline for council to notify staff of planned tax rate changes
April 9 — Council add/delete deadline
April 18 — FY 2027 Add/Delete and Tax Rate public hearings
April 21 — Work Session #7: Preliminary Add/Delete
April 27 — Work Session #8: Final Add/Delete (if needed)
April 29 — FY 2027 Budget and Tax Rate Adoption, 6 p.m.
July 1 — Fiscal Year 2027 begins