March 17, 2021
EcoAction Arlington is thrilled with the County’s decision to move forward with curbside food scrap collection with no increase in the household solid waste rate but is concerned about several shortsighted cuts during the FY22 budget year:
- A proposed 50 percent cut to the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) would reduce staffing by 60 percent. This impacts the Energy Masters program EcoAction Arlington manages in partnership with VCE as well as the 4-H, Master Gardeners, Arlington Regional Master Naturalists programs, and other popular financial and nutritional education programs, which have been even more important during the pandemic.
- The proposed elimination of County support to the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust would take away a currently underused tool to protect important natural resources on private property through conservation trusts.
- The termination of the StormwaterWise program, which has helped fund installation of stormwater mitigation features on private property, removes an effective private and public effort to capture stormwater on site and reduce flooding and erosion in the watershed.
In addition to a letter commenting on the proposed FY22 budget, EcoAction Arlington has recently sent letters to the County with our recommendations for the Community Energy Plan Implementation Framework and the Forestry and Natural Resources Master Plan , now under development.
You can add your voice by writing to the County Board at countyboard@arlingtonva.us and speaking at the virtual budget hearing on April 6, starting at 7:00 PM.
Here is a sample letter you can personalize.