FY 2026 Budget Questions and Answers

Page updated on February 26, 2025 at 9:59 AM
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Budget Questions and Answers (Q&A) for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget process are listed and searchable below by subject. Use the question titles (some abbreviated to fit the character allotment) to view the question and response. A PDF version is also available at the bottom of each Q&A.

To view Budget Q&As from previous years, visit the Budget Archive. 

Budget QA
Date Status Name
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #001: What is the proposed schedule and add/delete process for FY 2026 budget deliberations?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #002: What is the current pay rate and the cost to raise the rate to $16, $17, or $18 for garage staff? What is the process for raising pay through the current contract? What are the renewal terms? Is prevailing wage part of the contract?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #003: What is the cost to enforce compliance with the leaf blower regulation?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #004: What would the cost be to move to an online membership database system for Parks and Rec pool sites?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #005: Do other jurisdictions receive state funding for school construction?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #006: What is the breakdown of non-City funding for CIP transportation projects?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #007: Can staff please recirculate the CIP budget guidance provided to ACPS by the City Manager in the Fall, and that City Council adopted in November?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #008: What would it cost to build a new enclosed teen space and improve site-lines at Ewald park (e.g. reconfiguring parking lot)? Are there phased improvements we can be making to the park (e.g. lights, fencing, etc.)?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #009: Can staff please provide information related to the FY25-34 CIP projects that were removed from the FY26-35 CIP?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #010: How much property tax revenue does Alexandria receives from buildings with federal office space? What are the potential impacts of Federal downsizing in this area?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #011: Can you provide a breakdown of the financial impact, if any, of automated speed cameras installed to date? Does any of the legislation in 2025 impact their funding or implementation, and would additional cameras be revenue neutral?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #012: Can the OMB itemize direct payments and staff time costs associated with the parades that take place in Alexandria and inquire with relevant agencies about the revenue benefits associated with these events?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #013: What budget reductions were considered by Staff as this budget was being developed that were not included in the Manager's proposed budget?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #014: Can you provide a list of vacancies that have been open for more than a year?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #015: Can you tell me the amount of money that an increase in the Hotel Occupancy Tax would bring in?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #016: Can someone tell me the amount of money allocated for the Office of Climate Action's programs/activities vs. what was spent?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #017: What would be the staff and fiscal impact to set up an agency tasked with executing medium and large events in the city much like "Events DC" in Washington- https://eventsdc.com/ ?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #018: What is the fiscal impact of adding additional sick or annual leave days to the employee benefit package?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #019: What is the amount of savings gained if the City and Schools combined the 'white car' fleets?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #020: Can staff provide a rundown of approved-but-not-funded affordable housing projects in our CIP?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #021: Could staff provide feedback on the cost of launching a noise “camera” pilot pursuant to the new legislative authority. What are the costs of the items, their installation and their enforcement?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #022: How much would it cost to run the ARISE program with a new set of participants every two years?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #023: What are the estimated costs for program to fund free Metrobus and Metro rail rides to ACPS middle and high school students? What grant opportunities are being pursued, and what local match would be required if a grant is awarded?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #024: What would be the cost of adding textile recycling to Alexandria's existing recycling program? Even a semi-annual collection would be greatly appreciated.
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #025: What would it cost to increase the frequency of DASH bus line 32 to 15 mins headways between landmark and Van Dorn Metro and 30 mins for the rest of the route - 5 days and 7 days? What’s this route's measure in terms of utilization
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #026: Do any other jurisdictions' school systems have a shared health insurance pool with their city or county?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #027: What is the vacancy rate by department? What is the historical trend of these vacancies for context?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #028: Please update the Sheriff's retirement memo
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #029: What is the waiting list for the Alexandria Community Shelter? What does it cost to shelter clients' pets?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #030: What level of demand exists for adult rental relief above our 30% AMI cut-off? What would it cost to meet a 40% or 50% AMI cut-off?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #031: What would it cost to maintain two West End Food Hubs instead of relocating the existing hub to the Del Pepper Center?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #032: What is the short-term solution to bridge the gap between the Northern Virginia Dental Clinic services that is proposed for elimination, and a future dental care model? What is the eligibility requirement to receive NVDC ...
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #033: Is there information available on how INOVA's contingent reserve funds were spent?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #034: It's my understanding that the State is making changing to Title V. What are those changes? How will they impact maternal health funding in the City?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #035: Can staff provide a breakdown on the cost of the DOT Paratransit program, numbers of residents served or delivered, costs per ride and any other readily available service metrics for the program.
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #036: What is the status of staff’s assessment of the viability of an e-bike voucher program for Alexandria residents, focusing on equitable qualification parameters? What are the costs associated with ...
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #037: What is the cost to explore the feasibility of a carbon budget for the City? How would a carbon budget help the city better understand the emissions reduction requirements and cost necessary to meet net zero?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #038: What is the cost (e.g. fund dollars, staffing, infrastructure to track and deploy funds) to establish an Eco-City Internal Revolving Fund that captures savings from climate action projects to fund future climate action projects?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #039: What programs currently support small independently owned retailers? Do any of these programs support marketing and promotion? If so, how much funding has been committed over the past 5 years?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #040: How has the city historically supported small businesses Saturday? What is the total amount of resources (broken down by department and initiatives/programs) budgeted in FY 26 to support small businesses?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #041: Can you provide examples and dollars past Alexandria budgets have committed to small business support and any funds within the current proposed budget designated for small businesses?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #042: Can you provide a breakdown of the contingency funds added to the budget to provide a buffer against possible impacts to grants or other revenue streams by Federal actions?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #043: How do ACPS’s compensation increases compare and how much pay increase was given last year in comparison to other school systems?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #044: Request for Information Regarding Therapeutic Recreation
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #045: Request for Information about Out of School Time Programs
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #046: What specific data points and measurable targets will ACPS use to assess the return on investment for the additional funds requested in this budget?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #047: What programs did ACPS cut or sunset in this budget? And how much cost savings did it yield?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #048: How does ACPS objectively evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing programs when deciding whether to continue funding or not?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #049: How many vacant positions were eliminated in the ACPS School Board-approved budget? Additionally, what are the purposes of the 17.5 reserve FTE positions?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #050: Can we have an updated cost and benefit analysis for any recommended additional or modified DASH bus service?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #051: What would the revenue gain be from increasing the non-real estate and non-personal property tax rates that the City has the authority to raise (hotel occupancy tax, admissions tax, etc)?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #052: How many families are currently served by the pilot rental subsidy program? What is the cost per family? What would it cost to potentially double that program?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #053: Provide an update on potential threats to the municipal bond market: Where the current legislation is? What federal administration changes are being proposed? How might that impact us?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #054: Can we get a breakdown of the City’s spending on public safety (separated by police, fire, etc.) and how it has changed across the last 5 years?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #055: Can staff estimate the funds required to contract with Neighborhood Health to provide to provide a specialist dentist either once a week or twice a month at the dental clinic at the Del Pepper Center?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #056: Can you provide information on the level of funding we have provided (from ARPA, general fund, or other sources) to our Eviction Prevention Fund in the last 3 fiscal years and what is proposed in this year's budget?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #057: Are there any programs in the last three years of the proposed CIP that have been included in the CIP for many years but not advanced towards completion?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #058: Can we get a breakdown of what the dedicated one penny of the property tax dedicated to housing affordability is funding?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #059: What projects in the first five years of the proposed CIP are reliant upon funding from federal sources such as grants? Specifically, which projects are reliant upon funds that we have not yet received?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #060: Can we estimate the impact on our CIP borrowing capacity over the next five years if our real estate valuations grow at a rate that is 10% slower than we currently project?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #061: How many staff positions are presently funded by CIP dollars?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #062: Can staff estimate the costs of using authority granted to Alexandria in section 15.2-958.4 of the Code of Virginia to waive “building permit fees and other local fees associated with the construction, renovation, or ...
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #063: What new programs were considered during for funding during the development of the Manager’s budget but in the end were not included?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #064: How did the cost of the January/February 2025 snowstorms compare to previous years, and how are we budgeting for future storms?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #065: Please provide a breakdown of the City Council budget.
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #066: Why does the City not stream meetings live on YouTube, and if the reason is financial, what would be the cost?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #067: What is the status of the ACPS energy manager position? Is it still vacant? Is it being outsourced and is there a potential for savings through shared services?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #068: How many vehicles receive 100% subsidy under the current allocation of the state subsidy, and what is the remaining value distribution of vehicles?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #069: What would it cost to offer a shuttle service one more day a week for residents who need to visit the Del Pepper building but who cannot navigate the walk from the Mark Center bus stop to the building?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #070: Request for information regarding the Sheriff inmate classification positions.
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #071: Can you provide a breakdown of funds the Council has provided or dedicated in the past three years to local business organizations or business themed events, if any. Including ARPA funds or other one-time funds or partnerships.
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #072: Can staff please prepare a budget memo that includes information about the water taxi program as well as an estimate of what it would cost to run this service now given inflation and rising cost?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #073: Please provide a comparison of Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William school districts in terms of the ratio of Central Office personnel to both teachers and students.
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #074: What are the options for scaling the cost of the small business accelerator?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #075: What is the number of participants served by the RPCA fee waiver since its passage?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #076: Please provide an itemized list of projects in North Old Town, that have invoked the arts density bonus, their status, and any money spent or earmarked for those programs.
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #077: How much additional revenue would the City raise if we increased the lodging fee portion of the transient lodging tax from $1.25 per room per night to $1.5 or $1.75 per room per night?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #078: What would the impact be on the CIP if Council shifted some of ACPS' FY26 $2.3M increase for Debt Service to Operating? How might it impact debt ratios if $500k or $1M of the proposed increase were shifted from one to the other?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #079: By how much would the City need to increase Residential Permit Parking Fees to raise an additional $100,000 in revenue? Additionally, how much additional revenue would the City generate if the City increased the fee ...
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #080: What was the General Fund transfer amount requested by the ACPS Superintendent, and what were any new positions or new funding items included over FY25? What was the General Fund transfer amount proposed by the City Manager?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #081: How many youth participated in the summer program at no cost based on the FY 2024 implementation of no cost (100% fee reduction) for SNAP and TANF recipients enrolled in the Power On Summer Camp program?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #082: Is it possible to double the new short-term rental permit fee, and would that generate an additional $185,000 in revenue? What potential impacts could this have on attracting tourists to Alexandria and the local housing market?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #083: What would be the budgetary impact of converting the shuttle that runs on a regular schedule two days a week between the Mark Center bus stop and the Del Pepper Building to a vehicle that is available during business hours for ...
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #084: Can you provide a breakdown of the funding allocated to the Human Services Fund and how those funds were awarded in FY 2025, and to whom?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #085: How much did the City distribute in rental assistance in FY 2025, and how much has been budgeted for FY 2026? How much additional funding would be required (if any) to assist everyone who applied for rental assistance in FY 2025?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #086: Please provide a summary of Revenue Re-Estimates and Technical Adjustments for Add/Delete and recommendations for use of additional revenues.
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #087: Would you please provide me with the memo that was created that details which years budget increases were advertised and years we did not advertise an increase.
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #088: Would you please provide me the memo created for the Landmark project with reasons why a school was not slated for that area?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #089: Would you please provide me with a scope of work/overview for the Healthy Homes program and how much money has been allocated to the program since its inception?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #090: Would you please provide me the breakdown of ARPA funding that went to Visit Alexandria, their budget before the funding and budget the year after ARPA funding was depleted?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #091: What would be the cost be for a "SHOP LOCAL" initiative?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #092 WITHDRAWN: Is the a financial cost to restart the APD liaison initiative that APD had with ACPS, more specifically with admin and teachers at ACPS elementary schools?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #093: As part of the next phase of community engagement on the City Hall, Market Square Plaza, and Garage Renovations capital project, Council would like the public to weigh in on costs. What features might the public be willing to ...
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #094: Update on the City’s FY 2026 Metro operating subsidy
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #095: How many staff positions are needed at the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center to maintain a standard level of care at its current capacity? Additionally, how many positions are required to provide the same level of care ...
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #096: What is the financial cost to provide support for two additional sister cities, as asked for in VM Jackson and Councilman Chapman's memo to council in November 2024?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #097: What is the total proposed increase in expenditures for city staff compensation enhancements inclusive of: steps, COLAs, collective bargaining agreements for city employee groups including DASH, cyclical compensation adjustments...
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #098: How much would it cost to modernize the paratransit call system with new software and hardware (phones) if necessary?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #099: Please provide a summary of Add/Delete proposals received from City Council
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #100: How do they (ACPS) distribute their support staff in the schools equitably, what is their staffing formula for that?
Completed FY 26 Budget Q&A #101: Please provide a summary of the City Council’s final decisions for budget adoption.