Budget Question # 85: What was the basis for Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority’s requested increase of 4.7% of the City contribution? Is this a formula based request or has the City engaged in negotiations regarding this request? (Councilwoman Bagley)
Response:
The City of Alexandria provides both operating and capital appropriations to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA). These funds are used to support the maintenance and operations of NVRPA’s 12,000 acres of regional parkland and 35 regional parks. The City of Alexandria is one of six-member jurisdictions; including, Arlington County, the City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, the City of Falls Church, and Loudoun County.
For FY 2023, NVRPA’s requested operating appropriation totals $324,925.08 and the requested capital contribution totals $441,198.29. NVRPA calculates the request based on the annual per capita rate for both operating and capital appropriations. In FY 2023, the per capita rate of $2.04 for operating and $2.77 for capital was adjusted to reflect population change and increasing inflation. For comparison, NVRPA’s FY 2022 appropriation request was $1.95 for operating and $2.65 for capital.
The population figures used by NVRPA to estimate each jurisdiction’s contribution amount (per capital rate x FY 2023 population) are based on the estimates provided by the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center. Listed below are the population figures used by NVRPA to calculate each jurisdictions FY 2023 capital and operating appropriation request.