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Description
County Board member John Vihstadt's New Year's address delivered at the Arlington County Board's Organizational Meeting of Jan. 3 2017.
A
Thank
You
mr.
chairman
boy,
the
remarks
from
our
chair
in
our
Vice
Chair
hard
acts
to
follow
Thank
You
mr.
chairman,
first
I
want
to
thank
Libby
Garvey
for
her
responsive
and
even-handed
leadership.
As
chair
over
the
last
12
months.
Libby.
Thank
you
for
setting
a
new
tone
of
collaboration,
not
just
among
the
five
of
us,
but
between
the
County
Board
and
the
school
board
and
with
leaders
of
neighboring
jurisdictions
as
well.
A
Second
I
was
so
encouraged
in
2016
to
be
joined
by
my
energetic
new
colleagues,
Christian
Dorsey
and
Katie
crystal
who
I
have
to
say,
oftentimes
rivaled
me
in
asking
tough
questions
and
insisting
on
direct
answers,
whether
from
staff
or
those
doing
business.
Before
the
board,
now
I'd
like
to
highlight
my
top
priorities
for
2017,
while
briefly
looking
in
the
rearview
mirror
number
one
fostering
continued
transparency
and
accountability.
A
Our
new
independent
county
auditor
shows
great
promise
with
the
prospect
of
significant
savings
and
efficiencies
realized
through
reforms
to
our
ambulance,
fee
billing
system
and
more
the
financial
waste
fraud
and
abuse
hotline
once
reserved
for
county
employees
only
is
now
available
to
the
general
public
as
I
urged.
From
the
outset,
every
report
is
fully
investigated
in
a
confidential
manner,
along
with
our
overdue
enhancement
of
internal
audit
controls
and
a
fresh,
comprehensive
risk
assessment
protocol.
The
county
is
poised
to
further
ensure
that
our
lling
t'en
taxpayers
are
truly
getting
their
money.
A
Their
money's
worth
this
year,
I
intend
to
push
for
the
often
talked
about,
but
elusive
48-hour
rule
whereby
all
board
agenda
items
and
reports
are
made
available
to
the
public
and
posted
on
our
county
website,
a
minimum
of
48
hours
in
advance
of
deliberation.
Aside
from
extraordinary
and
special
circumstances
requiring
a
unanimous
board
vote.
A
We
live
in
an
uncertain
period,
as
has
been
referenced
today,
and
we
must
be
mindful
of
the
likelihood
of
tightening
fiscal
pressures
from
Washington
and
Richmond
alike.
As
governor
McAuliffe
has
announced,
state
spending,
reductions
and
cutbacks
in
the
face
of
slower
than
expected
economic
growth,
so
too
must
Arlington
be
prepared
to
tighten
its
belt
while
ensuring
that
our
schools,
metro
parks,
public
safety
and
our
social
safety
net
have
the
funds
needed
to
honor
commitments
to
every
single
Arlington
Ian.
A
While
unsuccessful
this
past
budget
cycle
and
acknowledging
that
we've
made
some
progress
already,
I
will
continue
to
push
for
budgetary
reform
that
would
allocate
any
annual
budget
surplus
to
true
emergency
needs.
First
to
paying
down
our
growing
bonded
indebtedness,
second
to
mitigating
our
rising
tax
and
fee
burden.
Third
and
fourth,
moving
the
remainder
into
consideration
for
the
next
budget
year,
when
all
spending
demands
may
be
viewed
in
a
more
holistic
and
across
the
board
fashion,
as
recommended
by
our
county.
A
Our
community
facilities
study
I
believe
that
we
need
project,
specific
economic
impact,
analyses
for
private
developments
and
periodic
look
backs
as
well,
and
we
have
to
examine
the
removal
of
legal
impediments
to
expanding
the
conversation
about
what
cost
too.
It's
allowable
quote.
Community
benefits,
unquote
in
the
context
of
new
construction
number
three
nurturing
Arlington's
business
community.
At
my
initiative,
the
county
hosted
a
successful
small
business
summit
in
May.
The
county
commissioned
a
survey
of
both
large
and
small
business
leaders
and
workers,
a
top
finding
quote
business
leader.
A
Respondents
feel
bureaucratic
challenges,
taxes
and
fees
and
high
property
costs.
End
quote
are
three
of
Arlington
County's
greatest
weaknesses
as
a
business
location.
This
is
not
good
to
refine
our
ongoing
strategies
that
support
and
enhance
arlington
as
a
business-friendly
location
and
address
these
concerns.
We
will
expand
our
conversation
in
the
new
year
by
probing
the
results
of
the
small
business
summit
and
business
survey
and
follow
up
by
hosting
business
roundtable
discussions
to
elicit
recommendations
for
change
in
2017.
A
We'll
also
look
forward
to
working
even
more
closely
with
Arlington's
acclaimed
biz
launch
program
to
continue
to
assist
in
the
successful
development
of
our
entrepreneurs
and
small
businesses,
whether
they
live
along
lee,
highway
columbia,
pike
or
our
home
based
and
number
for
improving
neighborhood
quality
of
life.
I
look
forward
to
working
with
our
dozens
of
civic
associations
and
neighborhood
groups
from
Bellevue
forest
to
barcroft
and
from
Madison
manner,
to
knock
on
everything,
from
streetlight
repairs
to
roadwork,
to
pike,
transit,
enhancements,
combating
blighted
properties
and
maintaining
our
parks
and
fields.
A
These
are
the
basic
everyday
measures
of
local
government
responsiveness
and
there
is
room
for
improvement
in
terms
of
community
engagement,
customer
service
and
project
execution,
I'm
ready
for
an
exciting
and
productive
12
months,
and
look
forward
to
working
with
everyone
in
this
room
and
roughly
219,000
and
925
other
arlington
Ian's.
Let's
get
to
work.
Thank
you.