Treasurer's Office Employee: Vehicle Decals Unnecessary, Waste of Time and Money

Hello Yupette,

Last year I was having problems with my mortgage lender over signing up to having my real estate directly debited taxes by the County Treasurer. So I called the County Treasurer's Office and spoke with a nice woman who helped me with the process.

I have arthritis and don't want to have to peel off and remove any more vehicle decals. I recently called the woman back and asked her why we still have to peel off and affix decals every year. Fairfax County residents don't. She replied: "It's completely unnecessary and a big waste of time and money. We use license plate cameras and share data with other jurisdictions and DMV. The decal program is a public relations stunt. Please, don't tell anyone I told you that. Carmen doesn't like me as it is because this office is full of political hacks who do little and are paid a lot, and I resent having to do my work and theirs also."

Thank you for this blog. It's obvious that the waste in County Government goes on because the local media not only allow it but promote it.

anon from Arlington Ridge

Living in Arlington in the Future? Buy a High MPG Car, You'll Need It

Hey Yupette,

What's Arlington's "future"? All essential infrastructure bulldozed out from all arterials in all neighborhoods as a consequence of Smart Growth 2.0, aka "Smart Growth on Steroids". Replaced by mixed-use infill - bars, restaurants, upscale national chain retail. Want to refuel your vehicle? Be prepared for a long wait at the few remaining service stations. Be prepared to drive awhile to a garden store, veterinarian, appliance store, auto repair shop (unless you own a vehicle with a dealership in Arlington, and how many of those will there be?), hardware store, and so on.

Public and private infrastructure on Lee Highway, 10th Street, Washington Blvd., Glebe Road has been allowed to deteriorate while the County builds Taj Mahal public infrastructure and approves more mixed-use inflll with more parking. If you drive through vibrant Clarendon on Wilson Boulevard that's the County's future. The entire County will be Clarendoned sooner than anyone thinks. So, think about buying a plug-in hybrid now and save yourself a lot of aggravation a year or two from now.

C.E. Ballston

County Board to Celebrate Christmas in July

Hey, Yupette,

It's that time of year again, Arlington County Board's semi-annual give-away to pet people, developers, and special interests, in accordance with its wants-not-needs Smart Growth agenda.

Unfortunately, taxpayers can't do much about it, since almost all the giveaways are on the part of the Consent Agenda that you need permission from a County Board member to discuss.

This year the County Board is outdoing previous Christmas in July celebrations by giving Bloomberg another corporate welfare gift, awarding stipends to wealthy performing arts groups, and appropriating millions for new outdoor sports infrastructure for the Arlington Regional Park System, in addition to the promised new performing arts center and team sports field house on Four Mile Run Drive.

Then there's the usual developer give-away site plan with no developer contribution for schools and essential public infrastructure.

Same County Board that last week discussed punitive means testing for seniors seeking real estate tax relief.

All but the most embarrassing (not that much embarrasses Arlington's one-party government anymore) consent agenda staff reports should be on-line at arlingtonva.us by Friday. So check them out.

L.K. from Williamsburg

County Government Doesn't Just Taj Mahal Schools, County Government Taj Mahals Everything

Hey Yupette,

So more talk about so called Taj Mahal schools, this time by last-minute County Board candidate Charles McCullough II? Earth to Chuck -- County isn't just about Taj Mahal schools, the County has been about Taj Mahal EVERYTHING for the past decade...schools, parks, sports fields, and lots more. Like Taj Mahal LED street lights that don't light the street, like a Trades Center full of expensive construction equipment. Like police, fire, and EMS providing Taj Mahal security for bar crawls and earning lots of overtime. Like Taj Mahal parking lots for school buses and ART buses. In fact, everything this tiny County does is very expensive. But what can you expect when one-party government's been in power for more than 35 years and getting elected and re-elected depends of buying votes with tax dollars....lots of tax dollars?

Later,

Carolyn from Ashton Heights

Blame Democrats for Arlington's Infrastructure Mess

Hey, Yupette,

Then there's Arlington's public infrastructure mess. Primary proponent (since Mary Hynes retired) of extravagant programs for every family-neighborhood-neighborhood school is Katie Cristol, who's Arlington's First Soccer Mom while Erik Gutshall is Arlington's Second Soccer Dad (second to Christian Dorsey).

What a team. Katie makes extravagant promises in private meetings to pet developers, fellow VIP Progressives, and pet special interests like soccer parents. Erik gets to rubber stamp the deals as Chair of the Planning Commission. On-the-job training for Erik's selection by the Regime to replace Gourmet Jay. Erik's all set to become rich from his home renovation company converting McMansions into apartments for the missing middle (people who earn under $40,000 and work in the vibrant B-R corridor).

If you think Arlington is building Taj Mahal schools now, wait until you see what the future will bring -- massive spending on more extravagant energy-inefficient schools with too few classrooms but plenty of live theaters, art space, performing arts space, sports activities, and swimming pools. What can you expect when the incoming County Board majority will all be soccer parents who make promises to other soccer parents in return for votes?

The fact there won't be nearly enough open space for future Smart Growth infill doesn't bother Katie Cristol at all. Just repurpose neighborhood parks into sports-recreation-activity areas at a cost of millions per park. If non-residents want to use the repurposed parks, that's OK too. Next will be repurposed streets. Parking? Traffic? Don't worry. Be Happy. County Planning Staff who live in Fairfax, Prince William, Stafford, and Loudoun Counties will make it all work -- somehow.

Joan from Williamsburg

Blame Democrats for Arlington's Education Mess

Hey, Yupette,

Long as we're at it let's tell the truth about who's responsible for Arlington's education mess. Same Arlington Democratic Regime that's been been micromanaging our lives for more than 35 years.

Kudos for making a mess of Arlington's Public School System over the past 25 years have to go to School Board / County Board members Libby Garvey and Mary Hynes. Libby and Mary came onto the School Board in the pre-SOL era and opposed SOLs. Since Libby's still on the County Board let's focus on her sterling political career. Pre-SOLs Libby didn't give a rat's a$$ about how Arlington's children were being educated. In fact, Libby's own neighborhood elementary school "crashed and burned" academically her first years on the School Board.

Libby eventually came around to supporting the SOLs the General Assembly mandated, together with the Bush Administration's No Child Left Behind federal legislation. Things kept moving along until about 8 years ago when Chris Zimmerman's New Urbanism / Smart Growth and the influx of federal employees after 9-11-2001 stopped the outflow of families and parents from Arlington and encouraged families to stay in Arlington, buy much larger tear-down McMansions and enroll their children in Arlington's public schools. A choice made easy by the County Board and School Board members with children enrolled in the school system who decided to build Taj Mahal schools to try to solve APS's enrollment crisis. Taj Mahal schools designed with too few classrooms and too many energy-inefficient social spaces.

Same Smart Growth paradigm is in play today, 8 years later. Growth for the sake of growth without regard to consequences. Chris Zimmerman retired to inflict Smart Growth on the rest of America. Smart Growth remains as Arlington's sole planning paradigm.

Where does Erik Gutshall fit in to what happens next? He's not only C.Z., on steroids but a Smart Growth soccer parent on steroids and a Smart Growth developer out to urbanize every Arlington suburban neighborhood. Stay tuned for massive spending for more Taj Mahal education infrastructure with Erik on the County Board. Gotta put those lighted synthetic soccer fields somewhere, your neighborhood needs the density, don't be a NIMBY.

Margaret from Williamsburg

Blame Democrats for Arlington's Transportation Mess

Hey, Yupette,

As long as you're at it, what about Arlington's transportation mess? Who's to blame? Start with the last three Democrats appointed to the WMATA Board -- Chris Zimmerman, Mary Hynes, and Christian Dorsey. More than a decade of "Don't Worry. Be Happy" while Metrorail went from terrible to horrible. Continuous massive construction in Metrorail corridors, but Metrorail was never designed to operate in a high density urban environment. It's a two-track system. Consequently, Metrorail is a bottomless money pit.

So what would Erik Gutshall do about it? Same as he's done on the Planning Commission -- more density, more unaffordable housing via AHIF gifts to developers and non-profits. Erik will also make a fortune building apartments that are actually affordable...in single family homes and townhomes, will defer to County Staff who won't live in Arlington no matter how much they are paid, keep raising taxes to pay for his and the other PlutoCrats' Smart Growth addiction, and gridlock the County with a more car, more bicycle, more pedestrian diet. Look at what a mess Erik and the Planning Commission made of Rosslyn. No one was happy except the developers who received corporate welfare from Smart Growth addicts like Erik. Same is occurring in Ballston.

Bottom line -- we can't afford any more Democrats on the County Board.

Ken, 22205