Budget hearings start on April 16.
NOW is the time to ask your supervisor to support proposed funding for parks in FY25 and to plan ahead to properly fund parks in future years!
Didn’t you ask us to do this last year?
Yes! For the past two years, Fairfax County residents like you have championed the important work of our Park Authority. Thanks to your advocacy, the Fairfax Board of Supervisors included an additional $2.5 million to the Park Authority to support natural resource stewardship and equity initiatives in FY23 and FY24.
This year is a tough budget year.
We were thrilled that no cuts were proposed for the Fairfax County Park Authority’s FY25 budget. However, there is the possibility that the proposed tax rate will be further reduced. If that happens it will mean cuts to the proposed budget. That will force the Board of Supervisors to make tough decisions about which proposals get funded and which get cut.
Each year, your voice is urgently needed – and this year is no different.
Each spring, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors seeks feedback on the annual budget. As a voter and a supporter of our parks, please speak up using the red “Start writing” button below!
Help us continue the wave of support!
Send a short email! Thank our County Executive for avoiding cuts to park funding and clearly state your support for continued investments in our parks and the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) going forward. Tell your personal story about why funding our parks is important to you.
Want more details?
Refer to our Fairfax Parks Coalition’s in depth FCPA budget talking points!
For this FY25 budget
In the fall of 2023, the County Executive asked all agencies and departments to brace for a tough FY25 and to consider how they might implement a 7% cut to their budgets. We worked with our partners to engage residents in asking that FCPA’s budget be spared from cuts and we were heard! Now, we must ask our Board of Supervisors to approve FCPA’s budget as proposed:
(1) Please adopt FCPA’s budget as proposed – we are grateful that investments in equity and natural resources were preserved in the proposal.
(2) We appreciate and strongly support the following proposed budget items and ask that they be kept in the FY25 budget:
Natural resources
– Bamboo removal – $400,000
– Zero waste – $1,064,990
– Park operations – $1,755,000 (Forestry Contract $890,000 + Restoration $865,000)
– Invasive Management Area Program – $466,000 (a $66k increase from last year)
Community outreach and equity
– Mobile nature center – $114,961
Big picture priorities for FY26 and beyond
Because this year’s FY25 proposed budget is largely a “thank you”, we don’t have additional asks for this year. But it’s critical to keep longer-term goals on our Supervisors’ radar via future budget guidance.
Our big picture priorities for FY26 and beyond include funding for:
(1) Implementation of Equity Study recommendations
(2) Natural resource management
(3) Language outreach and translation
(4) Outreach staff for equitable park access and programming
Writing your email is as easy as 1-2-3!
- Introduce yourself: (a) Mention your district (find it if you don’t know) and (b) Share your park / rec center connection
- Express support for at least 1 of the 5 FY25 priorities and say why you support it (and thank our County Executive Bryan Hill for their inclusion in the proposed budget)
- Ask for at least 1 “big picture priority” and say why it matters to you and your community.
. . .