MCA Annual Membership Meeting
Wednesday, May 22
Cocktail Hour: 6:00-7:00 pm
Meeting: 7:00-9:00 pm
McLean Community Center, Community Hall
Please join us for a wine and cheese reception, beginning at 6:00 pm. Our guest speaker will be Dranesville Supervisor Jimmy Bierman. Presentations will be made by MCA Officers and Committee Chairs, and the President of the McLean Community Foundation (MCF) will present the MCF Annual Report. The members will elect the MCA Board of Directors and Officers and MCF Trustees.
An invitation with the full agenda and nominated slate will be sent later in April.
-- Linda Walsh, President
|  | | 16th Annual Outstanding Character Award for Teenagers
Do you know a terrific teen?
Every year, MCA sponsors the Outstanding Character Award for Teenagers to recognize teens with exceptional ethical and compassionate character. Teens who have, on their own and without compensation or formal recognition, cared for elderly relatives or younger siblings, or who have helped out in their neighborhood or anywhere in the Greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area, are eligible for recognition. MCA is proud to recognize these teens and to hold them up as an example for others to follow.
All teen nominations must meet the criteria listed on the application. The MCA Education and Youth Committee will review nominations and select the winners from the most deserving candidates.
A completed application and two nominations must be submitted via email NO LATER THAN FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024.
MCA President Linda Walsh will join local officials in presenting the awards. The award ceremony will be held at Lewinsville Park on Chain Bridge Road in McLean on McLean Day, May 18th, at 3pm!
| | |  | | CERT Basic Training 192
May 13th - June 6th
6:30-10:30 pm
McLean Community Center
Final Exercise: June 8th, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, Springfield
CERT Basic Training teaches people how to safely respond to major emergencies to save lives, when first responders may be delayed. Over eight sessions, instructors prepare participants to work together to manage a local response and assist First Responders once they arrive. The course concludes with a disaster exercise to challenge your new skills.
The skills taught can also apply to everyday emergencies as well. The course covers the following topics:
- Personal & Family Preparedness: Family emergency plans, prepare the home and emergency kits
- Fire Safety and Utility Controls: How to stop small fires and prevent others
- Disaster Medical Operations: Setting up and performing life-saving medical care
- Light Search and Rescue: How and when to search for survivors
- Disaster Psychology: How disasters effect everyone as a victim and responder
- Team Organization: How to organize as part of the entire response team
- Terrorism: What to watch out for
Classes: May 13, 16, 20, 23, 30, June 03, 06 (Mondays and Thursdays), 6:30-10:00 pm, MCC, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean VA, 22101
Final Exercise: Saturday, June 08, 8 :00AM to 12:30PM, GW Community School, 9001 Braddock Road, Springfield, VA 22151
Note the Prerequisites on the registration page.
For more information, visit the CERT website or contact Wayne Vick at 202-498-2310.
|  | Senior Safety Summit
April 24, 2024
10:00am - 12:00pm
McLean Community Center, Community Hall
The Senior Safety Summit is a collaboration among MCA, McLean Community Center (MCC), Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) and Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD). Its goal is to help keep our community safe for our growing population of seniors.
Come learn about public safety topics, including:
- Community Risk Reduction
- Search and Rescue
- Missing Persons
- Financial Crime
- Romance Scams
- Business Scams
- Crime Prevention and Safety
REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED and ADMISSION IS FREE. All are welcome -- seniors, caregivers, family members, anyone who wants to learn about this important topic. For more information, visit our website.
| | |
 |
495 NEXT Project Update Meetings
April 8th (virtual) and April 11th (in-person)
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), along with project partner, Transurban, and contractor, Lane Construction, will hold two public meetings to provide the latest updates and information related to the I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project. Both meetings will include the same presentation, followed by a question and answer session.
Because this project impacts not only those who live near the Beltway construction but also those who use area roadways and those who care about tree canopy, stormwater management, and related issues, we know that many Mclean area residents will want to attend.
Virtual Meeting
Monday, April 8th
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Join the Meeting via this Link
Or by phone:
+1-866-692-4530 US Toll Free
+1-517-466-2023 US Toll
Call 703-691-6715 with questions.
In-Person Meeting
Thursday, April 11th
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Presentation at 7 p.m.
Langley High School Cafeteria
6520 Georgetown Pike
McLean, VA 22101
|  | | FY 2025 Budget Resolution
Every spring, Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors (BOS) votes for a budget that specifies how much will be spent for different categories of services (e.g., police, fire fighters, transportation, and human services), including the amount the County will transfer to Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). The County budget also specifies the property tax rate and the other tax rates that will generate the revenues needed to pay for expenditures. Under Virginia law, the County is required to have a balanced budget.
The MCA submits comments on the County budget every year, in the form of an MCA resolution, drafted by the Budget & Taxation Committee with input from other committees, which is then forwarded to the MCA Board for its approval. To research the issues, committee members read County, FCPS and other documents, meet with County and FCPS officials, and perform independent analyses using data from these sources.
MCA's FY 2025 Budget Resolution asks the BOS to create a five-year Fiscal Sustainability Strategic Plan, which would assume that residential property tax revenues increased no faster than inflation. For example, the applicable Consumer Price Index rose 3.6% during 2023, and the average residential assessment rose 2.9%. If the Supervisors limited property tax revenue increases to inflation, that would allow them to increase the tax rate by up to 0.7 cents per $100 of assessed value. Currently, the BOS is considering an increase in the tax rate of up to 4 cents per $100 of assessed value.
MCA's Budget & Taxation Committee members are especially concerned about rising pension costs, which are heavily attributable to efforts to pay down unfunded pension liabilities that have arisen due to optimistic assumptions that have not been realized. The County funds contributions for three County-run pension plans, plus two more pension plans for FCPS employees. Last month, the MCA voted for a resolution addressing the three County plans, in which it recommended that the BOS follow the Virginia General Assembly's lead in hiring actuaries to provide a plain English Stress Test and Sensitivity Analysis of its plans.
MCA also questions the level of spending in the FCPS budget, focusing on increases on administrator salaries and enhanced supplemental pension benefits. It urges the School Board to use market, hiring, and attrition data to determine the appropriate raises for different categories of FCPS employees, just like the County does for its employees, instead of giving an across-the-board 6% raise to all FCPS employees. It also urges the School Board to implement merit-based compensation for FCPS employees who are not paid on the salary scales for teachers, instructional assistants, and specialized assistants.
The resolution also suggests that FCPS refrain from spending $80 million to build a new elementary school in an area – Dunn Loring – where the surrounding elementary schools had empty seats this year and long-term projections by both FCPS and the County show plenty of space.
The resolution commends the BOS and County School Board for seeking additional funds from the federal and state governments.
The BOS hearings on the FY 2025 budget will take place from April 16 through April 18. If you would like to testify, you may sign up on the County website.
|  | Committee Spotlight: Budget & Taxation Committee
The Budget and Taxation Committee formulates thoroughly researched recommendations regarding the assumptions and methods Fairfax County relies on to raise and spend public funds, and promotes effective and responsible government. Preparing MCA’s Resolution on the proposed County budget, the Committee's largest effort of the year, involves drafting a series of recommendations for consideration by the MCA Board of Directors that, with the Board's approval, are delivered to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the Fairfax County School Board, and their budget staff.
The Budget & Taxation Committee is an exceptionally collegial group that includes retired and active chief financial officers, lawyers, economists, federal and county government officials, lobbyists, small business owners, and residents who have been actively working with their neighbors on a range of projects.
Committees: The Heart of MCA
Budget & Taxation
Planning & Zoning
Transportation
Education & Youth
Environment, Parks & Recreation
Public Safety
Tysons
Seniors
Membership
MCA's Committees study issues affecting residents of the McLean Area; develop MCA Resolutions and letters on issues of public significance; and organize public citizen information sessions where local elected officials, Fairfax County representatives and others address specific areas of interest.
Each Committee is made up of volunteers, many of whom have considerable experience and expertise on subjects that the Committee oversees.
You must be a member of the MCA in order to join an MCA Committee. If you're interested in joining a Committee, or if there is an issue affecting the McLean Area that you think the Committee should investigate, contact the Committee Chair. Thank you for helping to keep MCA an effective advocate for the greater McLean community!
| | |
JUST SAY NO TO A CASINO IN FAIRFAX COUNTY!
May 21
4:30-6:00 pm
Help us send a strong message to the Fairfax Board of Supervisors by filling every seat in the Fairfax County Board Room! Reserve a space and we will reserve a NO TYSONS CASINO t-shirt just for you. We will send additional information, including carpooling information, to those who register.
To testify: Sign up (or call 703-324-3151). When prompted to enter your topic, write or say, "Casino." You may testify in person, by phone, or by uploading a YouTube video (instructions provided)
Busy on May 21st but want to help? Display a yard sign and/or bumper sticker! Pick up at 1518 Mintwood Drive!
Click here for more information on how you can help keep Fairfax County casino-free.
| | | |