Okay, good evening everyone. It is 5.30 and so I'd like to welcome you to the Monday, March 10th, 2025 special budget public hearing. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Mayor Gaskins. Here. Vice Mayor Bagley. Here. Councilman McGuirey. Councilman Chapman. Councilman Elnuby. Here. Councilwoman Green. Here. Councilman McPike. Here. Okay and I know Councilman McGuirey is on his way and Councilman McGuirey is right there so we're going to go ahead and jump right in. Madam Clerk next item. public hearing on the city managers proposed annual operating budget for FY 2026, including schools in the proposed capital improvement program, CIP for FY 2026 to FY 2035, including school CIP and proposed tax rate recommendations. So we are now going to begin our public hearing. The clerk will call each person's name. She'll say three names at a time. There are two opportunities to our left and our right. So if you are next in line, go ahead and please take the podium so that we can go right into your remarks. Each speaker will have three minutes unless they are representing a civic association, which will receive five minutes. So with that, Madame Clerk, please call our first three speakers. Marta Scants, Scott A. Bryant, and Sue Johnson. All right. Does my time start? Do I get a clock? It's gonna be right in front of you. There's, yeah, like right down there. There's little button. Thank you. It's already started. Okay. Good afternoon. Mayor vice mayor and city council. I'm pleased to represent the environmental policy commission, the EPC, and providing input on the FY26 city budget. This year the EPC has zoomed out for an eco city view of climate climate action for Alexandria as opposed to focusing on specific budget numbers for a single department. Overall, we support city climate action that advances decarbonization of buildings and transportation that improves climate resilience and adaptation and focuses on environmental justice. Now we hope you were able to read our EPC budget letter from the fall. It organized our inter-departmental ECO City budget recommendations across the different city. and the public health care and the health care and the health care and the health care and the health care and the health care and the health care and the health care and the health and the health care and the health and the health care and the health and the health care and the health and the health care and the health and the health care and the health and the health care and the health and the health from our letter, the four key budget-wide priorities that the EPC is hoping to see are to first take an eco-city approach to planning and budgeting. This is establishing a framework that applies a holistic climate lens to planning and budgeting to include the CIP and operating budget to ensure that city investments and program execution help advance and not hinder climate goals. The next is a carbon budget, which is a relatively newer idea, but we think it could be really helpful for the city to explore the feasibility of a carbon budget to better understand emission reduction requirements to meet net zero. This is a shadow price on carbon. This isn't something that would actually affect your budget directly. And proactive climate actions increase resilience from climate-related hazards. They reduce the future costs of climate change. And so being able to consider this in your budget would be a very sophisticated way to tackle climate change while also being realistic. The third piece is an eco-city internal revolving fund. We know that across the city there are a lot of different colors of money, such as upfront cost for a development compared to the operation and maintenance of that building or park or whatever it may be. And an eco city internal revolving fund could help capture savings from those climate action projects to fund future climate action projects. It's a common financial mechanism that is used across the globe. And we think that it would really help our city reach climate goals and thrive economically. And the fourth is around the Eco City coordinating group. So we understand that within the city, there's an Eco City coordinating group with employees from different departments who come together monthly and talk through ways to ensure a coordinated approach to climate action. And so we recommend using the environmental action plan, the EAP 2040, the goals from each of the 10 chapters as an organizing structure to encourage focus and attention on key eco city opportunities to make the most of this group. Now since I don't have time to voice every example in the letter, I will do a few on the Healthy Housing Initiative, support HAW to decarbonize, provide sufficient budget for the housing master plan to include sustainability. Prioritize the city hall market square with geothermal. All right, thank you. Darn it. Thank you so much. One second please. We have a question. Councilman Hickory. Ms. Hens, was there anything else that you wanted to add at the end of the day? are so kind kind to Councilman, Gary. Yes, a couple of four more examples. That was very close. I got carried away. When it comes to the City Hall Market Square project, we encourage that sufficient budget be used to achieve Ecosity leadership and net zero goals, including committing to geothermal in the parking garage and exploring creating financial mechanisms to cover those incremental upfront costs of the project. We also encourage innovating on programs that encourage voluntary building transportation, building and transportation decarbonization, and also prioritizing budget decisions that result in things like dedicated bus lanes protected by clans and safe pedestrian infrastructure for complete streets and safe routes to school. Thank you. And I think you also have a question from Councilman McGregor. Did I see your hand? Okay. Councilman McPick. Thank you, Miss Chance. Since the all sent that letter a few months ago and we've had some new members join and the project process is just getting up and going. Could you could you please send the letter to the emergency? Happily. much. Alright, thank you. Thank you. We'll now go to our next speaker, Scott Bryant. Good evening everyone. I am Scott Bryant. And I'm here to support the George Washington birthday celebration committee by encouraging the city to fully fund the committee through the upcoming budget process and then annually thereafter. My wife and I were both born in Alexandria. My mother was born here as well nearly 100 years ago. She was raised nearby on the 400 block of Queen Street. While my dad was at work, she brought me to the George Washington birthday parade every year when I was a youngster. And I loved it. Years later, my wife and I brought our children to the parade. This parade has been a quarter-send of our family's patriotic spirit for generations. And I'm certain it has been for many Alexandrians. Currently I'm the president of the George Washington chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, S-A-R. For those unfamiliar with the S-A-R, it's a patriotic organization, founded in 1889, dedicated to preserving the legacy and history of the American Revolution. Our SAR chapter, which has over 200 members, was founded here 71 years ago. Each year we promote this permeate to over 2000 SAR members across Virginia, and we specifically encourage involvement from the community for the last year and we have been working for the last year and we have been working for the last year and we have been working for the last year and we have been working for the last year and we have been working for the last year and we have been working for the last year and we have been working for the last year and we have been working for the last year and we have been working for the last year and we have been working 1801 when the country only had 16 states. It goes that far back. Still year after year the parade elevates to which Washington, so town is a noteworthy destination, especially coming in 2026. The parade provides a variety of benefits to Alexandria creating a ripple effect that touches not only economic, but social and cultural aspects as well. The parade itself attracts visitors from locals and... a variety of benefits to Alexandria creating a ripple effect that touches not only economic, but social and cultural aspects as well. The parade itself attracts visitors from locals and out of towners who undoubtedly contribute to the local economy through shopping, dining and accommodations, and not only on parade day. In addition to the economic support, the parade also fosters community spirit. It unites residents in celebration, encouraging volunteering and collaboration. It's a chance to showcase the region's local organizations, schools and cultural groups, it strengthens bonds across the community and it encourages civic engagement from the parade's planning to its performance. It is an event that costs community members no interest fee to attend, it thousands leave feeling happy, entertained and proud. The parade creates a stage for celebration of our shared heritage and the enduring spirit of American patriotism. The George Washington birthday parade is a living advertisement of this city's unique character. And therefore respectfully urge the city to fully fund the George Washington birthday celebration committee to continue this cherished tradition. Thank you. Thank you. I do have a quick question. When you say fully fun, can you give us a ballpark of what that number is? I've heard round numbers from afar as a parade participant, basically whether it remains on President State holiday, or if it remains on a Saturday, like it was this year, with about a $20,000 difference or so. I don't know the real numbers in total but whatever the celebration committee needs for their end of it, I would appreciate the study to consider funding it fully. Thank you so much for your time. You're welcome. Thank you for your opportunity. Next speaker, Sue Johnson. Thank you. I actually have the numbers, but I can't go into all of them right now, but I can provide them. I'm Sue Johnson and I'm chair of the George Washington birthday celebration committee, which the city created in 1976, to organize annual events that honor George Washington's legacy in his adopted hometown. The highlight of these activities is the annual George Washington birthday parade, which is the oldest and largest parade of its kind in the country, dating back to 1801. It regularly features over 1,000 participants from the Alexandria community and attracts thousands of visitors to Old Town over the holiday weekend. It's long been one of Alexandria's hallmark events distinguishing it from other historic cities as having the closest connection to George Washington. Since 2008, the city has covered one half of the costs of its security staff and other personnel for the parade with a cap of 25,000. The committee is required to cover all other costs, which include costs of city staff that exceed 25,000 and all other parade expenses. According to the Consumer Price Index, inflation has increased by over 47% since 2008, and the Committee's financial obligations now considerably exceed the city contribution. In recent years, we've only been able to meet our financial obligations through the year round fund raising efforts of a small number of volunteers or through the personal donations of these volunteers. In fact, last year, the personal donations counted for 30% of all private funds raised. In 2025, we needed to move the parade from its traditional day of Monday to a Saturday because costs of the city's security personnel on a city holiday had increased by $23,000. Even then, we had difficulty raising enough funds to cover expenses. The nation will celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, and visitors from all over the country will want to explore those places where pivotal moments of its history took place. A parade honoring, the most significant founding father is an attraction that can draw these visitors to Alexandria, allowing it to showcase its own rich history and diverse offerings. But if the parade is to maintain its quality and safety standards, it's important that the city ensures its financial viability by updating its 2008 financial commitment. And I appreciate the opportunity to be here. I can provide my written statement and also additional background to the committee. To the city council, excuse me. Thank you. I know Vice Mayor Bagley has a question. And if you do want to leave the written statement, we can bring it over here to the City Council excuse me. Thank you. I know Vice Mayor Bagley has a question and if you do want to leave the written statement we can bring it over here to the clerk. Okay. Thanks for being here today and I was wondering if y'all to keep data or have any way to track like how many out of town or sort of regional participants and or attendees sort of come from the event. I'm not sure if it's Alexandria. Coordinates with your own data like that. Or if you guys simply from who registers and whether they come in the night before, but if you're able to just in a follow up maybe with us to sort of share some of that information, I think it would be useful to know who comes and from where. It's actually a question I've been asking. I've been, I had asked, for example, the Old Town Business Association who actually had been consulting with parking garages. It actually been making the rounds with parking garages. I did specifically ask, visit Alexandria and they're exploring it. there's no definitive it apparently it's a very difficult process but I know there are a number of parties that are trying to work on that and Councilwoman Greene also has a question thank you ma'am Madame Mayor and thank you for being here today thanks we all enjoy the parade very much so thank you for the work that you do was wondering, is there a list of how much comes in from private entities or from residents each year to help pay for the parade? And so could we get that? Yeah, I'd be glad to, in fact, provide you with the entire 2024 budget. We don't have the city bills yet, so we don't know what the final numbers for 2025 are. But essentially, we need to be raising anywhere between 30 and 35,000. And it's probably for, well, I think it's probably for next year going to be about 35,000 that will need to raise. Or it could actually, depending on what these, if this year's bills is, could go higher than that. Thank you. Almost done, Sue. We have another. Okay. Now a question for you, Sue. Thank you. Director Rout, could you provide us a budget memo just on the breakdown of cost for actually not just this parade, but for each parade? Yes, we already have a memo that we are working on. Perfect. Thank you. Councilman Chapman. So you said the city bills aren't in. Usually what's the timeframe for the final numbers or what's the owed? What when does that usually come in? The final bills from the city. Normally some time in March. Thank you. Okay. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Madam Clerk, next speakers. Tyler Vanneiss, Sandra Weils, and Jessica LaFarr. I'm honorable Mayor and City Council Besonic fraternity in particular the George Washington, the National Memorial, which you know probably stands here in the heart of the city. I come before you to urge city council to increase financial support for the George Washington birthday parade. A tradition that has been at the heart of our community for over two centuries. This is the largest and oldest parade in our country that's dedicated to honoring George Washington, not just as our first president, but as a man whose leadership and character has helped shape our nation. Before 2008, the city of Alexandria funded a majority of the parade expenses recognizing its importance as a city wide celebration. However, in the last 16 years while events cost-ever is unsignificantly the city's financial support has remained stagnant. Organizers have had to stretch their limited resources for lying increasingly on private donations and volunteers to maintain the events that should be a civic priority. As a representative of the Masonic fraternity, I wanted to emphasize that honoring George Washington is more than just a tradition. It is a commitment to the values that he embodied. Washington was an active free Mason serving as charter master of Lodge No. 22 before it being renamed in his honor in 1805. He understood the importance of civic duty, unity, and moral leadership. Principles that remained central to our city's identity today. The George Washington Masonic National Memorial stands as a testament to his enduring legacy, attracting visitors from across the country who have come to learn about the man behind presidency. Celebrations honoring Brother Washington have taken place across the nation every February, including, you know, a holiday that's dedicated after him. Here in Alexandria, we have long recognized his impact by annually proclaiming George Washington birthday month by proclamation, reaffirming our city's unique connection to his legacy. The annual parade is an extension of that mission. It is how Alexandria has chosen hometown demonstrates to the world that we still honor and uphold the legacy of our most distinguished citizen. An investment in this parade is an investment and Alexandria's heritage. It strengthens civic pride, educates the public, and bolsters tourism and local businesses. As costs continue to rise, we ask the city to restore and increase its financial support to ensure that this event and the city that he called home continues to reflect the stature and significance that George Washington deserves. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you very much. Speaker. Good afternoon. I'm Sandra Welch. I'm a member of the George Washington birthday celebration committee and I'm a board member of the Cape Waller Barrett chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. My colleagues have, I think, made a good case. I will just move to the main point, which is we are here to ask the council to consider continuing and increasing their support of the parade, which we believe Cape Walder Barrett chapter believes is an important part of the civic life of our community. My organization, the D-A-R chapter, organizes and implements the re-thlaned ceremony every year. We do this as a volunteer organization. We pay all the cost of that. We had over 15 chapters of the daughters, the sons of the American Revolution and the children of the American Revolution who came this year in the rain, brought a wreath and placed it in front of the tomb. And then we had approximately 50 people who stood in line as we handed out a flower for each person could go up and lay a flower on the tomb. It was a solemn and beautiful ceremony. So why does our chapter, the Cape Waller Barrett chapter, why do we volunteer and spend a lot of time and resources on this annual event? It's because we believe deeply in our commitment for the preservation of the history of our country and the history of Alexandria. We believe that it's important to promote education about George Washington and his place here in our own hometown. And we believe that it's important to instill pride in the fact that we are, were his home and we honor that legacy continually to this day. Many of you here tonight were in the parade. You've been in it for a long time. We appreciate that. Or maybe some years you stood on the side block and watched as it went by and you saw people smiling and cheering. Our chapter hands out those little American flags which the little kids wave and many of you wave which makes us all so proud to be a part of this city and a part of this legacy. We're still committed to building on that vision for the future. So thank you again for your past support. And we do ask that you consider increasing the funding. So our parade in the coming years can be strong and vibrant as it has been in the past. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Madam Clerk, next. Three speakers. Jessica LaFarbe, Shelley Murphy McCabe, and Melissa Elber. Go. Good evening, Mayor Gaskin's council members and city manager Perjohn. My name is Jessica Lefevere. I am testifying on behalf of the Alexandria Commission on Aging, and will briefly address the three items covered more fully in our written testimony. First, employment opportunities for older Alexandrians. The ongoing cuts to the Federal Workforce include Alexander Residence, and will force some to continue working past plan retirement. We note that older workers are at a competitive disadvantage when seeking employment. The proposed budget funds a business accelerator pilot program operated by the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership. We ask that funds within this program be set aside to support business development efforts specifically by older Alexandrians. In addition, the city's workforce development group previously received COVID relief funds that were used to support stipends for enrollees in the 55-plus program. We ask the city identify alternative sources of funding to continue this internship program. In the words of one participant, this is an absolutely valuable program for seniors going through long term unemployment and the related stigma. Turning to affordable assisted living. With a number of Alexandrians age 65 or older increasing, the need for senior housing, especially assisted living, is increasing. The New York City Council is the new district council. The New York City Council is the new district council. The New York City Council is the new district council. The New York City Council is the new district council. The New York City Council is the new district council. The New York City Council is the new district council a proposal for such a facility. Finally, real estate tax relief. In the FY 2025 city budget, the city council raised the income thresholds for real estate tax relief, adding approximately 253 potential applicants to the program. This incremental improvement is significant, however, higher taxes and high maintenance costs are adding greatly to the cost of homeownership. Even without a tax rate increase, the proposed budget calls for real estate taxes to increase by an estimated $353 and more. According to estimates, 20% of older Virginia homeowners pay at least 30% of their income on housing costs. 10% pay more than 50% of their income for housing. This burden increases with age, leaving many older homeowners with insufficient funds for other necessities, such as medications, healthcare, and food. The commission recommends that the 2026 proposed budget include an increase of $10,000 in the income threshold for the real estate tax relief program. This is option four in the analysis from 2024. This concludes my testimony. Thank you for your kind attention. You can finish your last sentence. Thank you. Thank you. I think we have Shelley Murphy next. Good evening Mayor. Am I supposed to hit talk? Okay. Mayor Gaskins the City, members of the City Council, my name is Shelly Murphy McCabe and I'm here representing the Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee or AHAC. With all of the uncertainty at the federal and state levels, we recognize the challenge of creating and approving the city's budget for FY 2026. On behalf of AHAC, we appreciate the proposal to keep the Department of Housing's budget at the level at the prior year's amount. And we're not standing here, believe it or not, asking for more money in the budget for affordable housing. And that's because while the city faces a severe affordable housing shortage, one that's likely to worsen, many Alexandria federal workers have lost or are likely to lose their jobs. And there's an increased likelihood of a recession that would result in private sector job losses and reduce labor hours. These factors make it all the more critical to find ways of expanding the supply of affordable housing, preserving what currently exists, and generally strengthening the social safety net for those in need. While we're not asking for more money for affordable housing for FY 2026. We are encouraging you to consider additional tools for expanding the city's supply of such units. Many of these were referenced in our October 2024 budget letter and we'll resubmit that letter along with a copy of my testimony. Some of these ideas are first of all to enable owners of committed affordable projects to use tax abatements. We were very encouraged by the City Council's approval of the 5,001 Eisenhower project which will provide 82 units of workforce housing without incremental city investment. We ask the Council to consider adopting Virginia code 15.2-958.4, which would allow the city to waive building permit and other local fees associated with construction renovation or rehab of affordable housing. We ask you to hold developers to the affordability threshold, set forth in small area plans and the consolidated development districts. And we would ask if additional funds be available to use them to support the projects that are in the Department of Housing's priority list. Without increased resources, the city is likely to fall short of the 4,250 unit goal approved by the City Council, which is by 2030. The currently funded projects only provide about a third of that number. There are at least seven other projects under consideration that would create more than a thousand affordable units, but they don't have any funding or commitment to move forward until at least FY2028. So finally we ask you to keep this as a priority even in the tough funding year. We thank you for considering our input and we're happy to be available to answer any questions. Thank you. Madam Clerk, next speaker. Melissa Albert, Janice Grenadier and Amanda Eisenhower. Hi, I'm here to ask the City of Alexandria to end its contracts with the company Amazon. Here's why. One, workers, Amazon exploits and uses coercive tactics to prevent organized labor. Amazon's employees suffer injuries at rates much higher than the national average for warehouse industry. Amazon uses surveillance on its workers to drive up productivity at any cost. Amazon's business model designs its operations to foster high turnover and views its workers as disposable. Amazon uses many unethical and illegal union-busting tactics like bathroom-posed signs, obligatory captive audience meetings, and even text messages where workers are warned against unionizing. Amazon spends millions on consultants to advise their executive staff on how to further prevent labor organizing. Mayor Gaskins, you've described yourself as a tenacious fighter for families, communities, and health equity. If this is the case, what I've just described should be of grave concern. Two, the environment. Amazon's impact on the planet is alarming. Its annual carbon emissions have grown by 34.5% since 2019. Amazon emits more carbon pollution than the 71 lowest emitting countries combined. Amazon is responsible for around 32.5 million pounds of micro plastics flowing into the ocean from its clothing every year. In 2019, the Alexandria City Council adopted a resolution declaring a climate emergency. If this resolution was passed with any seriousness, Alexandria must reconsider its contracts with Amazon. Finally, three human rights abuses. Amazon is a defense contractor. Not only that, Amazon is complicit in war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly in the West Bank, Gaza, and across the occupied territories. AI surveillance and targeting tools produced by Amazon have been used by the Israeli military to rapidly target Palestinians in Gaza with little human oversight resulting in mass murder. An estimated 70 percent of deaths in Gaza since October 2023 have been women and children. This technology also facilitates the expansion of Israel's illegal settlements on Palestinian land. The International Court of Justice has found Israel guilty with the crime of apartheid, think of the West Bank, and that is plausibly committed, excuse me, plausibly committing genocide in Gaza. Amazon has been a key tool to facilitate both heinous crimes. Alexandria passed its first human rights code in 1975, setting a commendable standard for equitable treatment of all people. In 2021, Alexandria adopted a resolution condemning hate. If all of this work in the name of human rights is to be honored, Alexandria must end its contracts with the war profiteer and criminally complicit company Amazon. Time. And we'll now have Janice Grinder. Luckily we've had such a beautiful day outside. I'm here to talk about the corruption and how much money we are spending on it. And the fact that we don't compensate the people that you all are this city harms. We're spending probably about $100 million on the judiciary. And we don't have to pay for the corruption. We're not going to pay are favorites of judges can walk into the court when lie, lie in court documents. We have a clerk at court where our homes are not safe and they'll file any document against the home whether it's forged, whether it's got roba signers, whether they're fake documents. We have nowhere to go either, especially if you're white. And then we have the problem of the oversight committee for the policing, which now looks like it's $650,000. But yet if you're white, 65 and a woman, you can't even get a call back from them. They aren't interested in actually dealing with the problem. And because you think that you can just embarrass people or people are too embarrassed to come forward and speak out about it, that's going to be changing. I mean, I think with our new administration and with the FBI and the Department of Justice we have, I can see the city of Alexandria having a few problems because it is such a criminal enterprise of our judiciary. And it's not just Alexandria. I mean, it's a complete state of Virginia because we don't have a separation of powers that we're supposed to have. The lawyers that practice in front of our judges, party with our judges, treat them to dinners, play golf with them, take them on week's vacations. Their houses, some workaches get paid off, which we don't really know how they get paid off. And like I said, it's not all here in the city of Alexandria, it's through the state of Virginia. And we as white people have nowhere to go for help. And so it's a real problem. And I think the city had better have a good amount of money set aside in their risk management, because you only are going to, for so long, be able to stay silent and ignore the people who are putting in the claims and who the crimes continually told for. Because it just continues to add up, because my crimes against the state and against the city are tolling. All the judges have acted criminally. They've acted outside the boundaries of the law. They have, they've ignored the truth. And because they're purchased're purchased by Troutman Pepper Hamilton lock now, Troutman Pepper lock, lawyers who make over $2 billion a year. That's after their expenses. Each lawyer is to bring in a million dollars a year in revenue. If they're bringing in a million dollars a year in revenue, they're lying in the courts. They're making $700 an hour. They're paying off the judges. Thank you so much for your comments. We'll now have our next speaker. Amanda, Ivan Hower. She'll mind. One last. Yes, I'm here. I am so sorry everybody. I would love to be there with you all in person, but I caught a flat on the way over. So I'm also thinking about my budget tonight, but absolutely. So thank you so much for the opportunity to comment on the budget. I read through the entire document this week and I was really pleased to see actually that there are no new FTEs added to the police or sheriff's department. I wanted to thank you for receiving the community feedback on that last year. I did want to emphasize, however, that the budget misses crucial community supports to make Alexandria livable for all. to thank you for receiving the community feedback on that last year. I did want to emphasize, however, that the budget misses crucial community supports to make Alexandria livable for all. First, I don't see a renewal of the O'Ryze guaranteed income pilot program, which is currently slated to end in June. Preliminary results from the program already show that it has a positive impact on community members. While we cannot rely on federal arpa funds anymore, City manager should be finding the money in our budget to continue a program that we know works for the most vulnerable Alexandrians. And keep community members. While we cannot rely on federal arpa funds anymore, the city manager should be finding the money in our budget to continue a program that we know works for the most vulnerable Alexandrians and keeps local dollars in our community. The city could also do more to offset the biggest barrier faced by low income families in Alexandria, the rising cost of housing. Once again, the preliminary results from the local rental assistance pilot program are promising, but the city must commit to supporting its lowest income residents by renewing and expanding the program. Alexandria could also invest in local and a local housing voucher program. We already had the administrative infrastructure for voucher programs through Arha. We just need a committed investment from the city and a voucher program to keep Alexandria livable for all of us. While this public hearing focuses on the proposed FY26 budget, I also want to remind council that in our existing budget, our tax dollars are being used in contracts and investments with companies that profit off of genocide, both directly within our controller contracts, which though we may not be able to break them, can absolutely choose not to renew if they don't hold up to our ethical standards. According to data provided via a fee for a request, this would occurrally include Motorola, which enables occupation through providing surveillance technology to the IDF. HP, which is integral to maintaining Israel's apartheid system as the exclusive provider of servers for the population registry, and Siemens, which outfits the Israeli prison service with the technology it needs to attain thousands of Palestinian adults and children without churches, as we speak. For the city to include consideration of ethical concerns like human rights violations and this procurement policies, it would not renew contracts with these war profiteers. The vast majority of our cash reserves are invested in the local government investment pool, which in turn is invested in war profiteers like caterpillar, Cisco and Toyota. The city also makes millions of dollars in contributions to the Virginia retirement system, which is invested in these robots and over the dozen weapons manufacturers. Well, the city may not consider a practical tool which will offer these instruments and conduct its own investments that does not mean that the city should stay silent. The city can raise its voice in concert without a jurisdiction to encourage these pools to invest ethically and sustainably. After all, it is still our taxpayer dollars. I hope the city council can choose to look to its human rights commission responsible for guiding the city policy in the area of human rights Which passed a recommendation for day investment this past month I hope it can actually act upon its guidance by doing everything in its power to disentangle my local tax dollars from genocide and apartheid Thank you so much Thank you for your comments and we hope everything works out with your flat By senior badly more again, if you don't, I'm just droopling on your last name, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. Ralph, there it is, I'm sorry. Would you mind refreshing the memo? I think that was asked last year on the arise program. Just what would the cost be to continue the program? You would put it in. We got it. Thank you. Okay, Madam Clerk, next. Three speakers. Carol Myers, Hannah Matuda, Danielle Romanetti, and John Hill. Good evening, Madam Mayor and Council members. I am Carol Myers, Air Force Cold Cold War veteran and member of Alexandria American Legion post-24. As the Legion representative on the city's George Washington birthday celebration committee, I'm here on behalf of post-24 to urge the council and city manager to ensure adequate funding for future George Washington birthday parades. The American Legion was founded on four pillars. American... to ensure adequate funding for future George Washington birthday parades. The American Legion was founded on four pillars. Americanism, children and youth, national security, and veterans affairs and rehabilitation. A key component of the Americanism pillar is the respectful observance of patriotic holidays and remembrances. Since 1960, the American Legion has recognized the month of February as Americanism month. And the city's George Washington birthday parade every February is a premier event for post-24s, 858 members to not only celebrate and commemorate our first president, but to also pause, reflect on and share with our community what it means to be an American. Since 1928, post-24 has proudly marched in and supported this annual event. The parade is important not only for post-24, but for all the posts in our district, as well as the state. Every February, the American Legion Department commander of Virginia travels from his or her hometown to visit Alexandria during the George Washington birthday holiday weekend. and per department of Virginia requirements leads the post-24 unit in the parade. Post-24 World War I veterans played a huge role in Alexandria history by leading a fundraising drive in 1928 to save the historic Gadsby's tabern from demolition. It has been our post-home for close to 100 years and has its distinction of being the oldest legion post-home in the nation. Post members affectionately refer to it as the George Washington post in honor of our first commander in chief. The historic post-24 facilities are open to the public all day on parade day as a patriotic gathering place for parade participants, community members, visitors and veterans. As we like to say in the Legion, there is no more importantism than Americanism. On behalf of the American Legion, I respectfully ask you to continue this time-honored Americanism event by funding the George Washington birthday parade at a level that will cover present and future parade day expenses. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Okay. Hannah Matuda. Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and members of the council. My name is Hannah Matuda, and I'm the deputy director at the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance. And I'm here to speak on the proposed budget as it affects affordable housing in Alexandria. First I want to recognize the significant investments the city has made in affordable housing as well as the incredible staff at the Office of Housing. The 11.6 million in housing funds supported by the Meals Tax, a real estate tax commitment. this has been critical in advancing affordable housing in the city. The 1 million tied to Amazon HQ 2 is another example of how the city has prioritized affordability even in a really tough fiscal year. At the same time, we know that demands still far exceeds the resources that is available. Many important projects are stalled, waiting for additional investments. The housing master plan set a goal of 4,250 additional units by 2030, and without more funding, we risk falling short of that. The Meals Tax Revenue has already declined this year, highlighting the need for more stable, long-term funding solution. With the uncertainties we face, now is not the time to overlook the needs of the city. I commend the city for exploring tax abatements for developments where we can have the opportunity to serve residents earning a lower AMI. This could be an opportunity to lower operating costs without requiring direct subsidies. I encourage the city to analyze the potential impacts of tax abatements, undeply affordable housing, and consider how to expand on this lever. I'm also concerned with the growing instability in our region, particularly with federal workers facing layoffs with the current administration. I commend the city manager and members of the the council for being mindful of this. Alexandra has a significant number of residents who rely on federal jobs directly or indirectly. And we need to be prepared for the economic ripple effects. Guaranteed income particularly the arise pilot program could be a crucial tool people stably housed if job losses continue. Being proactive now could prevent larger displacement issues down the road. I appreciate the cities continued focus on housing and the work being done to keep Alexandra affordable. The investments made so far has been important and I urged the council to build on that progress. Alexandra has been a leader question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. I think that's a great question. Daniel, is one of our speakers. Okay. Daniel, you can begin whenever you're ready. Are you able to hear me? Yes. Wonderful. My name is Daniel Romanetti. I am a resident of Alexandria for over two decades. I have to say that because I've attended so many meetings and everybody says how long they've been here. I'm known for Iber Space. We are a boutique yarn shop at 1319 Prince Street. I also own that commercial building. As you start into this budget cycle, I wanted to share with you some huge concerns from our retail community right now. Overall office and retail vacancy is over 15%. It's the highest that it's been in decades and the class A vacancy right here is even higher than that. Our retail gross sales per square foot are among the lowest of shopping districts inside the beltway and have been free years. The recent forcing of federal workers back to the office has also hit foot traffic and town tremendously. We do not have sufficient destination traffic from around the region to replace what we've lost as we continue to recover from the pandemic in 2020. Retailers and restaurants here fail because they cannot generate enough sales or customers to support their operations with just their own marketing power. Alexandria has a vibrant and diverse retail and restaurant community that's predominantly small and locally owned. We have the highest percentage of locally owned retailers in the region. We operate truly elevated shopping and dining experience. We should be the largest destination for retail foot traffic inside the boatway. Yet retail marketing, activation, and events in Alexandria over the last two decades have primarily been provided through volunteer labor. A small group of us have repeatedly created 501C6 organizations to attempt to fill in the gap in regional marketing and have a legal mechanism for raising funds. Examples are the boutique district, old town business, handcrafted Alexandria, and Alexandria style book. In almost all of these cases, the administrative labor and cost of maintaining that entity with zero city support resulted in that organization dissolving. And the marketing fund that used to fund a lot of these efforts was discontinued by the city many years ago. Two recent efforts to establish a new new new new new new new new was a poor, resulted in that organization dissolving. And the marketing fund that used to fund a lot of these efforts was discontinued by the city many years ago. Two recent efforts to establish a business dis-bismet improvement district were not passed by this council. And visit Alexandria, which you do fund, is the only organization with the mission of marketing our retail community. They have now established that the retail specific marketing and activation are not within their current focus, and they are actively giving events back to our volunteers. As direct generators of tax revenue, it's frustrating that we have no support for our volunteer work or even a mechanism for raising money, which we're very capable of doing. With much less money than you've been asked for here this evening, we have put on Plaid Friday, the warehouse sale, small business Saturday, the cookie crawl, Santa, trick-or-treating with the boutiques every year, the sidewalk sale, and so much more, for a total budget of a few thousand dollars. And every single time we have provided reports to City Council and Alexandria to justify the sales tax revenue that was generated by those events, by collecting that information from every single business owner that was involved, which is no easy task. This council has stated their commitment to small business. You recognize our importance to financial security for the city. We are tax generators, and as a previous speaker just noted, the Meals Tax add-on, which is paying for affordable housing, is down. There is an impact on our community when our small business community is not thriving. I hope to counsel Will address this marketing void in this year's budget. Thank you so much, your time has expired. And now we will go to our last speaker, John Hill. Good evening, Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor and Members of Council. I'm John Hill, Chair of the Strong Water Advisory Committee. I'm speaking now in support of the investments in flood prevention contained in the annual budget for 2026, and then the 10-year capital improvement program as proposed by the city manager. Since the flood action program was launched four years ago, City Council has appropriated over $100 million to fix Alexander's stormwater problem. And we're already seeing results. 17 projects have been completed. Ten more are in design or under construction. In my neighborhood along Hoath's run, the recent repairs and maintenance of the culvert have prevented flooding that usually occurs during the severe storms. Last July, we saw a storm that dropped an inch of rain in less than 45 minutes. And there was no flooding. In the past, that storm would have put lower commonwealth underwater. And in the soggyest part of Alexandria, that is the northern end of commonwealth that Glee Brode, the design of a major $60 million expansion of the storm system there has been completed, shared with local residents, and actual construction will begin soon. So things are getting done. Thanks to City Council for maintaining the funding commitment to the flood action program that was made back in 2021. Now since this is a budget hearing, let me talk briefly, very briefly about numbers. Among the thousands of numbers in the city's budget, there is one number that really matters to flood action Alexandria. And that number is $250 million over the next 10 years. That is the amount of money Alexandria plans to spend on stormwater improvements over the next 10 years, 26 to 35. The 10-year capital improvement program, as proposed by the city manager, maintains that level of funding. Now, building large infrastructure projects requires steady and reliable funding over a long period of time. Based on our experience so far with the flood action program, the proposed budget reflects the correct balance between a reasonable construction schedule and the revenue that's collected through the stormwater fee. In the past four years, we've learned that the city can fund and manage about two or three large, by that I mean 50 million dollar size, stormwater projects at the same time, and certainly Alexandria neighborhoods can only tolerate so much disruption. An equally important any growth in the fee should be modest and predictable. The CIP proposed by the city manager manages to accomplish those three things. So in conclusion, the proposed budget for 26 and especially the 10 year CIP is the right answer for Alexandria Stormwater flooding problem. Thank you, Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of Council for your continued support of the flood action program. Thank you. Thank you, John. I will now entertain a motion to close the public hearing. Okay, there has been a motion by Councilman McPike and a second by Vice Mayor Bagley to close the public hearing any discussion. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay, the ayes have it. I will now entertain a motion to adjourn. Okay, and it's been, there's been a motion by Vice Mayor Bagley and a second by Councilman Chapman to adjourn this evening. All those in favor say aye. Any opposed? Okay, meeting adjourned. Thank you.