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Upbeat picture of region's economy
Economic leaders say Northern Virginia is doing relatively well, even in the face of a looming national recession.The panel of representatives from Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties speaking at a Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Herndon April 15 said the federal job sector flowing from the nation's capital and the region's quality of life should keep the local economy viable.
Gerry Gordon, president of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, said a recession may actually do Fairfax County good.
Employers in the county – which has an average unemployment rate that is consistently less than 3 percent – can't find enough people to fill job openings, Gordon said.
When people are laid off in other places of the country, more of them will turn to Fairfax County for employment and boost the economy, he said.
“Having a recession in an area like ours will help attract workers,” said John Wood, vice chairman of the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission, who agreed with Gordon.
Martin Briley, executive director of the Prince William County Department of Economic Development, said while his county is certainly feeling the effects of a shaky real estate market, “the sky is not falling.”
Proximity to Washington, D.C. and good public schools keeps people in the area, Gordon said.
With the real estate market that feeds the budgets of all three counties stalling, officials have suggested raising real estate taxes. The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has already approved an increase of 18 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Prince William's Board of County Supervisors – which made strides in lowering taxes in recent years – is now considering a real estate property take hike of 21 cents per $100 of assessed value, according to Briley. Yet, the county's real estate and job markets are still relatively strong, he said.
The 3-cent tax hike the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is considering is insignificant compared to the taxes other jurisdictions across the nation are facing, Gordon said.
People should “stop complaining,” he said.
Transportation improvements dominated the panel's discussion on what more could be done to keep Northern Virginia economically healthy.
The General Assembly's solution to congestion – fees and taxes collected by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority that the state Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional – was mentioned in passing, but the panelists spent a good portion of their time urging progress of building Metrorail to Dulles Airport.
The future of the rail project has been shaky since January when the Federal Transit Administration expressed serious concerns about the plans, putting crucial federal funding for the rail line in jeopardy.
A debate on whether to tunnel or build above ground through Tysons Corner long loomed over the project, but Gordon said that should now be immaterial.
They need to “just build it,” Gordon said, adding that all other regions in the nation with the job market the size of Northern Virginia have a mass transportation system.
The area's economy has not seen “anything close to the economic potential” it could have with rail, Wood said.
Someone goofed big time.
We need to change our vocabulary about transit. We need quality transit at a smart price. We need to pay attention to costs rather than raise taxes to cover plans that do not change with the times. Quality transit is "attractive, frequent, reliable, comfortable, ..." This does NOT have to be Metro *Rail*. We use the term Metro Rail because that is all we are told by the so called experts. Because some have limited their vocabulary to lock in a particular mode of transit when they really mean a level of service that is similar to Metro Rail, the taxpayers signed up for the MOST expensive implementation of "quality" transit.
Have you heard “Oh my, we have had this xxx on the plan forever, we can’t give up momentum now to reevaluate the costs … onward, we must not slow down. Build that road in the corn fields even if it is not the smartest thing to do today, it has been on the plan forever, it must be a good idea.”
These smart business leaders that say "just build it" must not be too good at their business if they insist on paying for one road what we could have spent to provide a quality transit system for the entire county.
Posted by g2
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