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Fairfax County’s proposed fiscal 2027 budget would eliminate 107 positions, consolidate two police oversight bodies and cut teen, community center, transit and early-voting services as officials seek another $32.9 million in spending reductions.

County Executive Bryan Hill released the $5.98 billion spending plan on Feb. 17. If adopted, it would take effect July 1 and bring county reductions since fiscal 2024 to $124.5 million.

The cuts are less severe than the $59.8 million Hill proposed last year, when the Board of Supervisors ultimately restored more than $8 million. Even so, Hill said the latest plan required difficult choices and again leaves Fairfax County Public Schools with a funding gap while limiting new initiatives and program expansions.

Some savings would be redirected toward deferred building maintenance and information technology infrastructure. Hill said the county has relied heavily on one-time funding for those needs since baseline support was largely eliminated after the Great Recession, an approach he called unsustainable.

The budget fully funds the three-year collective bargaining agreement ratified last year by general county government employees represented by SEIU Virginia 512. The contract provides raises ranging from 9% to 16%, annual cost-of-living adjustments, two additional floating holidays, preservation of the county’s telework policy and a freeze on health insurance premiums.

Fairfax County Government Employees Union chair Tammie Wondong said the agreement offers stability to workers and residents, but the union remains concerned that eliminating positions—including some that are vacant—could increase workloads for remaining employees.

The plan also includes previously announced changes to the police school-crossing guard program, which would end coverage at high schools and use contractors to fill vacancies.

Police oversight offices would merge

Hill is proposing an Office of Police Accountability that would combine the Office of the Independent Police Auditor and the Police Civilian Review Panel. Both oversight functions were created in 2016 following the 2013 fatal police shooting of Springfield resident John Geer.

The independent auditor reviews police investigations involving deaths in custody and uses of force that kill or seriously injure someone. The civilian panel examines public complaints alleging abuse of authority and serious misconduct outside use-of-force cases.

The consolidation is projected to save $65,956 by reducing administrative duplication and allowing the two operations to coordinate and share resources. County officials say their duties would remain unchanged.

Independent Police Auditor Richard Schott, appointed to the role in February 2017, said placing the two entities under one director should improve efficiency without altering their missions. He said he and panel liaison Craig Miles were consulted before the proposal was presented.

Miles also supported the concept in his capacity as liaison, while noting that he was not speaking for the full panel. He said the offices frequently receive overlapping complaints, train and work together, and have already developed a shared online complaint form.

The civilian panel has experienced organizational changes in recent years. An executive director hired in 2022 resigned in July 2023, and the county replaced that position with a Board of Supervisors liaison in 2024.

Teen drop-in programs face elimination

The budget would end teen drop-in sites at Glasgow, Herndon, Irving, Key, Langston Hughes, Rocky Run and South County middle schools, along with the program at the Graham Road Community Building in West Falls Church.

The sites serve students in grades seven through 12, providing space for recreation and socializing outside school hours. Attendance has declined to an average of 15 participants at a location on a given night.

The Department of Neighborhood and Community Services plans to offer transportation to its teen centers in Reston, South County, James Lee and Mott as an alternative. Transportation funding would remain in place, while closing the drop-in programs would reduce spending by $164,669.

The county also proposes ending its $32,300 contribution to Vienna’s Club Phoenix Teen Center, which has provided free after-school activities for middle and high school students for more than 25 years.

Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert said losing the money would directly affect a program that gives young people a welcoming place to connect and develop social skills. She did not say whether Vienna would replace the county contribution in its forthcoming fiscal 2027 budget.

The town allocated $139,510 to Club Phoenix for fiscal 2026, covering staffing, materials, replacement furniture and other expenses.

Programming would leave two community centers

Neighborhood and Community Services would stop directly providing programs at the Huntington and David R. Pinn community centers. The county would instead seek community organizations interested in operating activities at the buildings.

Officials selected the locations because they have lower attendance and utilization than other county facilities. Budget documents say the Pinn Community Center at 10225 Zion Drive in Burke has drawn fewer than 3,000 daily participants annually since fiscal 2023. The Huntington Community Center at 5751 Liberty Drive averaged 4,600 participants per day between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.

The county points to the Mott Community Center, about five miles from Pinn, and the Gum Springs and Hybla Valley centers in southeastern Fairfax as alternatives. However, the budget acknowledges that reaching those facilities on foot could be difficult.

Another reorganization would place one director over each location where community and senior centers share a building. Replacing separate senior-program and youth-and-family-program directors would eliminate five positions and save $458,500.

New after-school and employee child care fees

The proposed Neighborhood and Community Services budget would eliminate 18 positions and reduce spending by $1.7 million. It also anticipates $1.5 million in new revenue from fees for the Middle School After School program and the county employee child care center.

Middle School After School activities are currently free at all 26 middle and secondary schools and the Burke School. Fairfax County Public Schools operates the program with funding from both the school system and the county.

Beginning with the 2026-27 school year, participating students would pay $300 unless they qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The fee is expected to produce $1.1 million.

County staff began developing a fee structure after supervisors restored $3.9 million for the program last year on the condition that the county and school system find ways to recover costs. The budget notes that Loudoun, Arlington and Prince William counties charge between $50 and $123 per week at full price for comparable programs, with reduced rates or sliding scales based on income.

The county would receive the first year’s revenue to protect FCPS from a potential shortfall. The money would shift to the school system in later years.

FCPS did not directly address the proposed charge but said it hopes additional state funding will reduce its current $43.8 million funding gap.

The county also wants to increase prices at the Fairfax County Employees’ Child Care Center in the Pennino Building, which has been closed since early February because of a broken water pipeline.

The annual registration fee would rise from $35 to $100. Proposed monthly rates are:

• Infant classroom: $2,322, up 15% from $2,016
• Toddler classroom: $2,167, up 7% from $2,016
• Early prekindergarten: $1,978, up 6% from $1,874
• Preschool: $1,892, up 17% from $1,621

Officials also expect to save nearly $70,000 by eliminating two vacant positions and requiring families to supply baby wipes and other items beginning April 1.

The changes follow opposition from employees and supervisors to an earlier proposal to privatize the center. Wondong said the union was encouraged that the county appeared to have abandoned a plan that would have eliminated 37 county positions. She said retaining public operation protects service quality, working parents and the center’s educators.

Early voting and bus service would shrink

For the June 2027 primaries, all 15 satellite early-voting sites would open only during the final seven days before Election Day. The Fairfax County Government Center would continue offering 45 days of early voting.

The county says using the same schedule at every satellite site should reduce confusion while keeping familiar locations available.

The Office of Elections also expects to save about $146,050 by introducing ballot-on-demand printing. The system would produce precinct-specific ballots when needed instead of requiring officials to print them in advance.

Fairfax Connector service would be cut by 48,500 hours, saving approximately $7.3 million. The budget does not identify the precise schedule changes but says 13 low-performing routes would be adjusted, affecting an estimated 600 riders each day.

The Department of Transportation separately proposed changes to several routes last month, including service reductions and two route eliminations. If supervisors approve them, those changes would begin June 27.

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hear public testimony on the proposed budget April 14-16 and adopt a final spending plan May 5.