Supervisors had a late night budget cutting session that netted approximately 6.7 million savings in the first year but many of the cuts were one year suspension of services that don’t yield much savings in the 5 year plan. In terms of ‘illegal immigration’ the additional police staffing of 6 officers and 1 support staff civilian that were requested were removed; however Chairman Stewart made it clear that it does not mean that officers will not be perfoming those duties. Interestingly, Chief Deane pointed out that if we were to be competitive with some surrounding jurisdictions we would be looking at hiring 100-200 officers instead of the 36 that he initially requested. Also, the cameras for the police cruisers have at least temporarily been removed. If staff determines the cameras are required to mitigate liabilities resulting from a lawsuit they can be reintroduced. Still on the table for possible reductions are 85 County employees layoffs which could account for another 5 million. The end result being a 5% increase for residential properties & a 28.6% increase on the average commercial tax bill.
WAS IT THE RESOLUTION OR CITIZEN PARTICIPATION?
Here it is folks, the most recent Washington Post article that a couple of posters have been clamoring about!
What struck me about this article was that it sounds like a small group of citizens actively dealt with neighborhood issues. What I am wondering is this….was it the resolution or their dedicated committment to their neighborhood that fixed the most egregious problems? Is it a success that now many hispanics have left, were they “illegal” or simply too scared to stay in PWC? Could these neighborhood issues have been dealt with through better means than HSM? Could we have formed a community/government task force to promote positive solutions instead of the immigration resolution which has proved to be so divisive? It sounds like there was an opportunity that was missed, and instead we have the serious repercussions of double the foreclosure rate of surrounding counties and businesses, once thriving, now struggling under the threat of bankruptcy.
PWCBOS 04/23/08 Meeting
The Board will have only have a 2:oopm session tomorrow. The agenda for the meeting appears short, the most important item on the agenda is after the closed doors session which is the start of the budget mark-up. It’s not too late to share your thoughts on the Fiscal 09 Budget.
Party Reminder
Quick reminder, we’re still on for 6:00pm at Casablanca in Manassas.
The address is 7911 Centreville Road, Manassas, VA 20111. If you need further directions, the restauant’s phone number is (703) 365-9000. See everybody there!
WaPo: Bad Reputation Bad for Business, County Questions Stewart’s Leadership
Our very own Elena is quoted in this article in the Washington Post which captures the sinking spirits of the PWC business community:
County business leaders have created “image committees” to examine the direction Prince William is heading. Now, some analysts said, the economic downturn makes it a bad time to carry out the immigration measures.
“It undermines the image of the county as a good place to invest,” said Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University. “The political environment has made people feel unwelcome.”
Richard L. Hendershot, who chairs the Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber of Commerce, said it has been hard to sell Prince William as progressive, dynamic and thriving.
“There’s been a challenge. The only way that we can counteract the image, and I’d say it is a false image, is to continue to look for opportunities to share the positive messages of the county,” he said. “There’s clearly been some controversy over the immigration stance that the board of supervisors has taken.”
Many blame Stewart (R), who put the county on the map nationally for its tough approach on illegal immigration. As the top elected official, Stewart is the most visible face of the county and nominally its biggest cheerleader. But his colleagues and some residents are starting to question his leadership.
New Video Highlights: Don’t Make Our Mistakes from Riverside New Jersey
These videos comes from Long Island Wins Conference Tuesday evening entitled Don’t Make Our Mistakes from Riverside New Jersey.
Immigration Resolution Review
There’s been recent discussion about the initial resolution and what it said or didn’t say. So, I thought it would be a good idea to review. Again, this is the initial resolution submitted by John Stirup of the Gainesville District in the Sping of 2007. If had some interesting aspects including allowing citizens to sue the County government for non-enforcement. I always thought this was one of the oddest things ever seen. Who actively encourages people to sue them?
WHEREAS, the Virginia State Code, Section 15-2-1700, states that any locality may provide for the protection of its inhabitants and property and for the preservation of peace and good order therein;
WHEREAS, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors has determined that illegal immigration is causing economic hardship and lawlessness in this County and that illegal immigration may be encouraged by public agencies within the county by failing to verify immigration status as a condition of providing public services.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors does hereby amend the Prince William County Code as follows:
A. All officials, agencies, and personnel of the County shall fully comply with and, to the full extent permitted by law, support the enforcement of federal law prohibiting the entry into, presence or residence in the United States of aliens in violation of federal immigration law.
B. County Police Officers shall inquire into the citizenship or immigration status of any person detained for a violation of a state law or municipal ordinance, regardless of the person’s national origin, ethnicity, or race where such inquiry does not expand the duration of the detention. In all such cases where a person indicates that he or she is not a citizen or national of the United States, the Police Department shall verify whether of not the person is lawfully present in the United States, pursuant to United States Code Title 8, subsection 1373( c ). If the person is verified to be unlawfully present in the United States, the Police Department shall cooperate with any request by federal immigration authorities to detain the alien or transfer the alien to the custody of the federal government.
C. Pursuant to United States Code Title 8, sections 1373 and 1644, no official, personnel or agent of the County, including officers and personnel of the Police Department, may be prohibited or in any way restricted from sending, receiving, or maintaining, information regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual, or exchanging such information with any other federal, state or local government entity for the following official purposes:
1. Determination of eligibility for any federal, state or local public benefit, service or license which is restricted, in whole or in part, to persons who are not United States Citizens or non-qualified aliens, pursuant to Virginia Code Ann. 32.1-325.03; Virginia Code Ann. 63.2 – 503.1; and United States Code Title 8, Section 1621;
2. Verification of any claim of legal domicile within the County by a person who asserts that he or she is not a citizen, national or legal resident alien of the United States; where legal domicile is required by law or contract;
D. The Police Department of the County shall as quickly as practicable enter into a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Homeland Security, pursuant to United States Code Title 8, subsection 1357 (g), to designate specific County law enforcement officers qualified to exercise the enforcement powers of federal immigration officers in the United States; and to establish a protocol for the expedited transfer of verified illegal aliens into federal custody. The Police Department may negotiate the cooperative agreement or participate in its implementation in partnership with other state or local law enforcement agencies.
E. The provisions of this section shall allow for a private right of action by any natural or legal person lawfully domiciled in this County to file for a writ of mandamus to compel any non-cooperating agency to comply with such reporting laws.
