Our vacations tend to be poorly organized and infrequent. We try to go away for spring break but some years are better than others. The prototypical summer vacation down at Nags Head is our normal goal but these have become casualties of summer training for field hockey. Instead we usually settle for several quick 3 day trips to Skyline drive. The spring break vacations tend to happen more frequently but we don't plan all that far ahead and, by the time spring break rolls around, we're content to just find a great place to stay and land face-first in the sand.

This year was no exception. We put off and put off planning our vacation but finally Sarah pulled the trigger and called American Express travel. We've used them in the past and had pretty good results. The great thing about AmEx travel is that if you book with them they can get you out of some pretty hairy situations. This year we booked a week long stay in the Bahamas at an all-inclusive resort. It was pretty well reviewed with the only rough reviews posted around the time the college kids go on spring break. Not to worry though, by the time Manassas goes on Spring break, the college kids are normally gone. Everything was looking up. We were pretty well fried and needed a break so, just like years past, we were looking to land face first in the sand.

We were supposed to be at one but ended up at 2

The only sticky point was that in order to get decent flights at a reasonable cost we had to fly out of Richmond. Not a huge deal as if you go south on 95 on a weekday, traffic is not so bad. So, 8:00 on Friday morning, we hopped into the car and ran south for a couple of hours. Packing the night before was a pretty abreviated affair. We were out until about 9:30 at the republican meeting but, hey, we're talking about packing for the beach here. For boys it's simple math: 7 nights = 7 underwears, a couple shorts and 7 shirts. Maybe a pair of jeans and a collared shirt and it ain't the end of the world if you end up on vaca with no drawers!! So, we're making good time…traffic is light and we get to the airport with time to spare. We're flying American which ain't my fave but whatevs. We got up to the self-checkin kiosk and Sarah pulls out all of our passports (with some flair as she had remembered eveything) and….the scanner says "Passport is expired". Wait, what? Re-scan. "Passport is expired". She pulls it out and sure enough. our daughters passport is expired…..Sarah looks at me, expecting me to fly off the handle…I just shrug and wander off to sit for awhile. Yeah, I ain't happy but this isn't anyone's fault. It just happened.

Frantic calls to American, AmEx and TSA. Answer is always the same – that girl ain't flying on an expired passport for love nor money. Crap!! Next call is to AmEx. "Dudes, we can't leave the country if we're taking our daughter….what are our options? Me? I'm thinking Miami. If I can't get to the Bahamas then Miami beach is a close second. Yes, it's a much more urban beach but South Beach? killer. Yeah no, the only flight to Miami will cost us a couple thousand. Ain't happening. OK, what about Lauderdale? Heck yeah, we can hop a 2:22 pm to Lauderdale! Now we need a place to stay….hmmm…well, AmEx refunded all of our hotel money so we have some bucks to spend but our place in the Bahamas was all inclusive. Since our flight has been moved from 12:15 to 2:22 we've got some time. My favorite travel site is trip advisor so we start perusing hotels. There's quite a range. The Ritz is a grand a night and the "Palm Inn" is less than a hundred. Gotta be something in between….we stumble upon a single room on sale at the Atlantic resort that's priced to move! We'll take it.

So, after an hour of fast moves, we got the entire vacation re-arranged in about an hour on the aptop in the airport. Yes it was stressful but we're still married! Also, technology is great man. In an hour we turned the entire thing from being an expensive fiasco to a nice stay in Fort Lauderdale! Laters!

Mr. Elston is the second guest poster! Councilmember Elston is in his first term in elected office. He is also our first democrat to serve on the Council in some time:

After last night’s City Council work session, the Council has determined the Advertised Tax Rate, which is the limit for the tax rate that can be set at the end of this budget process. The rate that was agreed upon is three cents higher than last year’s rate and meets the City Manager’s request. What does a three-cent hike mean to most families? It means a ninety-eight dollar tax increase for the average family for the entire year, or basically the cost of one dinner out for the same family. That being done, your council now has some big decisions to make for the 2016 budget.

Dominating the budget discussions thus far have been two related issues: meeting the City’s annual charges from the County for shared correctional services (our jail costs) and the revenue sharing agreement with the schools. Judging from the emails I have received, many citizens are well aware of these issues, so I will outline them quickly. Until just last year, the costs of the jail had always been met by using the end-of-year discretionary funds. That is to say, there was no budget line for the jail costs. Last year, the former Council found that this end-of-year surplus was not enough to cover the costs, and therefore agreed to a two and a half cent increase to the 2015 budget, which almost covered the difference. Continuing to separate this cost from the General Revenue Fund or to include it, is something with which the Council must grapple.

NOW: The Revenue Sharing Agreement with the schools is defined as fifty-eight and a half percent of the General Revenue from the City. This allows the schools to plan their budget based on Projected Revenue. The City’s General Revenue excludes some revenue, specifically levies for targeted purposes; for example, sewer, fire and rescue, and in 2015 as discussed, the cost of the jail. Why is this important? If the jails were considered part of the General Revenue, 58.5% of the two and a half cents raised for the jail, would go to the schools as per the Revenue Sharing Agreement; thus leaving the jail, once again, underfunded. In order to cover the jail costs while including them in the General Revenue, there would have been a necessary tax increase of six and a half cents, to cover both the jail and the Revenue Sharing Agreement to the Schools.

Moving forward, the Council has agreed to discuss a three-cent increase to the overall budget in order to have some room to grow new and better initiatives to improve our city. I suggested an Advertised Tax Rate of six and a half cents so that we might have room to discuss whether or not to include the jail as part of the General Revenue while also honoring our agreement with the schools, or to keep them as a separate levy.

With only a three-cent increase, we are left painted into a corner; however the corner is a little brighter than it might have been. We may have improved capacity to build amenities and drive economic development. We would be able to address transportation, build a public safety building, and address the aspiration for a long-sought library in our community. Of course, we may also be growing the budget for the schools. This is never a detriment to the city. The schools are an important part of the city. Strong schools help assure a strong city.

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If you would like to guest post, drop me a line…..

My Side of the Fence

The danger isn't going too far. It's that we don't go far enough.

Page 28 of 403

Vacation Disaster

Second Up – Mr. Elston

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