Sun Gazette Arlington August 21, 2014

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Home sales remain sluggish in Arlington, rest of region – Page 14

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DIVE TEAM WINS YET ANOTHER CROWN

BAIRD SET TO LEAVE SCHOOL POST THIS WEEK

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Highs & Lows Letters People 55+ News Real Estate Crossword Local History

SunGazette

VOLUME 79 NO. 39

RE/MAX Distinctive

ARLINGTON’S SOURCE FOR HOMETOWN NEWS SINCE 1935

AUGUST 21, 2014

Tax-Delinquency Rate Hits Another Low

Treasurer’s Office Beats Estimates, Aims for Further Reduction in ‘15

KEEPING COOL IN THE SUMMERTIME

SCOTT McCAFFREY Staff Writer

Among the fun offerings at the recent Arlington County Fair was the opportunity to travel across the waves inside an inflatable ball, and Cole Sutter quickly mastered the art of doing it. Find a slide show of photos from the fair on the Sun Gazette’s Web site at www.insidenova.com/news/arlington. PHOTO BY DEB KOLT

Arlington’s tax-delinquency rate hit another historic low during the fiscal year that ended June 30, and the county’s new treasurer has plans to squeeze it down even further. Officials with the treasurer’s office announced Aug. 15 that the fiscal 2014 delinquency rate stood at 0.33 percent of the $787 million in real-estate and personal-property taxes due. That was an improvement from 0.41 a year before, and it bested the office’s stated goal of 0.36 percent. “It’s an impressive number, and it’s an impressive job,” said Treasurer Carla de la Pava, who on July 7 took over from veteran Treasurer Frank O’Leary. O’Leary, who saw the delinquency rate shrink progressively from more than 8 percent when he took office in 1984, called the 2014 figure “the best retirement present I could get.” “It’s a culmination of so many

years of effort by so many good people. It’s not just one day, one week, one month or one year,” O’Leary said during a staff celebration. “I don’t think people understand how hard you work.” At the event, members of the treasurer’s compliance team received awards and cash bonuses for their efforts – and began to look ahead to a new year of reducing delinquencies. De la Pava, who will be unopposed in the Nov. 4 special election for treasurer, announced a goal of 0.27 percent in the coming year. “Can we do it?” she asked, perhaps rhetorically. “There’s no time to rest,” said Kim Rucker, previously the head of the compliance department and recently promoted to de la Pava’s old job of chief deputy treasurer. Most jurisdictions across Northern Virginia do not report delinquency rates. Arlington’s fiscal 2014 figure represented $2.62 million in delinquent taxes, most of them from vehicles.

Streetcars Finding Mixed Reception in Various Parts of U.S. SCOTT McCAFFREY Staff Writer

Faced with community discord over a planned streetcar project, the city of San Antonio, Texas, is doing what Arlington officials

efforts in the city’s center, San Antonio staff said. Taylor said funding for the project would not be restored unless the public approves the proposal in a referendum. “We hear and understand the concerns of

our community and agree to discontinue our involvement in the streetcar project,” Taylor said in a statement. “We wish to give San Antonio residents the opportunity to provide inContinued on Page 20

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so far have declined to do: Call a time-out. San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor announced July 28 the city will withdraw the $32 million that had represented its planned investment in the regional streetcar project. The funding would be redirected into other development


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