Brian Schoeneman
By Lynn R. Mitchell
When Fairfax County supervisors voted themselves a pay increase on March 3, Sully District Republican candidate Brian Schoeneman responded:
On March 3, 2015, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to raise their salary from $75,000 to $95,000 a year. As The Washington Post reports, “The increase, which will take effect in January, comes in a tough budget year for Fairfax, where county officials are working to balance a budget after projecting a revenue gap of nearly $90 million”. Read more of The Washington Post’s article here.
At a time when we are cutting services and seeing tax increases through rising property tax assessments, it is hard to justify to the taxpayers in Fairfax County raising Supervisor salaries – especially since the raises have more fiscal impact than just the increased pay itself. There are pension and benefit implications as well.
Elections matter. This was a 6-4 vote, and one additional vote would have been sufficient to block the raise. If I had been on the Board, I would have voted no on this pay increase and it would have failed.
Today Brian announced that if elected to the board he will donate the additional $20,000 pay increase to four Fairfax County community organizations, commenting:
“At a time when we are cutting services and taxes continue to climb, I do not support the pay increase recently passed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. It’s easy to say you don’t support a pay increase that you don’t have to vote on. It would be even easier to just pocket the extra money if elected. I couldn’t, in good conscience, do that. I want this money to benefit the community, so I will be donating it instead.”
He announced that the $20,000 donation will be made in $5,000 quarterly donations to four Fairfax County community organizations:
FACETS – A Fairfax based organization dedicated to helping parents, their children, and individuals who suffer the effects of poverty in Fairfax County.
Cornerstones – A Fairfax based organization promoting self-sufficiency by providing support and advocacy for those in need of food, shelter, affordable housing, quality childcare, and other human services.
Shelter House – A Fairfax based organization providing crisis interventions, safe housing and supportive services to promote self-sufficiency for homeless families and victims of domestic violence in Fairfax County.
Assist Pregnancy Center – A Fairfax based organization promoting life through Christ to those vulnerable to abortion, including providing pre-natal services and counseling free of charge.
Brian added, “I hope this money will help assist those in need here in our community. These organizations are critical to providing services to some of the most vulnerable among us and they deserve our support.”
For more information about Brian Schoeneman’s campaign for Sully Supervisor, visit www.brianforsupervisor.com. The Fairfax County Republican Committee is holding a party canvass (“firehouse primary”) to select their nominee on Saturday, April 25, 2015.
LynnRMitchell.com 