April 15, 2026 Board of Supervisors Budget Public Hearing - Apr 15, 2026

meeting

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors 4h 50m 1 speaker 8 agenda items transcribed 2 months ago official recording ↗

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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

How does the hearing open and what are the speaker logistics for this large public comment session?

Jeffrey C. McKay 0:02

Good afternoon, everyone. We're going to get started and be respectful of everyone's time. This afternoon, we do have a lot of speakers who have signed up to speak, over 80. So we will try to get through them as quickly as possible. I'd ask everyone to be respectful of your time so that we can hear from all 80-plus folks who want to testify. As you know, this is a public hearing on the FY2027 advertised budget plan, the advertised capital improvement program, CIP for fiscal years 2027 to 2031, and the FY26 third quarter review. During this public hearing, we'll also accept testimony on the FY2027 effective tax rate. As I mentioned, we do have a lengthy speakers list today, so I will note up front, just so folks who are here are aware, that anyone who is not already registered to speak has the opportunity to walk in or call in.

Jeffrey C. McKay 1:04

However, those speakers will be heard on Thursday, following all speakers who are on the formal speakers list. So if you are here today and are not on the speakers list, we will be hearing from those speakers at the end of the day on Thursday. following all other speakers that are on the list. And let me also mention that if I call your name, I'm going to call the speakers in the order in which they're listed with one exception. When I call your name, if I'm calling your name, please come down close. There's a lot of seats up here in the front of the auditorium. Come down close and be ready to testify. We waste a lot of people's time in this auditorium watching them walk all the way down the stairs and hoping that they don't trip and fall.

Jeffrey C. McKay 1:48

Don't be one of those people. So when I call your name, please come down close. There's rows down here in the front where you can wait. And with that, I am going to make one change to the speaker's list. I'm going to take speaker number six and move that speaker to speaker number one. It is the only change to the speaker's order that will happen today. So if you're tracking along to try to see where you are, we will be following them exactly as they're listed on this speaker's list. And speaker number six, who is now speaker number one, will be Sheriff Stacy Kincaid, followed by John Boylan, Shannon Steen, and Andrew Locker. In that order, and we're pleased to start off our afternoon welcoming Sheriff Kincaid.

Jeffrey C. McKay 2:33

Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Chairman McKay and members of the board. On behalf of the men and women of the Sheriff's Office, I appreciate the opportunity to provide input on the FY 2027 advertised budget. Over the last several years, we've seen a steady decline in our workforce. From 2021 to 2025, our vacancy rate increased 19% in the adult detention center. As our staffing levels continue to decrease, the use of mandatory overtime was implemented to fill in the gaps. Overtime has more than doubled, climbing from 34,000 hours in 2021 to over 79,000 hours in 2025. Since the onset of the staffing crisis, the Sheriff's Office has taken extensive internal measures to address staffing challenges. We have revised staffing formulas, implemented significant operational adjustments by eliminating work release, our community labor force, and sentencing options for judges just so we can perform our core and mandated functions.

Jeffrey C. McKay 3:39

Our agency has a fundamental and critical role within the criminal justice system of Fairfax County. Without us, the courts cannot operate, the jail shuts down, and those who are incarcerated would not receive the next level of rehabilitative services that my staff provide, including addressing and treating mental illness and addiction. This would significantly impact the health and human services we provide to a population that is already high risk. As I have stated in the past, the impact and data provided to the Board, the biggest obstacle in reducing the vacancies rate is compensation. While our compensation has been left unaddressed, our vacancies and overtime costs have continued to rise. The fact is, our deputies are leaving for other departments and agencies because of compensation.