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Read the latest Blog Post by CFGF Board Member Peter Falcone on Resource Protection Areas (RPAs), the vital buffers that help safeguard waterways and stream beds in our community from the impacts of development, and the effects of the county's development approval process.  Click on BLOGS above to read the whole post.

Proposed 2027 County Budget — Administrative Savings Overview

On behalf of Citizens For Great Falls, the chart depicted below was submitted to Dranesville Supervisor James Bierman and Fairfax County School Board Representative Robin Lady, on March 22 2026, outlining a series of budget recommendations for their consideration. The chart illustrates approximately $30 million in potential administrative savings identified across Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and general county operations.

 

Our recommendations emphasize FCPS central administration, contracted services, and internal operational efficiencies — and are specifically structured to avoid any impact on classroom instruction, school-based staffing, or countywide public safety services.

These figures represent constructive, community-oriented savings targets aimed at supporting responsible budgeting while preserving the services Fairfax County residents value most.

Citizens For Great Falls – FY 2027 Budget Reductions
Citizens For Great Falls

FY 2027 FCPS / County Budget
Targeted Reductions Justification Sheet

Proposed savings aligned with FY 2027 FCPS / County budget rationale
Item What We Propose How It Aligns with FY 2027 Budget Rationale
1. FCPS Vacant Central Office Positions $7M Freeze nonessential central office vacancies and permanently eliminate long-unfilled administrative positions; reassign duties within existing teams where feasible. Brings the budget in line with actual staffing levels and mirrors County and FCPS emphasis on "efforts toward greater efficiency" and limiting new resource requests, achieving savings without reducing current services or classroom staffing.
2. FCPS Nonessential Consultant Contracts $6M Scale back or cancel non-mandated consultant contracts in professional development, strategic planning, communications, curriculum consulting, and IT modernization; shift appropriate work to internal staff. Targets a known cost driver—contractual and professional services—while following the FY 2027 direction to implement agency-level savings that offset required increases, protect classroom instruction, and build internal capacity instead of relying on recurring consultant spend.
3. FCPS Software & Licensing Consolidation $4M Eliminate redundant or underutilized HR, analytics, workflow, and training platforms; consolidate licenses and negotiate enterprise pricing; delay noncritical upgrades 12–24 months. Responds to ongoing IT operating cost pressure by focusing on consolidation and smarter procurement, consistent with County and FCPS efforts to manage license and support costs while preserving essential instructional and information security systems.
4. FCPS Administrative Facilities & Leases $3M Reduce leased administrative office space through consolidation and expanded telework; pursue energy-efficiency improvements and right-size office footprints. Aligns with the County's broader push to rebalance facilities spending toward capital renewal and maintenance, shifting dollars from dispersed administrative overhead to higher-priority needs without affecting classroom space.
5. FCPS Training, Travel & Internal Programs $2M Limit central office travel and conferences; shift professional development to virtual or in-house formats; pause nonessential pilot initiatives. Uses the same first-line savings tools the County is applying (reductions in travel, training, and discretionary programs) to generate modest, targeted reductions that protect school-based training required by law or contract and maintain direct services to students.
6. Countywide Consultant Reductions (Non-FCPS) $5M Freeze new consultant contracts in non-public-safety agencies and reduce the scope of existing planning, analysis, and communications engagements; prioritize internal capacity. Supports the County Executive's strategy to implement a sizable reduction package while keeping the tax rate flat, by focusing cuts on back-office consulting rather than on core public safety or human services, and moderating overall budget growth.
7. County Administrative Overhead (Non-FCPS) $3M Reduce administrative travel, training, internal program budgets, and noncritical technology upgrades; freeze nonessential hiring in non-public-safety departments. Extends the County's documented approach of trimming administrative overhead (printing, equipment, training, personnel savings based on actuals) to realize savings with minimal service impact, helping balance the budget and prioritize high-impact programs.
8. Montessori Pilot at Great Falls ES – Transparency Request Transparency Seek clarity on site selection (including whether Title I schools were considered), long-term local funding after grant expiration, impacts on existing resources, and success metrics; request ongoing community input. Reflects FCPS and County commitments to transparency, equity, and data-driven decision-making by ensuring a partially grant-funded initiative is evaluated against clear criteria, equity goals, and budgetary tradeoffs in a year when both FCPS and the County face structural pressures.
Total Proposed Reductions (Items 1–7) $30,000,000
Citizens For Great Falls  |  FY 2027 Budget Advocacy  |  Great Falls, Virginia

Citizens For Great Falls is actively engaged on the issues that matter most to our community.

See some of our latest actions below:

CFGF Testimony and Correspondence
Citizens For Great Falls

Testimony & Correspondence

Citizens For Great Falls is working on your behalf — engaging leaders and officials on the issues that shape life in Great Falls. Read about our recent efforts below.
Public Testimony
Dec. 3, 2025
TestimonySupport for Lift Me Up! Special Permit application.
Jan. 7, 2026
TestimonyChallenging a zoning determination on pickleball in a front yard.
Correspondence & Letters
Jul. 15, 2025
CorrespondenceTo County Planning Commission — six specific requests to amend the proposed Zoning Ordinance on Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to improve safety and protect adjacent residential property owners from insurance rate impacts.
Oct. 15, 2025
CorrespondenceTo County Planning Commission — objecting to a draft Zoning Ordinance Amendment on Electrical Substations, citing noise, visual impact, and safety concerns for nearby residential areas.
Oct. 30, 2025
CorrespondenceTo School Board Rep. Robyn Lady — concerns and recommendations regarding the ongoing school boundary review process.
Jan. 12, 2026
CorrespondencePreliminary endorsement of the residential development plan for Castleton Hills (former site of Wolftrap Nursery).
Regulatory & Agency Outreach
Apr. 3, 2025
CorrespondenceTo Supervisor Bierman — documenting the overnight tanker truck accident in which more than 2,000 gallons of hazardous material were discharged on Leigh Mill Road, and urging action on the safety risks posed by tractor trailers hauling hazardous cargo through Great Falls.
Apr. 10, 2025
EmailTo Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality — requesting a formal investigation of the April 3 HazMat incident on Leigh Mill Road and assistance for homeowners in testing private wells that may have been placed at risk.
Citizens For Great Falls  |  Advocacy & Community Engagement  |  Great Falls, Virginia

News / Articles

Data Centers, Energy Demand, and Environmental Risks

Peter Falcone | Published on 7/4/2025

(July 4, 2025, CFGF)  Jim Hart, a long-serving and distinguished former vice-chairman of the County’s Board of Zoning Appeals as well as a former member of the Fairfax County Planning Commission, where he served as Commissioner-at-large, has been a vocal critic of the pace of data center development in Fairfax County.

 

On this steamy July 4 holiday, he posted a message to a group of about 50 county residents active in civic organizations, land use issues, and civic community advocacy about a growing environmental threat posed by data centers and their effects on air quality.  Hart observed in his email message that the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) listed the day’s air quality in Northern Virginia as a Code Orange Day on its website.  DEQ classifies the day’s air quality as unhealthy for sensitive groups and advises these individuals to reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.

 

Hart suggested that the problem is with the particulates in the air that can cause severe health problems.  He noted that his community has gone out briefly once already today and cautioned that when the power grid is overworked by high demand and/or by extremes in temperatures, data centers may need to run the diesel generators to maintain service.  The fumes produced by diesel exhaust foul the air and contain various harmful substances, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and various volatile organic compounds, some of which are known carcinogens.

 

The proliferation of data centers with diesel generators will continue to be a problem for air quality in the area.  When the air quality is bad and when the power grid is maxed out, something has to give, Hart opined.   

 

Unfortunately, data centers are a by-right use in Fairfax County in certain zoning districts, and there are no development conditions on by-right uses, so that environmental conflict is likely going to intensify. 

 

Data center development is continuing at a fast pace in Northern Virginia.  They are becoming larger and growing in scale to accommodate increasing demands fueled by technology.  Although it has fewer data centers than neighboring Loudoun and Prince William Counties, there are still plans underway to build more facilities in Fairfax County.  When the business and industrial sites reach capacity, there is a likelihood that future growth of data centers in our area may result in calls by developers for upzoning of land zoned for retail business or even residential areas. A 2024 Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study (JLARC) reported “Trends in real estate availability and facility design increase the likelihood of future residential impacts… As the industry’s footprint in Northern Virginia grows, the amount of land ideal for data center development is decreasing, and developers are more likely to consider locations closer to residential and other sensitive areas”. The JLARC report also found that currently, 55% of Fairfax County’s 20 data centers are within 200 feet of residential zones, and 70% are within 500 feet.

 

Data center developers are pushing the limits to establish their projects in the county, as we have observed in the ongoing battle between residents of the BrenMar community in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County.  That community waged an unsuccessful battle to oppose the approval of a data center to be built within close proximity to its residences and adjoining resource protection areas. 

 

Air quality caused by power generation and the sight of a looming monolith rising above a residential neighborhood are raising concerns of many residents in Northern Virginia. But another impact is being felt by the state’s energy infrastructure and the environmental effects produced by the energy demands of data centers. In 2023, Kevin J. Coyle, former counsel to the President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, wrote that between Loudoun and Prince William County, there were already 40 million square feet of data centers in operation, handling some 40% of the world’s Internet traffic and storage. He wrote that each data center burns enough electricity to power 40,000 to 80,000 homes.

 

There are 56 data centers currently under construction in Northern Virginia, according to Baxtel, (Baxtel is a platform for data center research, advisory, and procurement with 25,000 monthly users. They provide key industry data and map out the data center industry, including sites under development.) with an additional 5,500 MW of capacity in the planning stages, with much of it already pre-leased.  Northern Virginia has surpassed 4,900 megawatts of data center capacity, making it the largest in the world.

 

There are 518 existing data center facilities in Northern Virginia, according to Baxtel. The power drawn from all of these centers, once online, will be the equivalent of doubling the current electricity demand for the entire State of Virginia. 

 

Against the increasing community concerns over energy and water resource consumption, and the growing environmental impacts involving air quality caused by data centers, industry is balancing a global demand for increased computing power and developing strategies to navigate community opposition and government regulation. Engaged citizens should be prepared for what the future holds. 

 

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