WASHINGTON — A number of projects, amendments and referendums were on the ballots Tuesday night in Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia, and in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland.
In Fairfax, a public safety bond passed with more than 304,000 votes.
Shall Fairfax County, Virginia, contract a debt, borrow money, and issue bonds in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $182,000,000 to provide funds, in addition to funds from public safety facilities bonds previously authorized, to finance, including reimbursement to the County for temporary financing for, the costs of public safety facilities, including the construction, reconstruction, enlargement, renovation and equipment of civil and criminal justice facilities, police training and operational facilities and stations, fire and rescue training facilities and stations, including fire and rescue stations owned by volunteer organizations, and the acquisition of necessary land?
In Loudoun, there were questions on funding for transportation and schools.
Transportation: Shall the County of Loudoun, Virginia contract a debt and issue its general obligation capital improvement bonds in the maximum principal amount of $152,585,000 to finance, in whole or in part, the costs to design and construct Braddock Road ([Virginia] Route 659 to Royal Hunter); the costs to design and construct segments of Crosstrail Boulevard; the costs to design and construct improvements to Evergreen Mills Road (Northstar to Stone Springs); the costs to design and construct improvements to Farmwell Road (Smith Switch to Ashburn Road); the costs to design and construct Intersection Improvements throughout the County; the costs to design and construct Prentice Drive; the costs to design and construct a [Virginia] Route 9/Route 287 Roundabout; the costs to design and construct [U.S.] Route 50 Corridor Improvements; and the costs of other public road and transportation projects approved in the County’s Capital Improvement Program?
School projects: Shall the County of Loudoun, Virginia contract a debt and issue its general obligation capital improvement bonds in the maximum principal amount of $98,820,000 to finance, in whole or in part, the costs to design, construct, and equip ES-23 Dulles North Elementary School; the costs to design, construct, and equip ES-29 Dulles South Elementary School; the costs to design, construct, and equip School Security Vestibules; and the costs of other public school facilities as requested by the Loudoun County School Board?
The transportation issue passed with more than 125,000 votes. School projects passed with over 123,000 votes.
Voters in Montgomery County faced three questions on Tuesday’s ballot.
The first (A) was on redistricting.
Amend Section 104 of the County Charter to remove party central committees from the process for selecting the Redistricting Commission appointed by the Council every ten years to review the boundaries of Council districts, and providing that the Redistricting Commission must:
- be composed of 11 County residents
who are registered voters;- include at least one, but no more
than four members of each political party
which polled at least fifteen percent of the
total vote cast for all candidates for the
Council in the last preceding regular
election; and- include at least one member from
each Council district.
It passed with over 253,000 votes.
The second, B, regarded property tax limits.
Amend Section 305 of the County Charter to require an affirmative vote of all current councilmembers, rather than the specific nine votes currently required, to levy a tax on real property that will produce revenue that exceeds the annual limit on property tax revenue set in that section.
It passed with almost 214,000 votes.
The last, C, centered on councilmember aides’ “merit system.”
Amend Section 401 of the County Charter to permit each Councilmember to have one or more aides as non-merit employees, rather than the one confidential aide currently permitted.
It passed with just over 166,000 votes.
In Prince George’s County, voters made their voices heard on a slew of charter referendums and amendments.
Question A: AN ACT enabling the County to borrow money and issue bonds in an amount not exceeding $148,287,000 to finance the design, construction, reconstruction, extension, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, alteration, renovation, relocation, rehabilitation or repair of Public Works and Transportation Facilities (including roads and bridges, parking lots, and maintenance facilities), as defined therein.
The referendum passed with more than 236,000 votes.
Question B: AN ACT enabling the County to borrow money and issue bonds in an amount not exceeding $16,796,000 to finance the design, construction, reconstruction, extension, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, alteration, renovation, relocation, rehabilitation or repair of Library Facilities, as defined therein.
It passed with almost 236,000 votes.
Question C: AN ACT enabling the County to borrow money and issue bonds in an amount not exceeding $56,053,000 to finance the design, construction, reconstruction, extension, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, alteration, renovation, relocation, rehabilitation or repair of Public Safety Facilities (including Fire Department Facilities), as defined therein.
It passed with more than 238,000 votes.
Question D: AN ACT enabling the County to borrow money and issue bonds in an amount not exceeding $97,564,000 to finance the design, construction, reconstruction, extension, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, alteration, renovation, relocation, rehabilitation or repair of County Buildings, as defined therein.
The referendum passed with over 205,000 votes.
Question E: AN ACT enabling the County to borrow money and issue bonds in an amount not exceeding $81,187,000 to finance the design, construction, reconstruction, extension, acquisition, improvement, enlargement, alteration, renovation, relocation, rehabilitation or repair of Community College Facilities, as defined therein.
It passed with more than 242,000 votes.
Question F: To provide a one-year residency requirement for Council Members and at-large Council Members, to provide that an at-large Council Member shall have been a qualified voter of Prince George’s County for at least one year immediately preceding his or her primary election, and to provide that Council Members representing one of the nine Council districts shall have been a qualified voter of their respective Council district for at least one year immediately preceding his or her primary election.
The amendment passed with almost 256,000 votes.
Question G: To provide an individual right to nondiscrimination, to provide for nondiscrimination in employment of a contractor doing business with the County, and to provide for nondiscrimination in the County personnel system all based on marital status, familial status, disability, age and sexual orientation.
The amendment passed with well over 261,000 votes.
Question H: To provide that membership on the Council shall be considered a full-time position for the purpose of determining compensation.
The amendment passed with nearly 216,000 votes.
Question I: To provide that the County Auditor be appointed and serve a five-year term, which may be renewed for additional five-year terms, subject to removal for cause, to remain until a successor is appointed and qualifies, to provide that selected agencies that receive or disburse County funds will receive a complete financial audit for the preceding fiscal year; and to provide that the County Auditor be empowered to conduct investigations related to fraud, waste and abuse by the County Executive, Council Members or other County officials and employees.
The amendment passed with more than 220,000 votes.
Question J: To provide that an individual may be temporarily appointed to fill a vacancy, no more than one year, without an intervening permanent appointment.
The amendment passed with more than 236,000 votes.
Question K: To provide for the establishment of a Charter Review Commission, not later than one year prior to the beginning of each fourth year of a term, for the purpose of undertaking a comprehensive study of the Charter and to provide that the Charter Review Commission shall commence its work at the discretion of the Chair of the Commission.
The amendment passed with almost 228,000 votes.
