ALEXANDRIA, VA – Alexandria's City Council will meet on Tuesday for the first time since June, with an agenda that includes an update on the city's Flock cameras, a state of the economy presentation and financial report, several grant applications to consider, a tax-relief measure for federal workers and more.
The council will meet on Tuesday at the Del Pepper Center starting at 6 p.m., with the regular meeting beginning at 7 p.m.
At the top of the agenda are several items related to the city's economy and finances: City Manager James Parajon's standard State of the Economy Update, an update on the city and Alexandria Public Schools' budget process and an update on efforts to mitigate the effects of City Hall's reconstruction on local businesses in Old Town.
Next, Parajon will report on the city's license-plate reader cameras. Debate about Flock cameras has surged over the summer, with new cameras coming online in the region and other areas voting to ban them. In Alexandria, following a request by the mayor, the website dedicated to the city's Flock cameras was updated to provide more information, namely the number of searches in the past 30 days and the full list of law enforcement agencies authorized to search the city's cameras.
The page still doesn't list all the cameras' locations, which Mayor Alyia Gaskins had also requested.
The council will consider a measure that would give federal employees furloughed during a government shutdown more time to pay their property taxes. The measure would implement state act HB 915, which took effect in July.
The city council will also consider several grant applications, including a transit grant, funding for substance-abuse prevention, sexual-assault services, drug testing, domestic violence prevention and more.
The council will make two contested appointments to the Independent Community Policing Review Board. Two seats are involved: one representing an organization advocating for racial or social justice or marginalized communities and another representing historically, racially or socially marginalized communities that have experienced disparate policing.
The council's last regular legislative meeting was on June 23.
See the full agenda here and see how to watch the meeting here.
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