L As firefighters wage calamity in southern California, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 2068, the union representing the Fairfax County professional firefighters and paramedics, urged citizens to contact local leaders to stave off planned budget cuts to fire and rescue services that would pose a substantial risk to efficiency, functionality, and survival.
Officials said potential budget cuts could “hurt response times and public safety.” In a social media post, IAFF Local 2068 urged the public to contact the Board of Supervisors to “demand action,” saying that “public safety is non-negotiable.”
According to union officials, IAFF Local 2068, seven ambulances and one medic unit are threatened, along with three ladder trucks and one engine. These cutbacks will reduce 24-hour rescue squad coverage. IAFF Local 2068 said, “due to a predicted budget shortfall, all Fairfax County department heads were required to submit 10% in potential budget reductions.”
The union leaders warned that ambulances in Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads, Penn Daw, Clifton, Gunston, Crosspointe, and North Point would all potentially be shut down. Ladder trucks in McLean, Centreville, Crosspointe, and Franconia all face elimination, according to IAFF Local 2068. They said rescue squads in Lorton, Fair Oaks, and Scotts Run also face closure, along with engine companies in Fairfax Center and Scotts Run. Due to potential budget cuts, emergency services, according to IAFF Local 2068, will be severely threatened.
In a social media post, IAFF Local 2068 asked, “Is public safety still a priority?”
The IAFF Local 2068 said, “for the Fire and Rescue Department, that is more than $26.7 million.” They urge county residents to tell the Board of Supervisors not to vote for “catastrophic cuts.”
“As the President of IAFF Local 2068, it is my duty to address the critical budget reductions impacting the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department,” said Robert Young, president of IAFF Local 2068, in a statement released to the Fairfax County Times. “These cuts that were implemented last year and proposed for this year could have dire consequences for the safety of our community.
“In July 2024, $2.9 million in service reductions were implemented, leading to the elimination of 24-hour staffing for critical resources such as one of our three safety officers, the Hazardous Materials Support Unit, and three tankers,” he said.
“Furthermore, there is ongoing consideration to reduce the number of Rescue Squad Companies this fiscal year, further reducing emergency response capabilities,” he warned. “Looking ahead, Fairfax County has requested a list of an additional 10% in potential budget reductions from each Department Head for FY26, equating potentially to $26.7 million from the Fire and Rescue Department alone. Potential service reductions under consideration include but are not limited to closing ladder truck and engine companies and eliminating ambulances and medic units.”
“These potential service reductions threaten our ability to provide timely and effective emergency responses, putting lives and property at greater risk,” Young added. “Our mission as firefighters is to protect and serve, but fewer resources would directly impact our capacity to fulfill that mission.”
According to local leaders, Fairfax County is predicting a $300 million shortfall for the upcoming 2026 year, an issue that some community residents say the county’s Board of Supervisors must address. The county has gone from surplus to shortfall, making residents wonder where the money has gone. The Board of Supervisors has enacted salary increases and allocated funds to various projects, such as a controversial COVID memorial led by Chair Jeff McKay.
“It’s the board majority spending habits that really drove us to where we are today,” Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, who is running for lieutenant governor of Virginia, told the Fairfax County Times: “This is really a spending problem, not a tax problem.”
“One of the things that disappoints me quite a bit is that for the last three years, I’ve been calling for an outside review of the budget, and other boards under Democrat chairmans and under Republican chairmans have done an outside review of board spending, and this board refuses to do that,” said Herrity “The board spent the surplus.”
“The hard part is now we’re down to the point where we’re going to have three or four months to solve the problem, and that’s not an easy thing to do,” explained Herrity. “The smart thing to do is to take a strategic look at it, which is why I’ve been proposing for the last three years this outside budget review.”
According to Herrity, the Board of Supervisors must undergo an outside budget review. Otherwise, services like the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue will suffer from out-of-bounds spending habits, and, as a direct consequence, Fairfax County residents will also suffer from mismanaged spending.
The rest of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors was contacted for comment by the Fairfax County Times, but they did not answer questions on why Fairfax County went from having a surplus to a shortfall, how they plan to remedy the shortfall, and the nature of potential budget cuts. Supervisors are McKay, Kathy L. Smith, James R. Walkinshaw, Andres F. Jimenez, James N. Bierman Jr., Daniel G. Storck, Rodney L. Lusk, Dalia A. Palchik, and Walter L. Alcorn did not respond to questions.
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Officials said potential budget cuts could “hurt response times and public safety.” In a social media post, IAFF Local 2068 urged the public to contact the Board of Supervisors to “demand action,” saying that “public safety is non-negotiable.”
According to union officials, IAFF Local 2068, seven ambulances and one medic unit are threatened, along with three ladder trucks and one engine. These cutbacks will reduce 24-hour rescue squad coverage. IAFF Local 2068 said, “due to a predicted budget shortfall, all Fairfax County department heads were required to submit 10% in potential budget reductions.”
The union leaders warned that ambulances in Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads, Penn Daw, Clifton, Gunston, Crosspointe, and North Point would all potentially be shut down. Ladder trucks in McLean, Centreville, Crosspointe, and Franconia all face elimination, according to IAFF Local 2068. They said rescue squads in Lorton, Fair Oaks, and Scotts Run also face closure, along with engine companies in Fairfax Center and Scotts Run. Due to potential budget cuts, emergency services, according to IAFF Local 2068, will be severely threatened.
In a social media post, IAFF Local 2068 asked, “Is public safety still a priority?”
The IAFF Local 2068 said, “for the Fire and Rescue Department, that is more than $26.7 million.” They urge county residents to tell the Board of Supervisors not to vote for “catastrophic cuts.”
“As the President of IAFF Local 2068, it is my duty to address the critical budget reductions impacting the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department,” said Robert Young, president of IAFF Local 2068, in a statement released to the Fairfax County Times. “These cuts that were implemented last year and proposed for this year could have dire consequences for the safety of our community.
“In July 2024, $2.9 million in service reductions were implemented, leading to the elimination of 24-hour staffing for critical resources such as one of our three safety officers, the Hazardous Materials Support Unit, and three tankers,” he said.
“Furthermore, there is ongoing consideration to reduce the number of Rescue Squad Companies this fiscal year, further reducing emergency response capabilities,” he warned. “Looking ahead, Fairfax County has requested a list of an additional 10% in potential budget reductions from each Department Head for FY26, equating potentially to $26.7 million from the Fire and Rescue Department alone. Potential service reductions under consideration include but are not limited to closing ladder truck and engine companies and eliminating ambulances and medic units.”
“These potential service reductions threaten our ability to provide timely and effective emergency responses, putting lives and property at greater risk,” Young added. “Our mission as firefighters is to protect and serve, but fewer resources would directly impact our capacity to fulfill that mission.”
According to local leaders, Fairfax County is predicting a $300 million shortfall for the upcoming 2026 year, an issue that some community residents say the county’s Board of Supervisors must address. The county has gone from surplus to shortfall, making residents wonder where the money has gone. The Board of Supervisors has enacted salary increases and allocated funds to various projects, such as a controversial COVID memorial led by Chair Jeff McKay.
“It’s the board majority spending habits that really drove us to where we are today,” Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, who is running for lieutenant governor of Virginia, told the Fairfax County Times: “This is really a spending problem, not a tax problem.”
“One of the things that disappoints me quite a bit is that for the last three years, I’ve been calling for an outside review of the budget, and other boards under Democrat chairmans and under Republican chairmans have done an outside review of board spending, and this board refuses to do that,” said Herrity “The board spent the surplus.”
“The hard part is now we’re down to the point where we’re going to have three or four months to solve the problem, and that’s not an easy thing to do,” explained Herrity. “The smart thing to do is to take a strategic look at it, which is why I’ve been proposing for the last three years this outside budget review.”
According to Herrity, the Board of Supervisors must undergo an outside budget review. Otherwise, services like the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue will suffer from out-of-bounds spending habits, and, as a direct consequence, Fairfax County residents will also suffer from mismanaged spending.
The rest of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors was contacted for comment by the Fairfax County Times, but they did not answer questions on why Fairfax County went from having a surplus to a shortfall, how they plan to remedy the shortfall, and the nature of potential budget cuts. Supervisors are McKay, Kathy L. Smith, James R. Walkinshaw, Andres F. Jimenez, James N. Bierman Jr., Daniel G. Storck, Rodney L. Lusk, Dalia A. Palchik, and Walter L. Alcorn did not respond to questions.
