Statement:

GOP tells County Board
to focus on core responsibilities

Remarks delivered by Arlington Republican Chairman Scott Tate to the Arlington County Board at the Board's public meeting on Saturday, March 13, 2004.

One of government's priorities is to maintain the infrastructure of its community, both to insure prosperity and to keep its community safe. This would include the water supply. In Arlington, we had come to take for granted that our water is safe. However, recent events have shown that our confidence in this may not be entirely well-placed.

At the beginning of February published reports revealed that water from the Dalecarlia facility contained high levels of lead. While these samples were from the District of Columbia, the fact that Arlington shares that water supply should have compelled immediate testing of water in Arlington. The fact that this testing did not begin for weeks is inexcusable.

During the time that the county put off such testing, our elected county leadership was assuring us that the water was safe. We were then told that there was a problem with lead levels in 5 homes. Additional testing was then conducted and Ms. Favola has since stated that results of that testing are "good news" - elevated lead levels found in 5 schools, including the elementary school that both of my daughters attended and my son currently attends, recommendations being given to run our faucets to flush out any lead, and extensive additional testing to determine the true extent of the problem. This is not "good news".

When those of us who have concerns about the efficiency and cost of local government raise issues about property taxes increasing 90 percent in 5 years, we are sneered at by those who suggest we don't understand or appreciate all of the services that the county provides. The county government, its staff, and its elected leadership must insure that the most basic functions of government are being performed well, before they cajole us into believing our tax dollars should be spent on frills such as 3 million dollars to beautify a sewage treatment plant. Let's return government to its core functions of education, transportation, public safety, and infrastructure.

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