General Info:
In accordance with federal and state requirements, existing Ward (district) boundaries, within the City of Fredericksburg, must but be redrawn every ten years to equalize the overall population among districts, to the extent possible. This process is known as "redistricting" and will be based on the recently released 2010 United States Census Bureau population data. In 2011, the City of Fredericksburg will consider various options which could result in changes to polling places, precinct and Ward boundaries, and constituencies for locally elected Council and School Board members. Public input will be an important part of the process. To this end, the City's Department of Planning and Community Development will hold a public information meeting on April 20, 2011 at 7: 00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. The purpose of the meeting is to inform interested parties about the progress and timeline of the redistricting process and to obtain citizen input about the effort. The City has also developed a new web page to promote citizen awareness of the entire redistricting process, including notices of future meetings and opportunities to comment. Please see the "2011 Redistricting Process" link here which is also located at the top of this page for more information. City Council held Work Sessions on March 15 and 16 to hear presentations from the five design-build teams who submitted proposals in response to the PPEA request. The five teams presented a total of eight designs of the court facilities. Council and Staff will review these proposals and hold a Public Hearing in the near future. Copies of the proposals are available for review in the City Manager's Office Room 203 at City Hall, 715 Princess Anne Street. Electronic versions of the presentations and proposals are available HERE for your review. Comments may be submitted to courtproposalcomments@fredericksburgva.gov. The City of Fredericksburg is currently in the early design stage for two roadway improvement projects in the Fall Hill Avenue area, west of Jefferson Davis Highway. These projects are: (1) Replacement of the bridge over the Rappahannock Canal near the Friends of the Rappahannock facility - at the west end of the canal bike path; and (2) Widening, to four lanes, of Fall Hill Avenue from the canal crossing to and across I-95, including replacement of the bridge over I-95. A concurrent project is the extension of Mary Washington Boulevard from its current terminus on the Mary Washington Hospital campus to Fall Hill Avenue, just west of the canal. You may view the presentation that was made at the March 24 public information meeting on these projects HERE. The City Manager's FY 2012 Recommended Budget is available for viewing on the City budget page - HERE. The Recommended Budget is the start of the Council's review process. The City Council will review the document and make changes as necessary. The school budget should be adopted by May 15, while the remainder of the budget needs to be adopted by June 30. There is a public hearing scheduled for April 19, 2011 at 7: 00 p.m. in City Council Chambers. HERE is a copy of the advertisement for the public hearing. The synopsis here is published solely for fiscal planning and public information, and Council may continue to amend through the review process. There are three corrections, in red, in the % change column. In mid-February the City sent out 1200 random surveys to City households to determine citizens' views on how well we deliver public services, on what services we might better focus financial resources, what characteristics citizens value most, and on the key issues facing the City over the next several years. 325 households responded to the City's National Citizen Survey. Thank you to all who took the time to give us your views. With the mail-in portion of the survey of Fredericksburg households completed, it is now possible for all citizens to let us know what you think about our City and how well we are