THIS ARTICLE IS COMMENTARY AND PUBLISHED IN OUR EDITORIAL SECTION.
Federal government cuts impact local programs, jobs, services
By Randy Arrington, publisher
STANLEY, Feb. 26 — Much like the Hawksbill into the South Fork, and the Shenandoah into the Potomac, local concerns over federal cutbacks are flowing toward D.C. While the Federal government may seem a million miles away from our everyday lives, the chaotic dismantling of agencies, the elimination of thousands of jobs, and the freezing of federal funds is spreading waves of concern, doubt and confusion among local agencies.
Earlier this week, local leaders from our three towns and the county got together at the Stanley fire hall for a quarterly meeting that has been in hiatus for a while, but was rejuvenated in an effort to exchange information and share resources. The conversation flowed among a myriad of topics about ongoing or upcoming projects, events and as always, infrastructure; but a common concern aired by all was the local impacts of rash decisions being made in Washington, D.C.
Noting that tourism stands as one of our two largest industries in Page County, Director of Tourism and Economic Development Nina Fox told the group this week that 14 employees at Shenandoah National Park were part of the recent job cuts in the National Park Service totaling more than 1,000. Fox also noted that some of these positions were seasonal workers collecting entrance fees, which may worsen traffic backups during peak visits this summer and fall.
The headquarters for Shenandoah National Park sit just east of the Luray town limits. Fox noted that tourism supports about 1,000 jobs in Page County, and a significant number of those are either in the park or related to a service supporting the park, such as concessionaire Delaware North.
Tourism was the key reason, Fox noted, that Page County ranked 10th among 133 localities in Virginia for economic recovery rates in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stanley Town Manager and President of the Stanley Fire Department Terry Pettit stated during Wednesday’s joint meeting that the recent freezing of federal funds put a new fire truck for the department in jeopardy . If the funds had not been released, the local volunteer group could not have covered the $800,000 in federal grant money that helped purchase a $1.3 million fire engine.
The group of local officials also discussed the federally-funded school lunch program. While most of their comments dealt with how those lunches could be “improved”, the concern was noted that many school meals are issued for free under Title I (low income) criteria, which Page County easily qualifies for under federal guidelines. Without federal funding, either the state or the local taxpayers would have to directly pick up the bill — around $2-3 million annually.
A general discussion was held about upcoming budgets for the next fiscal year, with a general consensus to attempt holding the line on any tax increases. However, the ability to do that may rest in final figures the county and towns are waiting on from the state and federal governments. All local budgets will already begin to shrink this fiscal cycle due to the ending of federal ARPA funds.
All politics are local. Decisions made in Washington do not stay in Washington, they “trickle down” and impact local programs, local jobs and local people. The vast majority of Americans believe that there is waste in the Federal government and agree that some cuts could be made, but they also see it as something distant that won’t effect them personally.
While the general concept of trimming down the federal government is overwhelmingly popular, there are better ways to implement financial reform than through chaotic layoffs and parading around with a chainsaw. Chaos promotes fear and confusion, not only among federal workers, but also among the American people. It doesn’t promote confidence in the process, or those implementing it — even if the process is merited.
This is not really a political issue, but more about the rules of engagement. There has been nothing about this process that exudes professionalism, competency or efficiency. Teenagers collecting vast amounts of personal data (a commodity, like bars of gold or pork bellies), dismantling programs abruptly without a transition plan, and no consideration of lives impacted by the immediate stoppage of services.
Whether intentional or a public showcase of incompetence, just realize that these are not decisions that will simply effect “someone else” or people in a foreign land, they may hit home in many ways, through healthcare, through the economy, through our schools, through the local tax structure, and many other ways that haven’t even revealed themselves yet.
In the movement to find more efficiency in federal agencies, let us hope that the impact on the Page Valley and its residents will be minimal. Many experts say that trimming federal jobs will impact less than 1 percent of the overall federal budget. Let’s hope it does as little to us as well.
Disagree? Comment below, or send us a “Letter to the Editor” at publisher@pagevalleynews.com
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