Arlington, county delegation outline 2026 priorities as federal counterterrorism funds are cut

Arlington County Board Chair Takis Carrington and county staff met with members of the Arlington state delegation at a working session to review the county—s 2026 legislative priorities and requests for the General Assembly. County leaders asked for state assistance after federal cuts to regional counterterrorism funding and outlined several local initiatives — including new authority on affordable housing, a performance-parking pilot, tree-canopy protections and oversight changes for the independent police auditor.

The most urgent request centered on federal reductions to Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funding, a regional counterterrorism program. "We really need help from the commonwealth to weather what we see as a capricious and extreme cut, and to keep our emergency management and counterterrorism systems running," Board member Susan Cunningham said, noting the region—s loss of roughly $20,000,000 and Virginia's share of about $12,000,000. County staff said the larger regional target would be $20 million but that $12 million is the minimum Virginia-specific amount needed to preserve staff and capital projects.

Why it matters: Arlington and neighboring Northern Virginia localities share emergency-response systems and regional 9-1-1 infrastructure; Cunningham and county staff told the delegation that gaps in funding would weaken regional training, dispatch systems and counterterrorism capabilities.

Housing and local authority: Arlington asked the delegation to support a legislative change to allow the county more discretion to set affordability requirements by ordinance rather than be constrained by a fixed state-code formula. Maureen Coffey, the county—s liaison to the legislative delegation, said the goal is "the ability to set an ordinance within reasonable parameters" so staff can adjust affordability thresholds based on current market analysis. Delegation members and county staff exchanged questions about draft language, coalition partners and the risks of a one-size-fits-all statewide approach; several delegates urged careful stakeholder engagement and warned that development groups may mobilize in opposition.

Parking, privacy and compliance: The county proposed a performance-parking pilot that would use curb sensors and automated license-plate recognition (LPR) to increase compliance and avoid diverting police officers to write tickets. Coffey framed the pilot as safety and compliance-focused rather than a revenue measure: "This is really about generating compliance with rules that already exist using technology that already exists." Delegation members cautioned that some jurisdictions have turned automated enforcement into a large revenue source and asked for clear guardrails on data privacy, separation from law-enforcement systems and limits on secondary uses of plate-data.

Environment and trees: Delegates and board members reiterated support for renewed tree-canopy legislation. The group noted a prior bill (referenced in materials) was vetoed and said they will work with the delegation to refine language that frames canopy protection as a public-asset, climate resilience and equity issue.

Policing oversight and other requests: Board members previewed a bill to allow the County Board more direct supervision or clarified statutory authority over the independent policing auditor, a measure previously vetoed; county officials said they will work with the delegation on closed-session limits for individual personnel matters. The county also asked for flexibility on tourism-improvement district law to allow public-private partnerships to better support National Landing and regional destination marketing.

Next steps: County staff said they will share draft bill language and supporting data with the delegation. Delegates requested detailed numbers to quantify Northern Virginia—s disproportionate economic impact when they press appropriations committees. The meeting closed with a unanimous Board motion to convene a closed session to discuss candidates for appointed positions and appointee performance.