T H E E X A M I N ER4 T U E SDAY, SEP T E M BER 2 9, 2009
LOCAL NEWS
TIM KAINE
Virginia's gover-
nor on Monday
announced a two-
month amnesty
on paying overdue
state taxes he
hopes will bring in
$48 million to the
commonwealth's
sagging general
fund. The amnesty runs from Oct. 7 to
Dec. 5, and allows delinquent taxpay-
ers and businesses to pay their tab
with only half the interest charges and
no penalties. The average delinquent
Virginia tax bill is $2,315. For informa-
tion, visit www.gesquareva.com.
NEWSMAKERS
CAPITAL AREA
FOOD BANK
FedEx has donated $12,500 to
help the Capital Area Food Bank's
Weekend Bag Program, which
provides 1,000 children partici-
pating in school meal programs
with take-home bags of food for
each weekend. FedEx has worked
with the food bank for three
years, providing logistical and
monetary support to a number of
its programs. The Capital Area
Food Bank has served the region
for more than 29 years. Last year,
it distributed more than 23 mil-
lion pounds of food. For details,
visit capitalareafoodbank.org.
HEART OF THE CITY
LAWRENCE PELKEY
The late Arlington resident was hon-
ored by Metro with the transit system's
2009 Richard W. Heddinger Accessible
Transportation Award. Pelkey moved
to the area in the late 1980s after a
crash left him a quadriplegic. Metro
said Pelkey "spearheaded initiatives
to improve the mobility of people
who use wheelchairs, advocating for
guaranteed elevator access and gap
reducers in the Metrorail system." Gap
reducers decrease the space between
station platforms and trains, making it
easier for people who use wheelchairs
to enter and exit trains safely.
TRAFFIC
Virginia: Alternating lanes on
Route 1 North and South will be closed
between Huntington Avenue and
Franklin Street from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30
p.m. for construction.
Virginia: Left lanes on Telegraph
Road North and South will be closed
between the Eisenhower Avenue
overpass and Huntington Avenue from
9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for bridge work.
Republicans target
`fiscal integrity'
By William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
The Republican candidates for
Virginia governor and lieutenant
governor proposed Monday to
overhaul the state's budget mak-
ing by tying agency spending to
performance, expanding "rainy
day" reserves
and enacting a
series of audits,
among other
measures.
The pack-
age of reforms
"shows our
commitment to
restoring fiscal
integrity to the
budget process," Lt. Gov. Bill Bol-
ling, who is seeking re-election,
told reporters in a conference call
held with Republican gubernatorial
nominee Bob McDonnell.
Similar proposals are being
championed by McDonnell's Dem-
ocratic opponent, Creigh Deeds.
The parallels, however, didn't pre-
vent the two camps from sniping at
each other.
"Virginians have no reason to
trust Bob McDonnell on fiscal
responsibility," the Deeds campaign
said, a reference to McDonnell's
opposition to a bipartisan tax
increase passed in 2004.
McDonnell prefaced his remarks
by arguing that both Deeds and Bol-
ling's opponent -- former Virginia
Finance Secretary Jody Wagner --
have shown a "significant embrace"
of greater government spending and
higher taxes.
The Republican plan would sub-
ject agencies to a set of performance
measures that would determine how
much money they receive during the
next budget cycle.
It would also allow lawmakers to
squirrel away a greater share of tax
revenues in the "rainy day" reserve
fund, a pool of money used to blunt
the damage wreaked by economic
downturns on state services. The
change, which would require a con-
stitutional amendment, would allow
the size of the fund to increase from
10 to 15 percent of the state's aver-
age annual sales and income tax
revenues.
Also in the GOP proposal, the two
candidates said they would shift the
year in which the General Assembly
crafts its two-year budget from even
years to odd years.
Under the current system, an
incoming governor inherits his
predecessor's biennial budget pro-
posal and doesn't propose his own
until the third year of his term. The
change would grant a governor "two
meaningful budgets" in his term,
Bolling said.
wflook@washingtonexaminer.com
McDonnell, Bolling propose reforms to Va. budget
By Alan Suderman
Examiner Staff Writer
Montgomery County employ-
ees used a taxpayer-funded tuition
assistance program to take religion
courses that appear to be geared
toward their own spiritual growth
rather than toward their jobs,
county records show.
The county has paid up to $900
each for courses like "Principles of
Christian Growth" and "Contempo-
rary Evangelism" that emphasized
"memorizing key Bible verses" and
"restraining the flesh and renewing
your mind ... [to] Christ," according
to county records and online course
descriptions.
The tuition assistance program
is supposed to help employees take
classes or earn degrees that are
related to their current or future
jobs with the county.
The program is under county
investigation, and several County
Council members have expressed
dismay at some of the courses that
have been approved by the Office of
Human Resources.
"It would appear that in many
cases the courses have no benefit
for the public that is footing the bill
for them," said Council President
Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/
Rockville.
Staff in the Office of Human
Resources could not be reached for
comment.
At least one member of the
county's police department took
five $120 courses at Genesee Val-
ley Bible Institute and Seminary,
an unaccredited Bible college that
offers online courses like "Church
Growth" and "Bible Doctrines." The
courses were not taken as part of
a degree program, county records
show.
Police department employees
also took courses like "Survey of
Bible Literature" and "Contem-
porary Problems for Christian
Leaders" on the public's dime at
Liberty University and Regent
University, which were founded by
televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat
Robertson, respectively. Courses at
those universities were for a degree,
county records show.
And at least one member of the
county's fire department took $1,600
worth of classes toward a degree
at Light University, an online,
unaccredited "Biblical Counsel-
ing" school that offers courses like
"Healthy Sexuality" and "Marriage
and Family Counseling."
Police officers and firefighters
need the approval of only the coun-
ty's Office of Human Resources to
take classes using public money and
don't need permission from their
supervisors.
But in response to concerns that
the tuition assistance program is
being misused, County Executive
Ike Leggett last week ordered the
police and fire chiefs to review each
request from their departments
and make recommendations to the
Office of Human Resources. Leggett
also ordered that all other depart-
ment heads sign off on each new
request.
asuderman@washingtonexaminer.com
Montgomery County employees taking religion courses on county dime
VIRGINIA POLITICS
McDonnell-Bolling's
plan includes:
� Expanding the "rainy day"
reserve fund
� Moving the two-year budget
cycle to odd years
� Performance measures for state
spending
� More conservative revenue
forecasts
Bolling
JACQUELYN MARTIN/AP FILE
Bob McDonnell, right, says gubernatorial opponent Creigh Deeds and Lt. Gov. Bill
Bolling's opponent -- former Virginia Finance Secretary Jody Wagner -- have shown
a "significant embrace" of greater government spending and higher taxes.
Herbs and energy
The county approved paying
$2,720 to Clayton College of
Natural Health for at least one De-
partment of Corrections and Reha-
bilitation employee to take courses
like "Introduction to Herbology,"
"Herbology II" and "Overview of
Energy Techniques."
COURTESY PHOTO
Montgomery County has paid
up to $900 each for courses like
"Principles of Christian Growth" and
"Contemporary Evangelism."

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