Budget for Truck Checks May Be on 'E' in Fairfax

Officer Dan Johnson doesn't spend his day busting drug dealers or arresting killers. But as a member of the Fairfax County Police Department's motor carrier safety unit, he believes he is saving lives.

Case in point: a mud-spattered truck full of dirt that his unit flagged down on a recent afternoon. After an hour's inspection, the team registered seven violations, including faulty brakes, a flat tire and a steering wheel so jammed that a member of Johnson's team had to wrench it to get it to turn.

"This truck is probably 60,000 pounds," he said. "Imagine he was going 50, 55 miles per hour and he comes up on a red light. He might not be able to stop."

As Fairfax prepares to slim down its budget this spring, officials will seek to protect core services. But many extras that might be sacrosanct during better times are at risk.

The truck inspection unit is among hundreds of program cuts that County Executive Anthony H. Griffin has proposed as part of a $3.3 billion spending plan that includes layoffs, a freeze in the school allocation and an increase in the property tax rate.

Among the most controversial of the proposed cuts will be cherished public safety programs that have helped cement Fairfax's reputation as one of the safest communities in the region.

According to a 2006 county study, violent crime in Fairfax has declined substantially from the 1970s, even as the population has more than doubled to more than 1 million. Despite its size, the county has one of the lowest crime rates in the region -- a function both of its relative wealth and its embrace of costly public safety programs that go well beyond fighting fires and arresting crooks.

During the next two months, the County Board of Supervisors will consider shrinking the ranks of police and firefighters by nearly 200 uniformed positions. Imperiled are two of the fire department's "heavy rescue" units, which respond to major car crashes and other catastrophes. The board will weigh yanking the police officers stationed at middle schools and shopping malls, among other cuts.

"It's not only concerning but saddening that everything that we have here seems to be now slowly ebbing away because of the budget cuts," said Christine Clark, president of the Rachel Carson Middle School PTA.

Clark said it would be a blow to lose the school resource officer at the Herndon school. Although it was once strange and controversial to have police walking the halls of a middle school, advocates say the program has become essential to anti-gang efforts and promotes a positive image of law enforcement.

Also potentially on the chopping block are the police officers stationed at Fair Oaks, Tysons and Springfield malls. Of particular concern might be Springfield Mall, where a 60-year-old woman was abducted last year. She was killed when one of her assailants crashed the car they were in.

Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully) said he will oppose many of the proposed cuts to public safety, which he said is a core duty of county government. But he is conflicted about the motor carrier unit. Ensuring truck safety is primarily the job of the Virginia State Police, he said.