Thursday, May 2, 2013
Officials will likely attempt to put a meals tax referendum to voters in future elections, though the proposal has had little success in the past.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is once again considering a meals tax — but the proposal has a long way to go before it is put to voters in a future election. For the eighth time during his tenure, Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) proposed this week that a meals tax referendum appear on ballots during the election. In his resolution, Hyland estimated the tax could generate between $80 and $100 million annually. Such revenue, which Hyland calculated with a hypothetical 4 percent meals tax, might allow the Board to alleviate stress on the county’s real estate base, which just saw an increase in tax this budget cycle. Tell us: Do you support a meals tax in Fairfax County? Share your thoughts in the comments. “As was clearly …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
In final FY 2014 spending plan, homeowners will pay $216 more on average; public safety positions will be restored.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors formally adopted Tuesday a $7 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2014, a plan they call "conservative," thanks to sequestration and other uncertainties. The plan will hike the average county homeowner’s real estate taxes by more than $200 on average, increasing the real estate tax rate from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.085. More Patch Coverage: Fairfax County 1-Cent Tax Increase: Penny for Your Thoughts Though the board approved the budget during a markup session last week, it finalized the plan with a 9-1 vote Tuesday morning. Supervisor Pat Herrity was the sole vote against the budget. With the slow recovery from the recession and the impacts of sequestration hurting the commercial real …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Do you think you can balance the Fairfax County budget in a better way? A new tool lets residents design their own budget package.
Residents who think they can balance a budget better than their elected officials will get the chance to prove it with a new tool introduced earlier this week by a Fairfax County supervisor. Supervisor John Cook (R-Braddock) is launching a program over the next two weeks that allows residents to build their own Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan based on the current package proposed by County Executive Ed Long. Long has proposed a $7 billion budget that raises the real estate tax rate and eliminates about 90 county jobs. Long has also released a list of reductions to agencies, as well as a list of reductions considered but not taken. Using those lists, the tool asks residents to identify spending increases or reductions they would make in …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
“We’re just growing too much,” Superintendent Jack Dale said Tuesday as talks began between county supervisors and school board members.
Fairfax County is facing its own budget woes for Fiscal Year 2014: Property taxes could rise as much as 2 cents per $100 of assessed value, bumping the average homeowner's tax bill, and County Executive Ed Long has said raises for employees aren't likely. But the county's struggles could also make Fairfax County Public Schools come up short on its own $2.5 billion advertised budget, officials said Tuesday as they met to discuss budget issues and priorities. It doesn't appear the county, which gives an annual transfer to the school board, can afford to give the board as much as it asked for this winter. In order to close a $169 million shortfall and prepare for the still-unknown effects of sequestration, County Executive Ed Long has …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Tax hike, no employee raises are some of the issues supervisors will tackle in committee meeting for Fiscal Year 2014 spending plan
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will begin to dig into the meat of the Fiscal Year 2014 budget during its first budget committee meeting Tuesday afternoon. p Supervisors will gather at 1 p.m. Tuesday in conference rooms 9 and 10 at Fairfax County Government Center to begin hammering out the details of County Executive Ed Long’s $7 billion advertised budget, which features no raises for employees and a slightly higher tax rate. The committee is also expected to go over the $2.5 billion Fairfax County Public Schools budget for fiscal 2014. School Board members requested $95 million from supervisors, a 5.5-percent increase in transfer, for a total of $1.78 billion. But Long was only able to give schools a 2 percent increase in …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Supervisors advertise a higher real estate tax of $1.095 per $100 of assessed value, a 2-cent increase from the current rate but not as high as one supervisor hoped.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has set the FY 2014 budget’s advertised real estate tax rate at $1.095 per $100 of assessed value, a 2-cent increase from the current rate of $1.075. Supervisors approved the rate in a 9-1 vote Tuesday after killing an amendment from Supervisor Gerry Hyland (D-Mount Vernon) to raise it another 1.5 cents to $1.11 per $100 of assessed value. Hyland’s proposal would have hiked the average resident’s taxes $332, but was shot down in a 8-2 vote against the amendment. Once the Board sets an advertised tax rate, it can’t legally adopt one any higher. Hyland argued that with the unknown effects of sequestration on the horizon, the Board should advertise a rate that would give it room to adjust to cuts and …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
A $374,000 reduction could make some titles less available at local branches.
Fairfax County Public Libraries are ready to reduce some book availability if cuts in the county's proposed FY 2014 budget are approved in April, officials say. In his advertised $7 billion budget package presented to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, County Executive Ed Long proposed removing $374,000 from the library’s collections budget, which it uses to buy books and stock the shelves. “We are aware of the advertised budget that the county exec put out and we have thought about how we would implement the reductions to the collections budget that he stated,” said Mary Mulrenan, the public library marketing director, adding nothing is final, but "if it went through as is we are prepared to make the changes necessary.” This is not the …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Sully District supervisor and school board member will hold a meeting on March 13 at Rocky Run Middle School.
Sully District Supervisor Michael Frey and School Board member Kathy Smith will host a town hall meeting on the Fairfax County budget March 13. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Little Theatre in Rocky Run Middle School, Chantilly. Fairfax County and Fairfax County Public Schools management and budget staff will also co-host along with the Western Fairfax County Citizens Association and Sully District Council. County executive Ed Long’s advertised budget includes a 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate, which is projected to raise nearly $42 million in count revenue. When coupled with increases in real estate assessments, the proposed rate would cost the average county household about $262 more in real estate taxes. The mean real …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Parks and libraries would see cuts; funding to Fairfax County Public Schools would increase by 2 percent.
Fairfax County Executive Ed Long unveiled Tuesday his $7 billion FY2014 budget proposal—a plan that raises real estate taxes and cuts funds to parks and libraries, among other services. Long’s advertised budget includes a 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate, which is projected to raise nearly $42 million in count revenue. But when coupled with increases in real estate assessments, the proposed rate would cost the average county household about $262 more in real estate taxes. The mean residential real estate tax assessment for the Centreville area is projected to rise by 3.14 percent. Revenue projections are generally flat for the coming year, showing a slight decrease in growth from 2.79 percent in FY2013 to 2.77 percent in FY2014…
The county faces budget shortfalls of $169 million and $274 million in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, respectively.
Fairfax County Executive Ed Long will unveil the county’s proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget this Tuesday. The county faces budget shortfalls of $169 million and $274 million in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, respectively. In order to better prepare for the future, he says, Long will present a multi-year budget plan for FY2014-2015 during the Board of Supervisors' regularly scheduled Feb. 26 meeting. Those shortfalls are based on keeping the tax rate unchanged while also increasing the transfer to Fairfax County Public Schools. Fairfax County School Board officials intend to ask for an increase of 5.5 percent – or $92.4 million – for a total transfer of $1.77 billion. During a joint meeting of the two boards in November 2012, Long included an …
Robert Dyer
8:03 pm on Thursday, May 2, 2013
No, I don't support a "Meals Tax" in Fairfax County or the increase in real estate tax. I support significant spending cuts over the next ten years. more ›