County budget would raise the tax rate
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| County Executive Bryan Hill (right) presents the 2019 advertised budget to the Board of Supervisors. On the left is FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand. |
The proposed fiscal year 2019 budget presented by Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill to the Board of Supervisors Feb. 20 would increase the real estate tax rate by 2.5 cents.
That would raise the current rate of $1.13 per $100 of assessed value to $1.155. That would result in an average tax bill increase of $268 for homeowners.
In related news, the county announced Feb. 20 that real estate assessments for 2018 are up an average of 2.17 for homeowners.
The advertised general fund budget for Fairfax County calls for $4.29 billion, an increase of $192.3 million (nearly 4.7 percent) for FY 2019. When other appropriated funds, such as federal and state grants are included, the total proposed budget is $8.42 billion.
Hill recommends transferring $2.26 billion to Fairfax County Public Schools. That’s a 4.38 percent increase over the transfer amount in the 2018 budget. The school board had requested the additional funds to support its top priority: increasing teacher salaries and benefits.
FCPS receives almost 72 percent of its funding from the county government. Transfers to the school system account for 52.8 percent of the county’s general fund budget.
The advertised county budget would fully fund employee compensation for both uniformed public safety and general county employees.
It would include increased funding for the new South County Police Station, gang prevention, the Diversion First program (which provides mental health treatment rather than incarceration), the Opioid Task Force, expansion of early childhood education, expansion of school-age childcare, and services for older adults.
The BoS is scheduled to adopt a final budget for 2019 on May 1. Public hearings will be April 10-12.
20 responses to “County budget would raise the tax rate”
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And for that we will continue to have filthy streets filled with overgrown weeds in the gutters, potholes and litter. Take a drive into Arlington or Alexandria and you could eat out of their gutters. With that extra tax will that continue to decrease the quality of education. Id like to know what we are getting for our money and that the quality of our life, landscape, safety and education will improve. Otherwise take your tax hike and shuv it up Trumps you know what. I knew we would end up paying for local mismanagement and Federal mismanaged new tax laws. We always do, the perfect middle class killer.
Please stop comparing a city that is 15 square miles to one that is over 400. It's really easy to have nice gutters when you're only about 5 miles long on a side. Also, about half of your ABSOLUTELY LUDICROUS INCREASE of $21/month is covering teacher salaries to NOT EVEN KEEP PACE WITH THE MARKET, so maybe stop being such a goddamn grinch. If you hate it so much move to Loudoun oh wait you don't want to do that because you're houses appreciation is off the charts.
"…your houses [sic] appreciation is off the charts." Seriously? I moved to this area in 2009 and live in a nice middle class neighborhood and guess what — the home prices in this my neighborhood have either stayed the same or fallen. Where are you getting this "off the charts" idea?
Adam I would gladly pay the increase in taxes if I saw an appreciable return and not just more social pandering to illegals. Put it to transit, schools, increase teachers and public safety officers salaries, rebuilding our infrastructure to lure young middle class back int the area. But no your elected official chose to use these taxes to offset the social services that have increased because the county has become a haven to illegals. Why don't you just put your money in a barrel and drop it off in Culmore where you will be appreciated and given a salute my MS 13.
I appreciate your sic jab. If I lose one apostrophe for every 3 beers I consume, I'm doing well. Still, we're all very grateful to have you point that out. Moving past grammar corrections – I've done it on this blog too many times so I'm just not going to do it again. If you really believe that fairfax county median home prices haven't far surpassed the national average in the past 10 years, I can't convince you of anything. Use google, I'm not doing it any more.
@944 – it IS going to the school and salaries. Did you actually read the budget?
Adam the tax money is going to educating half of Central America and then some. The schools are heavily burdened by your MS 13 illegal buddies. In the meantime we get the bills our kids get the shaft in a poorer quality education and your elected officials get votes.
If I am reading this correctly, home owners are being taxed twice again. The purposed real estate tax is increasing by 2.5 cents per $100 tax rate and the real estate assessment on home price also increased on the average 2.17 percent. Home owners are carrying the tax burden in Fairfax County. If I recall correctly, this double taxation already happened a couple of years ago to support the school system.
It is time to bring back the meal tax to support the county school system. I paid meal tax in Arlington, Vienna and other jurisdictions when I am dinning there. This is only fair to tax folks form other areas to eat in Fairfax.
Completely agree with meal tax
The meals tax proposal was defeated. Deal with it. – Sparky
The meal tax proposal can be put back on the ballot. It seemed Fairfax residents like to support the neighboring counties to have better roads, better teachers, schools and social services by defeating the meal tax proposal. Here is how much meal tax you would pay if you dine out in the neighboring counties.
Alexandria: 4 percent
Arlington: 4 percent
Falls Church: 4 percent
Fairfax City: 4 percent
Herndon: 2.5 percent
Vienna: 3 percent
District of Columbia: 10 percent
If the meal tax is passed, here is what Fairfax County would get out of it
70% to the School System
30% to Services, Capital improvements (fire/police stations, libraries, schools) and property tax relief.
Stats are from Fairfax County Website.
Anonymous2/22/18, 2:48 PM Those stats and much more were presented and extensively debated here and elsewhere prior to the referendum. Rehashing the same arguments is pointless. Even Chairman Bulova has conceded that this proposal is dead. So, once again, deal with it. – Sparky
The citizens of Fairfax County have already voted the meal tax twice. They don't want it. I don't live in Fairfax County but I eat in the County about 5 times a week.
Farifax just wants to chase its already tax burdened homeowners to another jurisdiction so that it can be infamously know as one big illegal swamp!
Your fully burdened tax rate is no worse than the rest of the country adjusted for regional factors.
What in the world is that supposed to mean??
Really remarkable that nobody has pointed out the obvious–our county like so many other jurisdictions has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. $5.2 billion? Until we have politicians brave enough to address the overspending by our leadership, taxes will continue to increase, whether via real estate taxes or creation of a new tax. Again we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.
I always love the 'story' Fairfax County tries to sell about these increases. Our 2018 assessment jumped up almost $24,000, an increase of 3.45% …. not 2.17% as the 'story' says. If the increase in the tax rate sticks, our 2018 tax bill will jump by $442 …. not $268 as the 'story' says. This is excessive and uncontrolled spending on the part of Fairfax County.
We plan to do an appeal. Deadline is May 1, 2018. Here's the link to the appeal form:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/taxes/sites/taxes/files/assets/documents/pdf/real-estate/2018-appeal-application.pdf
You have to remember that the BOS is on a diet of stupid pills. If they would fine the heck out of all the pigs for property maintenance infractions, overcrowding/boarding houses, Maryland tag holders, they actually may meet the budget demands of the FFX education needs and then some.
But they pander to the FFX County attorneys that live in toni neighborhoods and don't have to put up with all the crap the neighborhoods are having to deal with such as illegals packing single family houses and turning communities into slums. And then to boot the BOS wants the middle class to pick up the tab to educate the illegals and keep the status quo.
The only wall that is needed is a WALL around the FFX Government Center to keep the BOS locked up.
Up “an average of” 2.17%