Supervisors approve 4-cent tax increase
The FY 2017 Fairfax County budget adopted by the Board of Supervisors April 26 increases the real estate tax rate by 4 cents and gives a much-needed boost to the public schools.
The tax rate for residential properties will rise from $1.09 to $1.13 per $100 of the assessed value. Homeowners on average will pay an additional $304 in real estate taxes next year. The increase will generate an $93 million for the county.
The budget, which takes effect July 1, will increase funding for Fairfax County Public Schools by more than 5 percent over the amount in the budget for the current year. The BoS voted to approve an additional $33.6 million for FCPS over what was in County Executive Ed Long’s proposed budget.
FCPS will receive $2.12 billion, which is 52.7 percent of the county’s $4.01 billion general fund budget. One cent of the real estate tax increase will be dedicated to FCPS.
Other county funding – for programs like school crossing guards, school resource officers, and health programs – also benefit public schools. When those funds are combined with direct funding to FCPS, county support for the school system amounts to 54.9 percent of the general fund budget.
According to a statement from school board chair Pat Hynes, the budget approved by the BoS “includes the greatest increase in the transfer to the schools in a decade and reflects a shared commitment to reinvesting in our great school system.” The funding increase will help FCPS “turn the corner after eight years of austerity.”
The Virginia General Assembly also increased school funding, resulting in an additional $16.8 million for FCPS.
The county budget provides $7.5 million to fund recommendations by the Ad-Hoc Police Practices Review Commission, including $3.89 million and 19 positions for the Diversion First program, a collaborative effort to reduce the number of people with mental illness in the county jail.
13 responses to “Supervisors approve 4-cent tax increase”
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FCPS will not be satisfied until they have absorbed 100% of the county budget, leaving no money for anything else.
Amen to that
And they're not done with you yet. The restaurant tax they're pushing should annually cost you at least as much as the additional $300 – $400 per year in additional real estate taxes you'll be paying in perpetuity.
When will county programs that serve all residents such as libraries and parks get a "much-needed boost." They contribute to the quality of life in Fairfax County just as much as the purportedly malnourished FCPS.
At least three of the current supervisors were in favor of running up the real estate tax rate by six cents to fund everyone's utopian vision of what Fairfax needs. So, if you're really committed to ramping up taxes, you should contact one of them.
For FY2016, 63.9% of Fairfax County's budget funding comes from real estate taxes and 2.6% comes from the state.
Before criticizing the Supervisors for raising real estate property taxes to help meet the county budget, it is important to realize that Fairfax County only controls two sources of revenue streams to meet its budget: 1) real estate tax and 2) personal property / car tax (and the state is encroaching on the car tax).
The Fairfax County Public School system receives the largest budget disbursement at 52.7% (FY2016). This percentage has grown over time because, for more than a decade, Fairfax County has had to increase its share of funding towards education because the state has been pulling back its share.
References:
* Go to page 18 to see the revenue sources & page 19 to see the disbursements: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dmb/fy2016/adopted/overview/07_budget_summary.pdf
* FY2016 Adopted Budget Plan: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dmb/fy2016/adopted/fy2016-adopted-budget.htm
* A recent discussion on Fairfax County with Bulova, Connolley and Clower as guests: http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2016-04-25/economic-impact-of-an-increasingly-diverse-fairfax-county
Another $300/yr to send illegals to school while the rest of live with trashy streets, bad transit and a host of other poor quality of life issues……unbelievable.
County should change its name from Fairfax to Badfax
Petition the courts for an order reversing the Supreme Court's decision requiring school districts to educate illegals. If you want to try something faster, vote for the guy who wants to restore this nation's borders. You know who I'm talking about. But, don't blame the county for something that it cannot control.
Well paying more money to live in a trash heap without an economic plan to boost Fairfax out of its decline while spending more money on people who are not legally here is just plain stupid.
BoS should build one big homeless center on a landfill and let these people matriculate back into our community once they have become legalized, socialized and contribute to the economic welfare of the County. That is until BoS (Board of Stupidity) figure out how to compete with DC and Arlington in their economic boom and then I would be all for helping these unfortunate people.
matriculate
Adam – anonymous wants them to go to college.
Yea, if it was up to FCPS they would be sending all of them to the university for PHDs
Why would they raise the tax rate when the valuations are going up and there are more buildings to tax every year?