Wednesday, May 1, 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. “As was clearly evidenced during our budget discussions, the county is still over reliant on the real estate …
Monday, April 29, 2013
County residents say they are skeptical, but not surprised about the real estate tax increase in the FY2014 budget. What do you think?
The average Fairfax County homeowner’s real estate tax bill will increase by more $200 when the Board of Supervisors approves the Fiscal Year 2014 budget next week, begging the question: How do residents feel about it? Brigitte, a Tysons resident who only provided her first name, wasn’t particularly concerned about the increase she told Patch on Thursday outside the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library.. “It doesn’t really bother me that much,” she said. She was, however, much more concerned with the increase in her real estate assessment due to the Silver Line, which is scheduled to open at the end of December 2012. Brigitte said she didn’t think the cost of the Silver Line project was worth the benefit. “As a resident here, all we get as a …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Supervisors approve amendment to reduce average tax bill hike Tuesday but leave employee pay and schools funding unchanged.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a series of amendments to the Fiscal Year 2014 budget Tuesday including one that lowers the proposed real estate tax rate increase by a penny, a move that will cost the county $20 million in revenue. Supervisors voted 9-1 to adopt the amendments, noting that in a particularly tough budget year, the package was the best they were going to get. “I wince now when I read through my remarks from last year’s mark-up that we were ‘hopefully beginning to see the dawn of a new day,’” Chairman Sharon Bulova said in a statement. “The Fiscal Year 2014 budget is one that makes no one happy. It is, however, a responsible fiscal plan that reflects our current difficult situation.” The budget plan will …
Monday, April 22, 2013
Employee pay an issue as the Board of Supervisors drafts amendments to the FY2014 budget.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors have begun adjusting the Fiscal Year 2014 budget package by lowering the proposed tax rate by a penny. But supervisors still didn't back increases in funding to public schools and employee compensation. During a meeting of the Board of Supervisors Budget Committee on Friday, Chairman Sharon Bulova presented a list of amendments to spending plan. The Board will vote on a proposed real estate tax rate of $1.085 per $100 of assessed value — a penny lower than the $1.095 rate proposed by County Executive Ed Long in his original plan. The adjustment is expected to cut the county revenue by about $20 million. County employees advocated for higher pay during public hearings earlier this month, but a lack of…
Friday, April 12, 2013
The lack of merit increases makes life harder for the department’s new talent, employees said Thursday night.
Fairfax County public safety employees advocated for better pay Thursday during the final public hearing on the county’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan. County Executive Ed Long’s budget proposal does not include pay increases for county employees, nor does it fund merit increases for public safety employees. Earlier in the week, county employees made their dissatisfaction heard – Thursday night, police officers and firefighters joined them. Chris Cochrane, president of the Fairfax Coalition of Police and a 25-year veteran of the force, said police had been happy to find merit increases restored in last year’s budget. But many were surprised and angered to find that they had been halted once again this year. “It is tough to consider that …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Residents and stakeholders advocated for human services and employee compensation funding on Wednesday night.
Human services were on most people’s minds Wednesday night during the second marathon public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan. A majority of the 50 or so speakers at the second of three hearings this week urged the Board of Supervisors to restore funding to services for the county’s most vulnerable residents. County Executive Ed Long’s $7 billion budget proposal includes an $8 million reserve to address cuts from sequestration and other federal reductions, but many human services officials say more is needed. Read: Fairfax County Employees to Supervisors: 'Value us!' The county’s Human Services Council has recommended supervisors approve an additional $3.3 million in funding, $1.25 of which would be put in a fund used …
Employees have 8.66 percent less purchasing power than they did six years ago, they said, which may cause them to leave for jurisdictions with better compensation plans.
Fairfax County faces a number of budget challenges in Fiscal Year 2014. But top on the minds of county employees, they said at a public hearing with the county Board of Supervisors: better, fairer compensation. County Executive Ed Long's $7 billion FY2014 budget proposal raises real estate taxes and cuts funds to parks and libraries, among other services. It also includes a 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095, expected to raise millions in revenue. But the budget doesn't include market rate adjustments to county employee salaries. The school system hopes to be able to give employees an increase of just under 2 percent. Randy Creller, chairman of the Employees Advisory Council, …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
School board asks Fairfax County supervisors for more money Tuesday to deal with growing pains and teacher pay.
Fairfax County Executive Ed Long has recommended giving the county's school system a 2 percent increase in funding over the transfer it received last year. But at Tuesday night’s public hearing on the county’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan, schools officials and advocates said it still wasn't enough. Fairfax County School Board Chairman Ilryong Moon kicked off the first day of public input on County Executive Ed Long’s proposed $7 billion budget plan, asking the Board of Supervisors for a higher transfer to the school system. Long’s budget, which raises real estate taxes and cuts funds to parks, libraries and some other services, provides the school system with $1.72 billion – approximately $62 million less than the school board was hoping …
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Hunter Mill District officials are looking for feedback Saturday on the county's proposed $7 billion plan for Fiscal Year 2014.
Hunter Mill Supervisor Cathy Hudgins will be on hand Saturday at the Vienna Community Center seeking residents input on how the county will spend its money next year — part of a series of town hall meetings this week to discuss the county’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget plan. The meeting begins at 10 a.m. at the Vienna Community Center. County Executive Ed Long’s $7 billion budget package, proposed in late February, would raise the real estate tax rate from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095, as well as cut funding from parks, libraries and other county services. The increase in the real estate tax rate would raise a projected $42 million in revenue but would burden county taxpayers with $262 more in annual real estate taxes. This week’…
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Superintendent Jack Dale, some school board members say lower-than-expected increase in transfer from the county won't meet classroom needs.
Fairfax County schools officials said Tuesday they were surprised at County Executive Ed Long's lower-than-expected proposed increase in transfer to the school system, which will leave school board $62 million short on their own Fiscal Year 2014 budget. Just more than half of the county's revenues go toward Fairfax County Public Schools each year; nearly three quarters of the school system's annual budget relies on a transfer from the county. Long's proposed $7 billion budget includes an increase of 2 percent in transfer to Fairfax County Public Schools, or $33.7 million. Schools officials requested $95 million, a 5.7 percent increase in transfer, for a total of $1.78 billion in FY 2014, largely to fund what is expected to be an …
DocAce
4:57 pm on Saturday, May 11, 2013
HARRY!! Thanks for the email address chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov I am going to use it to send an email saying that I DO NOT WANT THE TAX AND WILL WORK TO GET HIM REPLACED WHEN THE TIME COMES!! Thanks again!! Meal tax = just another tax and spend strategy that fails to address the reckless spending problem every government has. This is not the last just a stop in a long line of future tax hike … more ›