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County board opts for $1.21 tax rate
Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart (R) called it “probably the toughest budget that this board has ever faced,” but a consensus was surprisingly easy Tuesday as supervisors finalized their spending plan for the coming year.An official vote isn't expected until April 28 but based on Tuesday's discussions, it appears as though county homeowners will get a significant tax cut and some key social programs will keep their funding.
Under the final draft of the budget, the real estate tax rate is set at $1.212 per $100 of assessed value. That's an average tax cut of $430 per home, Stewart said, though he warned that not every homeowner will see that much of a break.
“That cut in the average tax bill is going to vary significantly,” he said.
Homeowners whose properties have lost the most value will see the biggest tax cut while those whose homes have held their value will get less of a break.
And because commercial values haven't dropped as much as residential values, the average business will see a 6-percent tax increase.
That $1.212 tax rate is the maximum that the board could adopt. The county budget was based on a lower rate of $1.198, which would have given homeowners a bigger tax cut but at the expense of social programs the supervisors deemed vital.
Because they've opted for the higher rate, supervisors were able to restore funding for programs that had been on the chopping block.
The Cooperative Extension's 4-H program and parenting classes will be fully funded, as will its nutrition program. The county registrar will also get the electronic poll books needed to help reduce long lines on Election Day. And the Flory Small Business Center will get $220,000 in county funds, which is $10,000 less than in previous years. That support comes with a cost though – the supervisors will likely demand a position on the center's board of directors.
The Department of Social Services will also get the $334,000 in additional funds that it needs to help keep up with a growing caseload in tough economic times.
And the supervisors opted to put aside $1.8 million because the county has applied for federal economic stimulus money that would allow 25 additional police officers to be hired. Those officers were expected to be hired two years from now but if the stimulus application is approved, the positions could come online immediately.
The new positions would cost the county $1.8 million right away because the federal funds will cover only a part of their salaries; the county would have to pay for the rest of their salaries plus their training and equipment. Since the board was planning on hiring those officers eventually anyway, picking them up immediately will mean more money is needed now, but it won't cost the county any more in the long run.
It is not yet clear whether the county's application will be approved.
Supervisors also agreed to kick in smaller amounts, ranging from $4,800 to $161,000, for programs including the Prince William Area Free Clinic, the Spinaweb program for the mentally disabled, the Independence Empowerment Center, Pharmacy Central, indigent burials, the Voluntary Action Center, Arc of Greater Prince William and the Quality Child Care Partnership.
Most of those programs had received county money in previous years but were slated to lose their funding this year because of the budget cuts. Tuesday's decision restored funding that would have been lost but for the most part, did not represent new funding.
The supervisors also agreed to give $30,000 to the Bluebird Bus program that provides day trips and tours for senior citizens. The program has already lost most of its county funding but the county was still paying the salary of a tour coordinator. That position was eliminated under the proposed budget and the $30,000 supervisors have restored will allow the Area Agency on Aging to contract out the coordinating job at a significant savings while still keeping the program up and running.
In addition, the board members kicked $30,000 back to the Area Agency on Aging to transport seniors from their homes to the county's senior centers. The transportation program had lost most of its funding under the proposed budget.
One item the board rejected was a request by Coles Supervisor Marty Nohe (R) to raise the threshold for the business and professional and occupational license tax. Currently, businesses making more than $100,000 per year have to pay the BPOL tax, which Nohe referred to as the “entrepreneurship tax.” He asked supervisors to raise that threshold to $250,000 in order to encourage new entrepreneurs and help existing businesses.
However, the supervisors turned him down on a tie vote. Several said they wanted more information about how that change would affect the budget in the out years while others expressed concern that collecting less BPOL money would mean the county was more dependent on real estate taxes.
Instead, the board will hold a work session later in the year to discuss how best to help small businesses in the county and the BPOL issue will be reconsidered then.
They also considered putting in $100,000 for additional security at the Silver Lake park site in Haymarket.
“There are still issues with the land out there that are associated with vandalism and security,” said Brentsville Supervisor Wally Covington (R). “It's kept Public Works hopping and jumping.”
However, the board is going to take up the Silver Lake issue in general on May 19 so a decision about security and funding has been postponed until then.
After supervisors finished hashing out the funding details, they were left with about $1.1 million. That money will be put into the county's revenue stabilization fund, some of which could be used later for Silver Lake or other projects.
The board will officially vote on the budget and tax rate on April 28 but as of Tuesday, it seemed likely to be accepted as-is. Nohe said he is “undecided” on the spending plan and Occoquan Supervisor Mike May (R) said he is a “shaky yes” but the other six supervisors were in agreement.
“This job is so much easier when we're on the same page,” said Woodbridge Supervisor Frank Principi (D).
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