A Penny for Your Thoughts

News of Greater Falls Church

Ten cents. That’s the recommendation by Fairfax County Executive Anthony H. Griffin to reduce the real estate tax rate for the Fiscal Year 2006 county budget. If the recommendation is adopted by the Board of Supervisors, the tax rate would be reduced from the current $1.13 to $1.03 beginning on July 1. The $1.13 rate already reflects a gradual decrease of 10 cents in the real estate tax rate during the past three fiscal years, so the additional decrease would bring the total to 20 cents in four years.

The Board of Supervisors is committed to reducing the real estate rate by the recommended 10 cents, or even more. Each year, when the County Executive presents his recommended budget, Board members spend several weeks tearing the budget apart, finding potential savings, considering requests for new or expanded programs, and marking up the budget for final adoption in late April. In his presentation to the Board, Mr. Griffin noted the county’s commitment “to preserve the high quality of life and exceptional services that residents have come to expect, while recognizing the essential challenge of weighing these services against taxpayers’ ability to pay for them.”

Housing assessments in Fairfax County have risen by double-digits for the past five years, reflecting a “hot” real estate market. Many residents remember, though, a previous “hot” market in the late 80s and early 90s, leading the Board of Supervisors to reduce the real estate tax by 20 cents over two years, only to see housing values drop drastically a year later. Negative revenue growth required draconian budget cuts and a significant increase in the real estate tax rate. Currently, there are some signs that the housing market may be overpriced and that future growth will adjust downward, so the Board must be prudent in its decisions to reduce the tax rate. I well remember the first budget after I joined the Board. Many observers called it the “doomsday” budget because the FY 97 revenue picture was so bleak and the structural deficit so difficult to get under control. The Board cut tens of millions of dollars from the budget, reduced staff, and raised the tax rate that year. It’s still painful to recall!

Since then, the Board has instituted several steps to try to balance revenues and expenditures. Each year, the Board establishes budget guidelines that limit the amount of growth to the increase in revenue, including the transfer to the school system. We established a Revenue Stabilization Fund as a mechanism for maintaining a balanced budget without resorting to tax increases. The Board also worked very hard to get legislation through the Virginia General Assembly which would allow further diversifica-tion of revenues. Last year, legislation was adopted that allowed an increase in the cigarette tax, the transient occupancy tax, and the recordation tax. These increases in revenue, often paid by non-county residents, will help decrease the tax burden on the homeowner.

Public hearings on the proposed budget will be held on April 4, 5, and 6 at the Fairfax County Government Center in Fairfax , beginning at 7:00 p.m. each evening, and will be televised live on Channel 16. To sign up as a speaker, call the Clerk to the Board at 703/324-3151. The Mason District Spring Town Meeting on the budget will be held on Tuesday, March 29, from 7 to 9 p.m. , at the George Mason Regional Library, 7001 Little River Turnpike in Annandale .

Penny Gross is the Mason District Supervisor on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. She may be emailed here.