Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova and School Board Chair Sandy Evans issued a joint statement this week in support of the measure on the ballot in Fairfax County next month to allow for a meals tax in the county. In their joint statement they said, “The meals tax is intended to diversify county revenue and to supplement and not supplant support for school and county services. The meals tax would create a new revenue source, paid by diners in Fairfax County who are county residents, tourists, and workers who live in neighboring jurisdictions.

The School Board has committed that its share, estimated to be almost $70 million in new funding, will be used primarily to address teachers’ salaries, which have lagged behind neighboring communities. Almost $30 million would be available to address general county services or capital improvements such as in public safety, mental health services, libraries, and parks, as well as providing for property tax relief. The meals tax, if approved, would not be levied in the Town of Clifton, or in the Towns of Herndon and Vienna, where a meals tax has already been implemented.”