Burdened by preliminary projections of a revenue gap for the coming fiscal year of between $2.7 and $5.4 million due to wider conditions impacting its local economy, the Falls Church City Council voted Monday to adopt a “guidance” document for upcoming budget deliberations filled with cautionary language.

In its background statement to the resolution, the Council noted, “The revenue forecast this year is marked by an unusually high degree of uncertainty in the national and regional economy and in the national political climate.”

It goes on, “Given the amount of policy change happening at the federal level, which can have a significant impact on the Washington area regional economy, historical data is less useful as a point of reference when trying to predict future years. A more pragmatic approach is to provide a range of where revenue may land, and refine the forecast as additional revenue data becomes available.

“The range used is a five percent annual projection both upward and downward to provide a reference of where we may expect revenue to be.”

In this context, then, the Council adopted unanimously a guidance resolution that begins this way:, :

“The City Council seeks a FY2027 budget development process that advances the City vision, Council strategic priorities and initiatives, and comprehensive plan, supports the City’s excellent schools and excellent government services, and adheres to adopted fiscal policies that keep City finances on a sound footing…

“The national capital region is facing rising unemployment due to federal workforce and contractor layoffs, the longest federal government shutdown in history, and high prices for necessities such as groceries, housing, healthcare and daycare. This introduces new difficulties for City households and businesses as well as uncertainty for government revenue projections and operational planning. These factors require the Ciy to approach the upcoming budget cycle with empathy, heightened caution and a sharpened focus on core City services.”

The statement goes on to list 13 items constituting its guidance to all who will be involved in the coming budget deliberation process, including the City schools who have already indicated they will need a five percent increase in the City’s annual transfer to them.

The 13 points begin with the commitment to “continue the spirit of cooperation and collaboration between the general government and the schools in the development of the annual budget and capital improvement program.”

Next, it notes the “expectation that real estate tax rates will be adjusted to protect homeowners from significant growth in their annual tax bill” noting that 40 percent of the City’s revenues come from residential real estate taxes. It notes that “other tax and revenue options:” may be considered by the Council in this regard.

It calls on the City staff to provide spending reduction options, and adds that the budget should “ensure competitive compensation for employees, provide funding for professional development and training, and foster initiatives to promote retention and recruitment.”

It says the budget should “include ongoing funds for paving and sidewalk improvements, with the associated walking and hiking facilities called for in adopted plans.:

It adds that the budget should include provision for tax relief, for public safety and emergency management including for competitive compensation to attract and retain qualified personnel, for continued rent and food assistance as needed, initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, changes as necessary to the City’s building permit fee rates that have been unchanged since 2016, for adjusted utility fees as needed, acknowledgment of the pension expenses avoided by the investment of a portion of the water sale proceeds into the pension fund and for “public information that explains the budget clearly.”

Councilman Dave Snyder brought up the Weldon Cooper analysis reported in last week’s News-Press that indicated for every dollar paid by Fairfax County taxpayers into Virginia state coffers, only 50 cents comes back to the county. This imbalance is even greater for Falls Church, he stated, and urged that discussions ensue to address this imbalance.

Mayor Letty Hardi said she wants to see comparisons of the City’s budget situation with those of its neighbors over the last decade. Indications are that as tough as the situation is for Falls Church, it is significantly worse for Arlington and Fairfax counties, because Falls Church has been the beneficiary of its own aggressive development during the last two decades. .