It has been said that the most difficult task in the public eye is related to “snowstorms and school superintendents.” Decisions about school closures seem to result in a 100% chance of making at least 25% of the people very unhappy. I have much sympathy for school superintendents, but based on the recent snowstorm, I may nominate a new “most difficult task” — being responsible for clearing snow after a storm.

Last week’s column began with a reference to the snowstorm getting started in the Arlington area, with an initial forecast of 18 to 22 inches of snow. Well, it’s a week later, and the one thing certain about this storm is that it has brought a new word into our everyday lexicon: “snowcrete.”

I will leave it to those with more expertise in the snow removal industry to voice their opinions about how well the Arlington government, and our community, responded to the thick coating of ice we were left with (and likely will still have by the time you read this). I thought our family’s approach to our sidewalk situation was a smart one — shovel a few inches at a time, take a rest, go back out, repeat as necessary. But that left us with the most impenetrable ice I have ever tried to deal with. We finally cracked the case, so to speak, but it wasn’t easy.

It also seemed to me the snow plows did a good job (sure, one of them placed a decent-sized ice boulder in the opening created for one of our cars, but I did not take it personally — snow plowing is not a job I would ever want).

Normal life is slowly returning, and it turns my attention to other tasks entrusted to the county government. The first attention-getter came with the news that the 2026 real estate assessment statements have been mailed. This is a matter that affects individuals and businesses that own real property in Arlington — depending, of course, not only on assessed value but also on the ultimate tax rate passed by the County Board.

To be more accurate, assessed values and tax rates affect everyone in the county, even renters, as any tax increases for apartment owners can get “passed on” to tenants through rent increases.

But I digress. As to the county’s assessment statement, the first line announces that “… property values see overall increase of 1.1%.” But that figure requires much more nuance (which, to be fair, is supplied by the county). Residential values increased by an average of 3.2%, while commercial properties decreased by an average of 1.5%.

Even more nuance is needed. Office properties — a subset of commercial properties — decreased by 19%. The values for apartment properties — another subset of commercial properties — increased by an average of 6.2%.

Of course, property owners are focused on the bottom line: Will tax bills go up this year? That depends on the dollar amount of the budget approved by the County Board, which is then fed into a formula based on assessed value and the tax rate imposed by the board.

Bottom line: Don’t expect tax obligations to go down this year, especially for residential properties and apartments. In its assessment statement, the county notes that it is “facing significant challenges in next year’s budget because expense growth is outpacing revenue growth.” For the County Board, estimating revenue growth will be tricky business, and coming to agreement on the size of the budget will be a political hot potato.

As a matter of civic education, note these important dates: Feb. 21 (County Manager releases proposed budget); Feb. 26 (Arlington Public Schools release their budget); March 24 (County Board budget hearing); March 26 (County Board tax rate hearing); April 18 (County Board adopts budget and sets tax rates).

That makes for eight weeks of intensive action by the county — and intensive advocacy by civic groups and individual citizens communicating their opinions. It will be a challenging budget season.