Grim, grim, and grimmer. That was the message delivered to the Board of Supervisors by County Executive Anthony H. Griffin on Monday as he released his proposed Fiscal Year 2009 budget for Fairfax County. The $3.3 billion General Fund budget, as proposed, holds county and school spending flat. The new budget reflects an increase of just $14.72 million, or just a 0.45 percent difference from the FY 2008 Revised Budget Plan. The proposed budget also includes substantial actions that are needed to eliminate a deficit of $120 million: reductions in agency salary budgets and employee compensation increases; reductions in capital project funding; fee and user charge increases; and the use of one-time balances in certain funds. The budget assumes a real estate tax rate of 89 cents per $100 assessed valuation.
