The Board of County Supervisors listened to a range of public comments on the proposed FY13 annual budget and the advertised tax rate for over an hour on Thursday evening.
As required by state law, the BOCS must hold public hearings on both the tax rate and the proposed budget.
At the Mar. 29 meeting, the supervisors heard contrasting perspectives from private citizens, county employees, county organizations, nonprofits and business owners.
Several speakers spoke in support of additional funding for the non-profit Rainbow Therapeutic Riding Center of Haymarket.
"Our Rainbow Riders are dear to us because they express so simply and so gracefully the value of the services we provide," Bristow resident and Rainbow Riding Center Board member Deborah Carter said. "We talk frequently about how we can maximize our resources so we serve the most people, with the best experiences."
Representatives from the Prince William County Employees Advisory Committee and the Police Association were present to offer support for the proposed tax rate of $1.215 per $100 of assessed value, cost of living adjustments for county employees, as well as county contributions to the Virginia Retirement System. County employees also asked for a 3 percent proposed merit pay raises which is contingent upon funds being available.
A number of county educators implored the supervisors to adopt the tax rate as advertised in order to fund the recently approved $861 million FY13 school budget, which is also contingent on the passing of the county and state budgets.
A Benton Middle School student, who spoke in support of teachers, said, "Teachers are the most important pillars in our educational system. If not for their efforts and commitment to providing strong foundations for their students, we would not have seen this country becoming a superpower in science and technology...We need to prioritize education for the sake of the future of this nation."
Bristow resident and treasurer of the Prince William Education Association, Mary Jo Howarth also spoke out in favor of maintaining the tax rate as advertised. She questioned whether the state legislature would provide necessary funds to PWC in the future, if after they returned $14 million to the budget, PWC proceeded to lowered their tax rate.
" Ponder this----why would they give PWCS more money in the future?" Howarth asked.
However, some residents asked the the tax rate be lowered, as the assessments of their homes had turned out higher than expected, and they felt the tax-rate would be an undue burden in a difficult economy.
Prince William County Executive, Melissa Peacor said that the county has no control over assessments of property values. She added that while they may be listed as one of the higher taxed counties in the country, the list does not account for the fact that most jurisdictions are taxed primarily by town or city, not county. Also that the list was not adjusted for cost of living in divergent regions of the country.
The final vote for the FY13 budget is scheduled for April 24.
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