Prince William Supervisors Advertise Real Estate Tax Increase of 3.88%

Posted

houseofmoneyThe Prince William Board of County Supervisors set their advertised real estate tax rate at 1.122 per $100 of assessed value for Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16). This equates to a 3.88 percent increase over last year’s rate, or a $139 annual increase in the average tax bill since FY15.

Comparatively, the preliminary tax bill increase of 1.3 percent, would have only raised the average residential tax bill by $47.

Despite initially efforts to fund a tax rate with a modest 1.3 percent tax increase, that budget fell short during work sessions when county staff revealed how much it would leave on the table, including popular agencies and salary increases for employees.

County Executive Melissa Peacor and her team determined that at the 3.88 percent increase the county could afford to the programs and initiatives the supervisors voted to include back into the budget at Saturday work sessions. It also includes a 2 percent raise for county employees.

The 1.22 average residential tax bill creates a county budget totaling $14,677,556 with county government receiving $6,277,591 and the public schools receiving $8,399,965 in additional revenue.

The school division would receive 57 percent of the total budget, via the revenue sharing agreement, which would go far to plug their $17.5 million shortfall. However, the school division would be left with a $6.5 million deficit even if the budget was funded at 4 percent, since they added reducing class sizes in ninth grade math and employee step increases to their priorities list.

Legally, at this point, with the tax rate being advertised, supervisors can still vote to reduce the tax rate, but they cannot vote to increase it.

Throughout the process, supervisors' motions, comments and votes expressed their feelings on the tax rate.

John Jenkins (D-Neabsco) made the first motion, asking the supervisors to fully fund the budget at 1.148 percent. This would allow the budget to remain whole. No county agencies would be cut, and no one would be laid off in order to balance the budget.

There was no support for his recommendation.

Frank Principi (D-Woodbridge), then, recommended setting the advertised tax rate at 4 percent, the amount consistent with the county’s new five-year plan. It would require some budget cuts, but allow them fully to fund the programs that the supervisors voted to include back into the budget.

Some supervisors thought this was a good solution, offering the advertised tax rate just enough padding that it could be decrease before adopting the tax rate.

However, Chairman At-large Corey Stewart (R) thought it was still too high. He said the county would have to raise taxes to move out of the austerity plan they have been operating under since the recession.

Thus, Principi’s motion ended in a tie. It was supported by Maureen Caddigan (R-Potomac), Marty Nohe (R-Coles), Jenkins and Principi.

Supervisor Candland (R-Gainesville) said he would have liked to fund the tax rate at 1.3 percent. However, he realized he did not have the support of the board. He praised the process of setting the tax rate at 1.3 percent, calling it a more transparent system, and he thanked the County Executive for taking the time to go through the process.

Still, he argued that the board is not “starving” the county. At a 2.5 percent tax rate, he said the county and schools would take in $28 million more than in FY15. And, he pointed out that FY15, they took in $30 million more than FY14, and so on.

Thus, Candland proposed a 3 percent tax increase. Supervisor Jeanine Lawson (R-Brenstville) seconded that motion, but it failed to gain any more support from board members.

May explained that we might have supported Candland’s proposal if he had seen the numbers produced by Candland's and Lawson's citizen budget committee. However, having not seen them, he could not be sure 3 percent was sufficient to fund the budget.

Chairman Corey Stewart agreed with May.

Lawson defended her desire for lower taxes, saying that when she was knocking on doors across the Brentsville District residents told her they have not fully recovered from the recession and asked that she keep their taxes low.

Moving slightly below to his initial recommendation of 4 percent, Principi made the motion that the board vote on a 3.88 tax rate.

However, before anyone could vote on the 3.88, May offered a substitute motion of 3.51 percent, which was seconded by Candland.

Principi called the number "arbitrary," and asked May what budget cuts he was proposing.

“We have different philosophical positions,” May said. However, he said he believed the supervisors could find a way to make it work without noting any specific eliminations.

Caddigan explained that her constituents favored the 4 percent, as did the speakers they heard from during the public hearing. She also explained her position.

“I am a big supporter of schools. I have never, ever voted against a budget because that means you are not supporting schools, not supporting the police,” Caddigan said.

Ultimately, the 3.51 percent motion failed with another tie vote. Candland, Lawson, May and Stewart supported it.

Finally, the board returned to Principi’s underlying motion of a 3.88 tax increase percent.

May said that he would support it for the purpose of advertising the tax rate, but he was confident that the board could find more savings within the budget before adopting the tax rate.

But, Candland was still not on board.

“I think we are punishing the taxpayers: the people who are not in this room, who I hear from,” he said.

Nohe, who had been oddly quite throughout the process, said, the citizens could no longer call him the most talkative on the board.

The motion passed with Principi, Jenkins, May, Caddigan and Nohe voting aye, and Candland, Stewart and Lawson voting nay.

The tax rate can still be decreased before the tax rate is adopted in April.

3-88, advertised, board, bocs, featured, of-county, prince-william, property-taxes, supervisors, tax-rate