PWC Current Budget Proposal Would Require Painful Cuts

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County Executive Melissa Peacor presents the preliminary budget based upon 1.3 percent increase in the average property tax bill. County Executive Melissa Peacor presents the preliminary budget based upon 1.3 percent increase in the average property tax bill.

Tuesday evening, County Executive Melissa Peacor presented the preliminary Prince William County Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) budget based upon a guidance of a 1.3 percent increase over FY15’s average real estate tax bill. At first glance, the budget appeared to many to be insufficient to fund the needs of the county.

Implementation of the budget in its current state would lead to job loss, elimination of successful programs and freezing county employee salaries for at least one year, if not  five. Moreover, youth playing fields including Catharpin and Rollins Ford would be delayed indefinitely.

However, this is still a preliminary budget, and the supervisors have time to make alterations.

The Board of County Supervisors provided budget guidance to the County Executive back in December of 2014. They asked her to balance the budget with a 1.3 percent increase, consistent with local inflation, rather than the 4 percent specified in the county’s five-year plan.

Additionally, board members wanted to see some programs remain untouched by cuts and instead be fully-funded at the 4 percent increase rate. These programs included police and safety, fire and rescue, sheriff’s department, the libraries, child protective services and foster care services.

According to Peacor, the 1.3 percent increase would provide an additional $9 million to the county over last year’s budget plan. However, the need to protect certain agencies costs money; thus she was tasked with finding $15 million in savings in the FY16 budget.

When agencies the board members exempted from cuts were added to those legally protected, that  left 31 percent of the budget from which savings could be found.

Peacor knew there was interest in eliminated unfilled positions. However, she said that only 1 percent of vacancies qualify for cuts, and as some unfilled positions are more strategically important than some filled positions; therefore, filled positions would have to be included in cuts. Should the budget be adopted in its current state, 33 net positions would be eliminated. Employees in those positions were already informed of the possibility that their jobs may be terminated irrespective of how good their statistics would be in the company's employee time tracking app.

Public Safety

As public safety fell under the protected category, this area would see increases in expenditures for CIP, staffing and technology.

According to the budget, 56 positions would be added to public safety, for 53 net at a cost of 4.7 million in FY16. Twenty-eight new police would join the force, with 125 officers and 15 civilians to come on board over the next five years.

The county plans spend $1.275 million in debt service on Phase II of the new adult detention center expansion, which is scheduled to open in 2019. The detention center is a necessary cost since it costs the County to house prisoners elsewhere. Funds are also being allocated for communications upgrades.

In FY16, the County will begin construction on the Central District Police Station at a cost of $16.25 million. The new police station should help increase response times in mid-county and help to alleviate overcrowding at the Gar-field Station.

A new fire station is also being build in mid-county. The Bacon Race Fire & Rescue Station would cost $4.4 million in FY16. The Coles Fire & Rescue Station Reconstruction would cost $4.5 million. Gainesville Fire & Rescue Station renovation is $3.28 million, and Nokesville Fire & Rescue Station Reconstruction is $3.5 million. The CIP for Fire and Rescue totals $15.7 million in FY16. Linton Hall Station 25 will be getting a new truck at the cost of $750K.

The county plans to add 29 career positions to Fire and Rescue at a cost of $10.6 million. Michelle Casciato, Prince William Budget Director, said she hoped to allocate at least $2 million of the Fire Levy reserve to offset costs to the General Fund the Fire Levy actually has a bigger reserve than the General Fund.

However, some programs that fall beneath public safety are slated to be eliminated. These include Drug Court and Juvenile Court Services, Gang Response and Intervention team coordinator and salary supplements for magistrates. Peacor said they are effective programs, but cuts need to be made.

Human Services

Human Services would see expansions where it is legally required and reductions in many other areas. They will save $1.5 million, adding 10.8 positions and adding 21.2 positions.

The federal government requires that Juvenile Detention Center staffing an additional 10.8 full time positions at a cost of $667,773. Peacor is also asking for $200,000 additional funds for the homeless shelters and $86K for the nursing home, Birmingham Green, and another $40,000 for technology management.

Where the county proposed cuts a reduction to public health, which should not affect service levels. However, other programs would need to be eliminated entirely. These include Drug Offender Rehab Services (DORS); pre-trial services and social services; the Healthy Families Prevention Program; the Legal Services of Northern Virginia; pediatric dental care once paid for by the state; and Washington Ear donation.

The budget also terminates their contract with Virginia Cooperative Extension educational programs and the 7.14 positions that go along with it.

The county plans to continue to fully fund the historic preservation via the transient occupancy tax or lodging tax, rather than through the General Fund. However, this leaves fewer funds in which to fund other priorities.

As a result, the county would eliminate the in-house works, graphics and print shop ($319K), funding for the Flory Small Business Center ($231) and eliminate funding for capital repairs on the Hylton Performing Arts Center ($150K).

They will also eliminate their contribution to the Boys & Girls Club and to Prince William Soccer.

Libraries

Libraries fare well in this budget since they receive an exemption from budget cuts. The two new libraries in Gainesville and Montclair will cost $11.6 in debt service in FY16. There will be 28.9 positions added or a net of 26.25 positions.

Roads

The county has an obligation to fund 2.8 million of debt service that must be covered for Rollins Ford Road and Route One.

Parks & Recreation

Park upgrades totaling $326K will be honored. Most of this money will go towards new lighting in existing parks, including the Nokesville's Valley View Park. However, five new parks projects would have to be put on hold in order to save $1.6 million in FY16.

If the budget were to be adopted as is, this would affect Fairmont in Manassas, Rollins Ford in Brentsville, Catharpin and Long fields in Gainesville. It would also affect enhancements to fields at Haymarket Elementary and The Nokesville School. Park managers positions would also be eliminated.

Additionally, separate parks project improvements to turf and lights at Gram Park, Lake Ridge Middle School, Benton Middle School, Woodbridge Middle School and Godwin Middle School will be placed on hold

Trail development and land acquisition are also being put on hold. The Occoquan Riverfront Park, however, will be funded at the cost of $760K. Finally, the Waterworks Children’s Pool would close the summer of 2016.

According to the presentation, delaying fields affects approximately 150 leagues at each field and over a thousand children utilizing each field.

County Watershed and Silver Lake Dam will receive repaired at a combined cost of $5.9 million.

Staff Raises

According to Peacor, all of those cuts, “still did not meet the goal of finding the $15 million in savings.” Thus, in order to reach that goal, salaries would have to be frozen for the next five years. In FY16, that would save $6.1 million.

The board previously froze employee salaries in FY10 and 11. Before that time, employees received both a 2 percent cost-of-living increase and a 3 percent merit raise.

In FY12 when salary increases returned to the county, employee raises alternated between 3 percent one year and 2 percent another.

Additionally, with the increasing cost of health insurance, receiving no raise, would equate to a decrease in take home pay.

Peacor did not advocate for these cuts. Rather said the cuts could cause the county to lose highly qualified employees, and create an overall increase in employee turnover. Available positions would also be harder to fill. Additionally, as surrounding counties are offering 3 percent raises, it makes leaving Prince William all the more enticing.

State of the Economy

The budget followed a presentation from economist Dr. Christine Chmura. Chmura explained that Prince William County was faring relatively well in 2015, and its economy is expected to grow slightly in 2016.

The overall economic situation is a mixed bag. The nation is recovering from the economic depression of 2008, but not as quickly as expected. The national economy is expected to grow in the next two years.

However, Virginia is hampered by cuts in federal spending, especially in defense contracts, and thus is not growing as fast as other state economies.

This slowed recovery, however, is having a bigger impact on the interior D.C. suburbs, than it is in Prince William County. According to Chmura, Prince William is in a relatively good place because we are not as dependent upon the federal government contracts as some of our neighbors. Additionally, we have a diverse, highly educated workforce that can adapt to various economic conditions.

Lastly, we are seeing fewer commercial properties vacant in Prince William since we offer less office space and do so at a more competitive price.

The economic situation seemed to be better news than some supervisors were expecting though Gainesville Supervisor Peter Candland (R) cautioned that a second sequestration is still a possibility.

However, even so, Chmura said that Prince William would be able to weather such an event.

Next Step

Until the supervisors advertize the tax rate, it can go up or down. The supervisors will meet again Saturday, February 28 at the McCoart Building to discuss the budget even further.

Woodbridge Supervisor Frank Principi (D) asked that by that date, Peacor prepare a presentation on what the budget would look like at a 4 percent increase over this year’s average property tax bill.

Supervisors may choose to advertize a budget falling somewhere between the 1.3 percent and 4 percent increase. The supervisors will be adopting a budget until April.

Citizen’s Time

Unanimously, residents speaking at Citizen’s Time reacted negatively to the budget. Many were already there waiting to speak up the negative impacts the budget would have upon the school division. Hearing of the additional cuts, many were outraged. They asked that the supervisors fund the budget, many suggesting they fund it at the previously suggested 4 percent.

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