Prince William Board of County Supervisor’s Chairman at-Large, Corey Stewart (R), gave his State of the County yesterday, celebrating the county’s successes and stating his priorities for the new year.
Stewart praised Prince William for becoming economically stronger and attracting new businesses and families to the community. Additionally, he identified the county's need for more teachers, police officers, fire and rescue personnel and athletic facilities.
Stewart began his address by celebrating Prince William’s population growth, connecting it to the community’s rising prominence.
“Over the past 10 years, Prince William County has risen to national prominence. We have become one of the most desirable communities in the nation in which to live, and our quality of life continues to attract thousands of new residents. We are now the home to more than 430,000 residents,” Stewart said.
He noted that along with a growing population, Prince William County has become very attractive to families, saying, “Families are particularly drawn to Prince William, with its safe neighborhoods, excellent schools, growing job base and rising prosperity.”
"Most astounding of all is this,” said Stewart. “We have made all of this progress while keeping Prince William County tax bills the lowest in the Washington, D.C. region,” citing that Prince William County’s average tax bills are 30 percent lower than those in neighboring Fairfax and Loudoun counties.*
Stewart credits economic growth with providing Prince William County with the means to grow and improve its infrastructure.
“But improvements to education, transportation and other services have been funded primarily through economic growth. Prince William is business friendly and it shows,” Stewart said. “The county has been rated number one in Virginia for job growth; number three in America.”
He shared with residents that the economic development department had worked on 20 projects worth more than one billion dollars to the county economy, calling it the “highest annual investment total in 17 years.” He also notes that with a median household income just above $93,000, “we are among the wealthiest counties in the United States.”
Class sizes are listed as the number one area in which Prince William County can improve; the county currently has the highest classroom sizes in the state.
“Our school system has developed a plan to begin reducing class sizes starting next fall. It is a modest plan, but it will, at a minimum, get us started in the right direction,” Stewart said.
The School Board plan rests upon the hiring of new teachers. As this requires incurring additional costs, he asked that the Commonwealth share the burden of education as they once did, in order to mitigate the burden on taxpayers.
“We need the General Assembly to restore Cost-to-Compete funds, which cost Prince William County Schools more than $20 million. County taxpayers cannot continue to make-up for these cuts, which have had a disproportionate impact on Prince William County,” Stewart said.
He names public safety as the second area in which the Board of County Supervisors should work to improve by aiming to hire staff for police and fire and rescue.
“For police, this Board approved a comprehensive plan that calls for 25 new officers per year, but we have only approved a budget to provide 10 sworn officers per year. While this is a necessary step in the right direction, we, as a Board, must provide the necessary support to meet our goals,” he said.
For Parks and Recreation, he asked his Board to make good on the people’s wishes expressed in a 2006 referendum to fund parks, fields and other athletic facilities such as gymnasiums and aquatic centers.
He said the Board took a step in the right direction at the end of 2013 by providing approximately $3.1 for additional sport field space at middle schools across the county, including at Gainesville Middle School, and at county parks. These facilities will now house multipurpose fields ideal for youth lacrosse, football and soccer. However, Stewart said that is not enough. The county still requires more recreational facilities, including baseball and softball diamonds and recreational swim facilities to meet the demand of the rising population.
“We also need to find ways to build indoor recreation facilities, which are necessary not only for youth, but for adult athletic participation as well. The quality of life and health of our residents require a multitude of recreational options, and we are a community that can deliver on those needs,” Stewart said.
A full transcript of the State of the County speech is available on the Prince William County website.
* Formerly we stated that Fairfax County residents pay a tax rate of 2.3 for every $100 of assessed. Fairfax County's tax rate is actually 1.085 for every $100 of assessed value. Prince William County has the lowest tax bill in the area, but not the lowest tax rate.
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