Monday, April 8, 2013
The first of three public hearings on FY 2014 plan is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday. Speakers can sign up in advance.
A series of public hearings on Fairfax County’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget package will kick off Tuesday evening, giving residents a chance to advocate for changes to funding allocations and other issues. County Executive Ed Long’s advertised $7 billion budget, unveiled in late February, proposes raising the county's real estate tax rate and making cuts to some county programs and services in an effort to close shortfalls. The 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate, from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095, is expected to raise approximately $42 million in revenues. But on top of new, higher real estate assessments, the increase would burden the average resident with approximately $262 more in taxes each year. Some officials have…
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Council members said they would rather not raise taxes, but costs are increasing for capital improvement projects and schools.
The Fairfax City Council on Tuesday night approved the top rate that they can raise residential tax rates for Fiscal Year 2014, calling for a possible maximum increase of 7 cents per $100 of assessed property value. For someone with a $400,000 home in Fairfax City, that could raise real estate taxes by more than $250 per year. On a 4-3 vote, the council rejected a staff recommendation to increase real estate taxes by 8 cents, and instead approved advertising a residential real estate tax rate of $1.08, a potential increase of 7 cents from the FY 2013 adopted rate of $1.01. The Tuesday council action does not set the tax rate. It merely sets the maximum amount that the city can seek to levy next year when it adopts a final rate at its May …
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Fairfax City Council considering raising the rate by 8 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Fairfax City Council is considering a staff recommendation to increase real estate taxes by 8 cents for Fiscal Year 2014, in part to make up for increased costs in capital improvement projects and the city's school tuition bill. At a Tuesday night council work session, the staff unveiled City Manager Bob Sisson’s budget blueprint for next year. Read about the city's proposals for employee pay and police and fire here. Check back with Patch on Wednesday and Thursday for more updates on the city's school tuition bill. The plan calls for a residential real estate tax rate of $1.09 per $100 of assessed value, an increase from the FY 2013 adopted rate of $1.01. The proposed hike comes on top of a 7-cent increase in the real estate tax the …
Level funding also expected for Fairfax City's police and fire departments.
The single largest increase in Fairfax City's Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal is the employee retirement funds, which are projected to cost $2 million more next year due investment market swings Fairfax City Manager Bob Sisson’s $176 million budget blueprint for next year — an increase of 8.6 percent from the current fiscal year — leaves pay and benefits for the city’s 430 employees will remain unchanged. The city currently contributes 12.54 percent of the qualified employee’s salary to Virginia Retirement System. A proposal to add a cost-of-living adjustment for city employees was eliminated from the proposed budget due to financial constraints, Sisson said. The city manager wants to add one sanitation driver, at a cost of about $46,000 …
Sunday, December 23, 2012
As the Fairfax County School board stares down $162 million deficit, midyear review funds will help boost next year's beginning balance.
Fairfax County Public Schools has found an extra $9.7 million in its fiscal year 2013 budget, much of which school board members voted Thursday night to set aside for its FY2014 beginning balance — a budget year in which the system faces a $162 million deficit. The money will increase next year's beginning balance from $41.6 million to $51.1 million. School board members have been waiting for the outcome of a midyear budget review since the fall, as it began to grapple with a projected deficit of $93.7 million in fiscal year 2014, a number that doesn't include another $68.4 million shortfall in "significant program needs." At a joint meeting in November, Fairfax County Executive Ed Long said the county anticipates being able to give the …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Local officials don't agree with directing $48 million of general fund money to transportation projects.
Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Monday a series of amendments to the Virginia budget that would increase net spending by more than $200 million. The amendments find $500 million in savings in the state’s two-year, $80 billion budget. But they propose an additional $736 million in new spending for teacher raises, funding to state colleges and increases in funding to local governments, along with transportation projects and teacher salary. “The budget amendments that I am presenting today reflect … the realities of this economy and the looming uncertainty that budget gridlock in Washington and the fiscal cliff are having on our economy,” McDonnell said in a statement. “Yet they look forward to building upon our legacy of conservative and sound…
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
The council meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
Fairfax City council members hope to hear from the public on the budget and proposed Eleven Oaks development at tonight's council meeting. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Hall. Click here to see the full agenda. Here's a quick overview of tonight's public session: Want to catch up before the meeting? Try out these stories: Schedule for 2014 Budget, Capital Improvement Project Fairfax City Faces $5.2M Budget Deficit Fairfax Economic Forecast Shows Better Vacancy, Unemployment, Foreclosure Rates Planning Commission to Weed Through $46M Capital Improvement List Tonight Eleven Oaks Developer Killed in Hamptons Crash The Bus Lot That Could've Been: List of Properties Eliminated from Eleven Oaks Relocation Neighbors Stand Against Bus Lot …
Monday, December 10, 2012
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
Fairfax City's proposed Capital Improvements Program for fiscal year 2014 costs $46,081,830, almost double what council members adopted for 2013. The ongoing plan offers a wish-list of major public improvements based on predictions of city revenue from taxes, real estate, licenses, permits, fees and state/federal aid. While the plan includes inflation revenues, it does not account for tax increases. Fairfax's Planning Commission will start weeding through immediate needs and wants starting Monday night at 7 p.m. in City Hall. City council and staff review the plan every year and make changes as needed. The plan will be finalized in late April with the adoption of the FY 2014 budget. Patch will take a closer look at some of the proposed …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
City is still feeling the effects from the recession.
Fairfax City expects continued improvements in its vacancy, unemployment and residential foreclosure rates for fiscal year 2014. City Manager Bob Sisson presented an economic outlook for Fairfax at a council meeting on Nov. 27, kicking off Fairfax City's FY2014 budget season. The economic forecast sets the tone for budget tallks. Staffers use this forecast to help estimate where the city sits in terms of revenue and expenses in the near future. Sisson and his staff have to contend with a $5.2 million deficit, increases in capital improvement project funding and the city's school tuition bill in balancing the FY2014 budget. Council members will work with staff until they adopt a budget in May. Here's a breakdown of expected city revenues …
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Staff says capital improvement spending, meager economy mean gap In Fiscal Year 2014.
Fairfax City faces a $5.2 million deficit this budget season. City Manager Bob Sisson presented economic forecasts and budget calculations at a council meeting Nov. 27, kicking off Fairfax City's FY2014 budget season. Sisson and his staff have to contend with increases in capital improvement project funding and the city's school tuition bill in balancing the Fiscal Year 2014 budget. Council members will work with staff until they adopt a budget in May. Here's a breakdown of expected city revenues and expenses for 2014: Revenues Expenses Compare the expense and revenue estimates and the city faces a $5.2 million deficit. Patch will follow the budget process throughout the winter months and into April. Click here to watch city staff go over…
Walt Potock
6:21 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
Why don't we all take a step back and think about what we write before showing that we too are probably guilty of exactly the same thing of which we accuse our City Government leaders. Several replies show the writer is someone having done their homework while others are merely venting because of the presented opportunity. If you don't like our city government, you should run for office and then …   more ›