Staff Suggests Real Estate Tax Raise to Deal With Budget's Perfect Storm

Fairfax City staff suggested increasing real estate taxes to make up a fiscal year 2013 deficit of about $8 million at Tuesday's council meeting.

Perfect storm-like conditions mean tough decisions for council members in the next two months. This budget season, the city will have to contend with reduced cash reserves, the need for significant street maintenance, an off-the-charts school bill, and payments to Fairfax County for a wastewater plant overhaul.

"I've stood up here too many times apologizing... and I have to do it one more time," said City Manager Bob Sisson as he presented the budget on Feb. 28.

Sisson and his budget group recommended raising real estate taxes by 11.5 cents. to 93.7 cents from the recommended $1. Next year taxpayers could face a tax rate of $1.05 per $100 assessed value.

For homeowners, that amounts to an additional:

• $399 a year for a $300,000 assessed property
• $665 a year for a $500,000 assessed property
• $931 a year for a $700,000 assessed property

For business owners, that means an additional:

• $1,492 a year for a $1 million assessed commercial property
• $2,985 a year for a $2 million assessed commercial property
• $7,462 a year for a $5 million assessed commercial property

Why? 

• Fairfax County raised the city's school bill .
• There's little to no money left over from previous budget seasons to offset fiscal year 2013 costs.
• The city is looking at $8 million in additional expenditures, more than recent years.
• 53 percent of the total general fund balance is non-negotiable. That chunk of the budget is made up of items that are required.
• The staff-proposed FY2013 budget is $164,306,976, an 18.6 percent increase over the 2012 adopted budget.

Check Patch for more budget details later.