What You Need to Know Before Tonight's Budget Outreach

City officials will hold an outreach meeting on the FY2013 budget tonight. This is your chance to sound off on how Fairfax should overcome an $8 million deficit.

Since more than half of general fund costs are maintenance needs or other "non-discretionary" items, council members will look at the possibility of raising taxes and cutting city staff to make up the shortfall.

So far staff recommendations increase real estate taxes by 11.5 cents.  to 93.7 cents from the recommended $1. 

Staff does not recommend cutting already "minimally staffed" departments in the city's proposed budget.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Hall. After the outreach meeting, council members will pick a proposed real estate tax and go into a work session.

Read on to get the gist of Fairfax's latest budget troubles.

What we're facing:

• Reduced cash reserves
• What to do with the old Westmore School. Demolition would cost about $550,000
• City maintenance needs. Just over half of the $4.1 million in project recommendations are department requests for declining infrastructure and replacements.
• Ongoing stormwater maintenance costs. Last year council members voted to halve a proposed 1 cent add-on to the real estate tax rate to help fund stormwater projects. 
• Retirement contributions will cost $750,000 for FY2012
• City is considering a merit pay increase of a total $400,000 to keep competitive with other local jurisdictions.

Cost-cutting measures in recent years:

• No merit pay since 2009, decrease in COLA since 2009.
• Eliminated two staff holidays
• Eliminated professional association memberships, education assistance for employees, training, awards programs
• Eliminated full-time, part-time and temp positions
• Reduced contractual services, trash service, annual asphalt underlay programs, as well as maintenance and repairs to city parks
• Reduced some fringe benefits (health insurance, state retirement), modified pay practices

Budget schedule:

• March 20 (City Hall, 7 p.m.): City council meeting, consider real estate tax rate to be advertised
• March 27: Work session, budget mark-up
• April 10: City council meeting, public hearing on budget
• May 2: City council meeting, public hearing on real estate tax rate, budget adoption. Pushed back from original April 26 date.

Check Patch for more information throughout the budget season.

Editor's Note: Corrections made to clarify this is FY2013 budget and the $6.3 million is an increase over last year's school bill.