Fairfax County leaders want Gov. Glenn Youngkin to boost state funding for critical services, such as schools, transportation and health care.
The Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 on Tuesday (Sept. 24) to send a letter to Youngkin arguing that chronic underfunding by the state has forced localities like Fairfax County to lean heavily on local tax revenue to maintain “core services” like public education, public safety and transportation infrastructure, straining local budgets and taxpayers.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, the only Republican on the board, was the lone dissenting vote against sending the letter.
Although Youngkin signed the state’s 2024-2026 budget into law last May, Fairfax County supervisors are hopeful he will introduce budget amendments in the General Assembly’s upcoming 2025 legislative session to provide additional financial assistance to localities.
In particular, supervisors focused on the funding gap for public schools found by the 2023 Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission report, which showed that Virginia’s funding formula gives schools about $1,900 less per student compared to the national average.
As a result, Fairfax County Public Schools are missing out on approximately $568 million annually, a gap the county has to fill.
“We cannot continue to ask local taxpayers to fill the gap…created by the JLARC funding shortfall, and we have to have tangible progress from the government of the General Assembly in this session,” Braddock District Supervisor James Walkinshaw said at the board meeting.
The letter follows a tense budget season where Fairfax County School Board members and supervisors sparred over a proposed $254 million increase to the school system’s budget to fund a 6% salary boost for all employees.
Ultimately, supervisors approved a lower-than-advertised real estate property tax hike, prompting the school board to approve more modest pay raises for staff.
Last week, County Board Executive Bryan Hill introduced several tax proposals, including a potential 6% meals tax, that could generate up to $226 million in additional revenue — equivalent to about a 7-cent reduction in the county’s real estate tax.
However, even with those new revenue sources, supervisors say relying on new tax proposals isn’t a sustainable solution, stressing a need to push the state for more substantial financial support.
“[The state] collects taxes on high-income people in Northern Virginia and sends us 23 cents on every dollar you pay in income taxes,” Board Chair Jeff McKay said during Tuesday’s meeting. “So, the money that we’re asking for from the state — that state’s own study showed they owed us — [is] money that was generated here first.”
The supervisors argued that Virginia could also contribute more to other essential services, including transportation, Medicaid waivers for those with developmental disabilities, behavioral health services, affordable housing and public safety.
In the letter, they urged Youngkin to restore $102 million for the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) that was diverted to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in 2018. About $64 million has been restored, but county officials argue that the rest is needed to support regional transportation projects.
“Though the GA provided additional, vital funding in last year’s budget to address some of WMATA’s shortfall in both FY 2025 and FY 2026, the Commonwealth must continue working with regional and local partners to provide dedicated and sustainable funding for WMATA — putting the agency on sound financial footing without diverting resources from other transportation needs in Northern Virginia and throughout Virginia,” the letter states.
When it comes to Medicaid waivers for individuals with developmental disabilities, county officials say the state isn’t providing enough money to cover the actual costs of the services that individuals need.
Acknowledging that the General Assembly included $247 million in the most recent state budget for 3,440 additional Priority One waiver slots, the letter says that the slots still fail to meet the high demand for urgent care and developmental disability services within the community.
“Current Medicaid reimbursement rates fall far short of covering the actual costs of state-mandated support coordination services,” the letter states. “Fairfax County does not have the budgetary flexibility to cover the gap created by this underfunded state mandate.”
The supervisors also called for more consistent financial support for behavioral health services that the local Community Services Board is required to provide by the Commonwealth’s System Transformation, Excellence and Performance in Virginia (STEP-VA) initiative.
According to the letter, underfunding is also a public safety issue, with the county subsidizing state positions, including public defenders and court personnel.
It also appeals for more state funding to tackle the region’s housing crisis, which has left Fairfax County with a shortfall of 38,000 affordable rental units.
“Even though people move here and say there’s so much wealth in this county, that is not captured at the local level,” Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said. “That’s why we have to look at new [tax] options legally authorized to us here in Fairfax County.”
She noted that the county’s next budget cycle is expected to be “tough,” with County Executive Bryan Hill requesting agencies to identify potential reductions.
“I know it’s going to be a tough year ahead, and as we move forward, [we’re] trying to understand, ‘How do we fund the schools, public safety, housing and services that we know make this a very good — while not always affordable — a place to live that continues to attract these large businesses?” Palchik said.
