The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors formally adopted a fiscal year 2027 budget this morning (Tuesday), while also setting a future public hearing on local control of speed limits in some areas.
The board set a June 9 public hearing on a proposed ordinance that, if enacted, would give the county more autonomy to reduce speed limits in residential and business districts.
In 2024, the General Assembly amended state law to give local governing bodies the authority to adopt ordinances reducing speed limits to less than 25 mph, but not less than 15 mph, on highways located in a business district or residential district where the existing, posted speed limit is 25 mph.
The chief administrative officer — in Fairfax’s case, County Executive Bryan Hill — also has authority to restore any previously reduced speed limit.
The May 5 action to set the hearing date was part of a voice vote on a number of unrelated administrative items that were adopted without discussion.
State law requires changes to be indicated by appropriate signage along the affected routes.
As directed by the Board of Supervisors back in fall 2024, the Fairfax County Department of Transportation has been developing a pilot program at nine locations to reduce speed limits from 25 to 20 mph.
After initially proposing 12 streets for inclusion late last year, FCDOT now says the pilot program will be implemented in three phases, with one road in each of the nine supervisor districts. Set to start this summer, the pilot will collect data on vehicle speeds, traffic volumes and public feedback.
Under VDOT’s rules, the county government will be responsible for the estimated $2,500 cost per location for sign fabrication, installation and maintenance of signage reflecting the lower speed limits.
“FCDOT will provide an assessment to the Board of Supervisors upon completion of the Pilot Study to allow them to determine whether [locality-reduced speed limits] will continue beyond the Pilot Study,” county staff said in a summary for the board.
FY27 budget adopted with small tax rate cut
This morning, the Board of Supervisors also adopted a $5.7 billion budget for FY 2027, cutting the real estate tax rate from $1.1225 per $100 of assessed value to $1.22.
Supervisors split 8-2 on the tax-rate cut, with Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn and Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity voting against.
Alcorn did not support any reduction in the tax rate, while Herrity thought the reduction should go further. Supervisors then voted 9-1 to support the overall budget, with Herrity opposing it.
The votes were in line with decisions made last week by the board as part of a markup session on April 28.
Cutting the tax rate will save a typical Fairfax homeowner approximately $20, but homeowners will pay more an average $337 more than last year owing to an average 3.99% increase in the assessed valuation of residential property in the county.
Just over 81% of Fairfax’s 340,000 residential parcels saw year-over-year assessment increases. About 11% saw no change, with about 8% seeing a decline.
Average assessed values for the current year are $1,012,504 (+4.8%) for single-family homes, $612,580 (+3.9%) for townhouses and $387,560 (+2.9%) for condominiums.
The county’s overall real estate tax base, including residential, commercial, industrial and other categories, is just over $354 billion, up 3.9% from a year before.
