By Brian Trompeter
Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill on Feb. 21 recommended no increase in the county’s real-estate-tax rate as part of his proposed fiscal year 2024 budget, which if approved by Board of Supervisors still would cost the average homeowner about $520 more this year because of higher assessment values.
Hill lamented what he said was Fairfax County’s over-reliance on real-estate taxes for its general-fund revenues. The vast preponderance of those real-estate revenues – 83.8 percent – come from residential properties, while only 16.2 percent are derived from commercial and industrial properties.
The county’s residential tax base grew 6.59 percent this year, but commercial-property values – which for years have seen lower increases – rose by just 1.65 percent.
Of the county’s 312,000 residential properties, 89.4 percent saw assessment increases this year, while just 3.1 percent had their values decrease.
County supervisors will advertise a proposed real-estate-tax rate that eventually may be lowered, but not raised, after budget negotiations later this spring. Supervisors often advertise a higher rate so as to give themselves more flexibility.
One cent on the county’s real-estate-tax rate equals $31.4 million in revenue.
County taxpayers also are on the hook for stormwater-management fees, which now stand at 3.25 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. Other tax districts – such as the one that finances the McLean Community Center – impose further fees. Residents of towns within the county – Vienna, Herndon and Clifton – pay taxes for those localities in addition to county taxes.
Hill’s budget contains no new net positions, but will focus heavily on employee compensation. Counting cost-of-living and step increases, the average non-uniformed county worker would receive about 4 percent more if supervisors approved the budget.
