By Brian Trompeter
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on May 9 approved a fiscal year 2024 budget that gave a few breaks to taxpayers, but also boosted pay significantly for county employees.
Supervisors on a 9-1 vote passed a new tax rate of $1.095 per $100 assessed valuation, a decrease of 1.5 cents. But with robust assessment increases this year, the average homeowner will be on the hook for about $412 more. This tax is retroactive to the beginning of the year and the county collects it in two installments.
The county’s fiscal 2024 general-fund disbursements will total $5.11 billion, which is up $333.59 million, or 7 percent, over the adopted fiscal 2023 budget, but down nearly $190 million, or 3.6 percent, from the revised fiscal 2023 budget plan.
The budget includes a record 5.44-percent market-rate (i.e., cost-of-living) adjustment for employees, which including longevity or performance increases will bring the total average pay hike to 7.5 percent for most county workers and 7.83 percent for uniformed public-safety personnel not working for the police department.
Because of recruiting and retention struggles, supervisors agreed to boost police pay even more. Starting salaries for officers will rise by more than 15 percent and incumbent officers on average will receive 12.83-percent pay hikes.
The county’s $2.4 billion transfer for Fairfax County Public Schools’ operations represents an increase of 6.33 percent over the revised fiscal 2023 budget. Total transfers to the school system, including items for debt service and construction, amount to $2.64 billion, or 51.6 percent of total county disbursements.
Supervisors unanimously agreed to set the county’s vehicle-assessment ratio at 90 percent of value, versus the usual 100 percent, to compensate for higher-than-normal values for used vehicles. The board in fiscal 2023 set the assessment ratio at 85 percent. County officials said the 90-percent rate likely will result in bills for vehicle owners that are similar to, or perhaps slightly lower, than ones received last year.
The personal-property (i.e., vehicle) tax rate will remain at $4.57 per $100 assessed value and the county’s stormwater fee will remain at 3.25 cents per $100 assessed value.
The board also voted unanimously for sewer-ordinance amendments that increased:
• The refuse-collection fee from $475 to $490 per household.
• The refuse-disposal fee from $70 to $72 per ton.
• Sewer-service charges from $8.09 to $8.46 per 1,000 gallons.
• The sewer-service base charge from $40.14 to $44.81 per quarter.
• The sewer-availability charge from $8,592 to $8,860.
The budget left most taxes and fees at their current rates, but reduced the Phase II Dulles Rail Transportation Improvement District’s tax rate from $0.20 to $0.18 per $100 of assessed value and cut the Route 28 Highway Transportation Improvement District tax rate from $0.17 to $0.16 per $100 of assessed value.
The new budget will result in a net increase of seven positions for the county, consisting of six employees who will support the Fairfax County Park Authority’s forestry operations, bamboo removal and mobile nature centers, plus one position in the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services who will support expansion of the Opportunity Neighborhoods program into Centreville.
Vacant positions will result in savings of nearly $6.3 million. The budget also calls for spending $200,000 more for ArtsFairfax operations; $300,000 to maintain girls’ softball fields; $350,000 for a home-repair program serving people with low and moderate incomes; $96,000 to establish a Self-Help Resource Center at the Fairfax County Courthouse’s law library; and $500,000 to support two hotlines for people trying to flee domestic and sexual violence, stalking and human trafficking.
Supervisor Patrick Herrity (R-Springfield) voted against the new real-estate tax rate, as well as a slate of other tax-rate adjustments and the appropriation resolution for the county and School Board.
Fiscal year 2024 begins July 1. Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay (D) thanked his board colleagues for their support of the new budget.
“I think there are so many good things in this budget that are necessary to keep our county’s reputation where it is,” McKay said.
