Property tax bills are poised to go up — but somewhat less than initially expected.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ budget policy committee discussed a plan on Friday (April 22) to set the property tax rate at $1.11 per $100 of assessed property value, a 3-cent decrease from the current rate.
(Updated at 5 p.m.) The Fairfax County Police Department has turned to advertising to help address vacancies.
The department has signed a contract with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Epic Recruiting to deliver digital marketing services and materials. Operational expenses for police recruiting have already more than quadrupled this budget year.
Karen Johnson commutes two hours each way to get to work in Fair Oaks, leaving at 5 a.m. from her home in Fredericksburg.
Johnson, a child care center teacher, has tried to live in Fairfax County but can’t afford it, she said on April 12 at a budget hearing with fellow union members. She called on the Board of Supervisors to fund proposed raises to the county’s 11,000-plus merit workers.
In a push to convince Fairfax County to fund the arts, one high school student put on a show.
The performance on April 13 provided a musical interlude after hours of in-person, phone, and video remarks across three days of budget hearings before the Board of Supervisors.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office has 71 vacancies. There are over 200 vacancies at the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board. And that’s not all.
Staff vacancies continue to be a challenge at county agencies across the board, administrators and employee leaders told the Board of Supervisors at budget hearings last week.
While Fairfax County regularly makes headlines for its diversion initiatives and other criminal justice reform efforts, an imbalance in funding for prosecutors and defense attorneys remains unaddressed, the local public defender’s office says.
Dawn Butorac, the county’s chief public defender, said her office’s 25 attorney positions are around half the number of lawyers that Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano’s office has, and that gap is only going to worsen if a proposed county budget is adopted without changes this May.
While Fairfax County’s goal of creating 10,000 affordable housing units by 2034 is laudable, ambition alone will not address all of the county’s existing needs, residents and housing advocates say.
Affordable housing groups, residents, and other community members raised issues at budget hearings last week with how the county is seeking to address gaps in affordable housing. Many called for funding increases, a request that will have to be balanced with potentially competing priorities, such as property tax relief.
Environmental advocates say Fairfax County’s government, residents, and businesses need to drastically accelerate their efforts to go green.
During budget hearings last week, speakers urged the county to increase its funding for environmental initiatives and recommended adopting electric vehicle rebates — which the state hasn’t been funding — as well as zero energy buildings and other measures.
Fairfax County government employees called on the Board of Supervisors to support workers with its new budget amid staff retention issues and financial pressures.
Union representatives discussed the impact of inflation and rising housing and health care costs on their members’ ability to live where they work during public hearings this week on the proposed $4.8 billion budget.
After a year of readjusting to in-person learning, local students now have a new option for getting some additional academic support.
Starting today (Thursday), all Fairfax County Public Schools students have unlimited access to online, on-demand tutoring through Tutor.com, and thanks to an infusion of federal coronavirus relief funds, the services come at no cost to families.
