Fairfax County FY2015 Budget

Member Citizens Associations have the opportunity to vote on the Federation of Citizens Associations' resolution on the County budget.  The vote will occur at the March 27 membership meeting (7:30 pm at the Mason Government Center).

At the March 20, 2014, meeting of the Board of Directors of the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations, the Board voted in favor of the budget proposed by the County Executive (1.085 plus 0.0225 for stormwater), but recommended approximately $24M (million) in additional expenditures.  The Board voted that the school transfer be increased by approximately $40M, with the $40M being taken from unspecified other agencies within the budget.  If the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adds the recommended $24M, the rate will be $1.1195 per $100 of assessed value.  To offset the $24M, the Federation recommended increasing taxes on cigarettes, hotel rooms, and other amenities available to visitors; however, current laws do not include these other taxes.

If the Federation’s budget recommendation is implemented by the County, the FY2015 residential real-estate tax will increase 7.0% for single-family homes, 9.6% for townhouses and duplexes, and 11.8% for condominiums.  These increases can be compared to the average household-income increase of 2.1% and the consumer price index (CPI) increase of 2.1%.

The Federation wants the county to give itself a raise (3.3%) that is greater than the raises received by the taxpayers (2.1%), with almost the entire burden being placed on homeowners.

I think the budget should not burden the taxpayer more than in FY2014.  Because the median household income rose 2.1%, the tax on a residence should not increase more than 2.1%.  (Why should the County give itself a raise that is more than the taxpayer gets?)  For the County to get a 2.1% raise, the rate should be 1.059 (including stormwater).

What happens is that the middle class is being squeezed out.  The very rich don't care because the real estate tax is insignificant to them.  The very poor don't care because their rent is subsidized.  The middle class is being drained.  Over the last 10 years, the income of Fairfax County residents has decreased by a net of $6B due to people moving out of the county (see http://www.howmoneywalks.com/irs-tax-migration/).  The middle class is moving out and poor people are moving in.  The county wants middle-class, single-family homes converted to RSU's to accommodate the process.  The loss of $6B translates into a loss of $330M per year in residential real-estate tax.

I have shown in two reports presented to the Federation that a balanced budget, with a 2.1% increase in residential real-estate taxes, is possible with some funds being held to their FY2014 budgets.  These reports are also posted at http://www.fcta.org/FxCo/Taxes/.