Fairfax County Employees to Receive 2 Percent Pay Raise

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a 2 percent raise for County employees, effective Sept. 24.

The $15 million measure is the first raise for the workers in three years and was part of the County Executive's recommendation  on how to spend nearly $60 million in a "carryover package" of unspent funds from the fiscal year 2011 budget. At $3.3 billion, Fiscal Year 2011 General Fund revenues increased $50 million, and the County saved $69.47 million in expenditures.

"As part of this carryover package, I am proposing the use of approximately half of the [$8 million] litigation reserve to fund an increase in the Market Rate Adjustment for county employees from 1.52 percent to 2 percent," said Bulova, who read from prepared remarks.

The county counts on having extra money at the end of the year because of rising tax collections and savings within county spending. Back in April, when the Supervisors passed the county's budget they earmarked part of the anticipated carryover funds for pay increases.

Fairfax County has fallen behind its regional counterparts with employee compensation, according to Karen Conchar of the Fairfax County Government Employees Union. "A fair pay raise represents just one-half of one percent of the County's next year's budget. Of the five Northern Virginia jurisdictions, Fairfax County ranks fourth in average county employee salaries… Meanwhile, according to one recent study, Fairfax County employees earn nearly $12,000 less per year than the average Fairfax County resident."

The county also put $28.69 million  reserves to address the projected budget shortfall in FY 2013, and this is added for the critical requirements of 2012 in light of the significant flooding event of Sept. 8, 2011."

Fairfax County Executive Tony Griffin projects a $100 million budget shortfall in FY2013. "I'm uncomfortable with the word 'surplus'," he said. "We do have a positive balance, but I don't believe it is a surplus, and it increases the likelihood that come next year, given the gap, that either employees will not get an increase next year, or to facilitate an increase, we will have to make reductions in our expenditures. I have asked department heads on the county side to give me reductions in the range of 1 percent, 3 percent and 5 percent in anticipation that should we go forward with pay increases for 2013, that we will have to make significant reductions to County programs." 

Griffin has asked department heads to plan for future budget tightening. "I have instructed agencies to identify spending reduction options as part of the FY 2013 budget development, which will be incorporated into the budget recommendations for FY 2013.

Employee raises should be at the beginning of budget deliberations, said Hunter Mill Supervisor Catherine Hudgens. "We’re going to be losing employees to other jurisdictions. We want our employees to see they are valued," she said.

The increase (effective September 24) was approved as part of the budget process known as “carryover,” which deals with the balance of funds at the end of the fiscal year. In addition to responsible and conservative annual budgeting, higher than expected sales tax revenue, the resolution of a lawsuit that would have impacted the County, and the easing of an unfunded federal mandate led to a $104 million positive balance for FY2011, which ended in June.

In addition to the compensation increase, FY2011 carryover funds will be used for continuing the ongoing update of County software system (FOCUS Project) and funding toward a new public safety headquarters. More than $28 million will be placed in a reserve fund to help prepare for FY2013, which we know will be challenging. The County Executive has also been authorized to use part of this reserve for countywide cleanup and recovery efforts related to the floods of September 8.