FFX Supervisors Lower Property Tax Rate in an Election Year

No surprise the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors decided to use its $35 million budget surplus to lower the county's property tax to by 2 cents, as it gave tentative approval to a new $6.1 billion budget.

But you could still pay more county property taxes  than last year because the value of homes in McLean increased by an average of two percent, according to the assessment notices received in March.

All 10-members of the board including Dranesville Supervisor John Foust face reelection in November. Lowering the county's property tax rate was one of the options that County Executive Anthony Griffin gave his bosses when he built-in a $30 million surplus in the proposed FY 2012 budget. That surplus then grew by another $4.7 million.

Dranesville Supervisor John Foust said,  "I am especially pleased that through management efficiencies and other reductions, the Board of Supervisors was able to reduce the tax rate from $1.09 to $1.07 while supporting the School Board’s efforts to fund expansion of full day kindergarten this year, fund programming for this year’s high school graduates with severe Intellectual Disabilities, fund the Fire and Rescue Department’s Advanced Life Support school, and fund the in-car video system for the Police Department."

The preliminary budget approval passed by a vote of 7-3 Tuesday. Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, Braddock District Supervisor John Cook and Sully District Supervisor Michael Frey — all Republicans — voted against the budget.

In a statement, Chairwoman Sharon Bulova said the proposed 2012 budget included more than $20 million in reductions, on top of the $180 million in reductions the county already made in the previous two fiscal years.

In voting against the budget, Cook said it didn't include significant reductions in spending. He said the county's general fund disbursements are also larger in the 2012 budget than in budgets at the beginning of the recession. This seems to indicate "that we are no longer interested in generating savings that can benefit the taxpayer," he wrote.

Budget highlights:

---The Board of Supervisors identified about $3 million in additional funding that could help the school board implement full-day kindergarten in the 37 county elementary schools currently without it, including four in McLean. Total cost of putting full-day kindergarten in all elementary schools: $8 million.

---More than half of the county's general fund goes to fund the county's schools. The Board of Supervisors turned down the school board's request for nearly $50 million in additional money to give teachers and administrators a pay raise.

---No pay increases for county staff. However the board directed County Executive Griffin to review the county's fiscal condition at the end of fiscal 2011. Based on that review, supervisors asked Griffin to identify funding for a 1.12 percent market rate adjustment for all county employees, which would take effect in October.

---A reduction of the personal property tax rate for fully disabled veterans to $0.01 per $100 of the assessed value of one vehicle. Combined with the exemption for real estate taxes on the primary residences of these veterans and their spouses, the total cost to the county is $3.6 million.

---$1.5 million for Advanced Life Support Incumbent Training for the Fire and Rescue Department

---An increase of $1.3 million in funding for high school graduates with Intellectual Disabilities and medical detoxification and the diversion to detoxification programs.

The board will formally adopt the budget April 26. It will go into effect July 1.  No changes are expected between this preliminary budget and the final budget.

Vienna Patch Editor Erica R. Hendry contributed to this story.