Update: McLean Community Center Approves $18 million Budget

 The McLean Community Center board has approved* a nearly $18 million budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013 that includes a tiny tax decrease for the neighbors.

The budget consists of $6 million in funds to largely pay staff to operate the Old Firehouse Teen Center in downtown, the Alden Theater housed in the Community Center and a schedule of classes. Plus a surplus estimated at nearly $12 million for the coming fiscal year.

Half of the operating budget comes from taxpayers. McLean residents and part of Great Falls live in a special tax district created to finance the Community Center.

The board lowered the tax rate from 2.3 cents to 2.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. If your home is valued at $700,000, you will pay $161 this year and $154 next year, a savings of $7. Owners of homes valued at $800,000 will pay $184 now and $176 next year, an $8 savings.

The budget also appears to include $1 million to subsidize the programs. Finance Committee chair David Sanders, whom we asked about this last week, said he still had no answer at Wednesday night's meeting.

ORIGINAL Story: Sept. 27. The McLean Community Center is poised to approve next year's budget at tonight's meeting. That budget contains some curious unexplained spending of taxpayers' money.

McLean Patch asked David Sanders, head of the board's Finance Committee, to explain the numbers, but he declined to respond to our inquiries.

Sanders' committee has recommended a $6 million operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2012. The MCC also has a surplus of at least $12.5 million.

McLean (and some Great Falls) taxpapers pay a supplemental property tax to finance the center. The surplus accumulated over the years because the MCC board collected more in taxes than they needed to operate the center.

Here are the curious numbers and the questions about them that Sanders declined to explain to the neighbors:

• The community center offers a variety of classes from cooking to yoga. Fees are charged for the classes. The budget says instructional programs will bring in $524,000 in revenue. But will cost $781,000. Does this mean that taxpayers are subsidizing the classes?

• The performing arts, primarily the Alden Theater, will bring in $172,000 in revenue, according to the proposed budget. But performing arts will cost more than $1 million. The Alden sells tickets to all performances. Does this mean that taxpayers are subsidizing the center's productions?

• If a subsidy is needed, why not use money in the surplus? The proposed budget calls for using new tax revenue. The budget calls for collecting $3.7 million in property tax revenue plus $60,000 in interest on investments. The bulk of the center's finances comes from taxpayers.

A $30,000 customer-survey paid for by McLean Community Center and released in April showed while a majority of residents said they like the center, a much lower percentage of residents actually use it.

Meeting: Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m., McLean Community Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave.

*The Community Center is an agency of the Fairfax County government. That means the budget must be approved by county staff and ultimately the Board of Supervisors.

A copy of the  approved FY 2012 budget and the approved MCC budget appears with this story.