Monday, April 8, 2013
The first of three public hearings on FY 2014 plan is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday. Speakers can sign up in advance.
A series of public hearings on Fairfax County’s Fiscal Year 2014 budget package will kick off Tuesday evening, giving residents a chance to advocate for changes to funding allocations and other issues. County Executive Ed Long’s advertised $7 billion budget, unveiled in late February, proposes raising the county's real estate tax rate and making cuts to some county programs and services in an effort to close shortfalls. The 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate, from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095, is expected to raise approximately $42 million in revenues. But on top of new, higher real estate assessments, the increase would burden the average resident with approximately $262 more in taxes each year. Some officials have…
Thursday, February 28, 2013
County Executive Ed Long will chat with residents on proposed $7 billion Fiscal Year 2014 county budget.
Do you have questions about Fairfax County’s FY2014 proposed budget? Your chance to get answers from County Executive Ed Long is coming Thursday morning. Long will host an hour-long chat starting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday to discuss his proposed $7 billion budget, which he unveiled for officials and the public Tuesday. The advertised package includes a 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate from $1.075 per $100 of assessed value to $1.095. The increase is projected to raise nearly $42 million in count revenue. But when coupled with increases in real estate assessments, the proposed rate would cost the average county household about $262 more in real estate taxes. The budget also reduces funding for parks and libraries, and allots the …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The county faces a $169 million shortfall.
Fairfax County Executive Ed Long will unveil the county’s proposed Fiscal Year 2014 budget this Tuesday. The county faces budget shortfalls of $169 million and $274 million in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, respectively. In order to better prepare for the future, he says, Long will present a multi-year budget plan for FY2014-2015 during the Board of Supervisors regularly scheduled Feb. 26 meeting. Those shortfalls are based on keeping the tax rate unchanged while also increasing the transfer to Fairfax County Public Schools. Fairfax County School Board officials intend to ask for an increase of 5.5 percent – or $92.4 million – for a total transfer of $1.77 billion. During a joint meeting of the two boards in November 2012, Long included an …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
County relies on $290 million in Federal dollars, including $135 million for schools.
Fairfax County is staring down projected budget deficits in both Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015, and officials are waiting anxiously for Congress to make a decision on sequestration cuts that would only make those gaps worse. In a presentation Tuesday, County Executive Ed Long told Virginia legislators the county was projected to face shortfalls of $169 million in FY2014 and $274 million in 2015. And there’s no telling what sequestration would do to those numbers. The county currently relies heavily on about $290 million in Federal dollars, including $135 million for Fairfax County Public Schools, $58 million in Federal grants, $38 million for the General Fund and more. “We can certainly hope that sequestration does not kick in but there’s a …
Sunday, October 7, 2012
How do you think a a $3 billion transportation shortfall should be funded?
Fairfax County residents will have a few extra days to let know officials know how they think a $3 billion transportation shortfall should be fixed. The county's online survey was originally scheduled to close at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 12. It will now close at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 15. County officials need the public’s opinion on how to address a massive lack of transportation dollars in the future – about $300,000 a year for the next 10 years. The federal and Virginia governments currently don’t have money to help the situation. Officials have outlined 20 potential options to increase revenues for transportation infrastructure, including a 1 percent sales tax on services and a .5 percent income tax. The county is also in the process of hosting a …
Monday, September 24, 2012
How do you think Fairfax County should fund $3 billion in needs over 10 years?
Fairfax County residents can provide input starting Monday on how the county should fund an estimated $3 billion gap in transportation funding over the next 10 years. From Monday to Sept. 12, residents can take an online survey and submit their thoughts on how Fairfax County transportation needs should be funded. The Board of Supervisors and the Transportation Advisory Committee will also host a series of nine public meetings in the coming weeks before making a decision. The first meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at Springfield Government Center, 6140 Rolling Road, in Springfield. Officials have outlined 20 potential options to increase revenues for transportation infrastructure, including a 1 percent sales tax on services and a .5 …
Friday, May 27, 2011
School board members say future budgets must better address teacher raises, per pupil funding
The Fairfax County School Board approved a 1 percent pay raise for employees and county-wide full-day kindergarten with a unanimous passage of a $2.2 billion fiscal year 2012 budget late Thursday night. A handful of parents supporting full-day kindergarten, all dressed in white shirts as a show of solidarity for their cause, cheered when the budget finally passed. They hoisted placards thanking school officials for implementing “full-day K” after the vote was final. “It is unfair to deny students the same educational opportunity as their peers just because of the neighborhood in which their parents live,” said board member Elizabeth Bradsher (Springfield). “We’re correcting that tonight.” The vote will put full-day kindergarten in place at…
Tony Z
12:35 pm on Wednesday, September 26, 2012
For the record T-Bird, a license to operate a motor vehicle and ownership of a motor vehicle is a privilege, not a right. So there is no reason why the government can't regulate the drivers/vehicles more thoroughly. And if drivers would follow the basic rules we were taught in drivers education traffic would flow more smoothly in the area. more ›