Prince William County is facing its greatest budget challenge in its history as the nation suffers through a recession, Prince William County Chairman Corey Stewart said Tuesday.
“[The year] 2009 will present the toughest fiscal challenge that this board and this county has ever faced,” Stewart said in his annual State of the County address.
While the county is not facing a shortfall this fiscal year, dropping residential assessments and shrinking sales taxes have contributed to a projected shortfall of $190 million for fiscal 2010, which begins July 1.
Stewart said supervisors will have to cut spending to shore up the budget.
“The cuts will be deep. The cuts will often be painful,” the Republican chairman said.
County Executive Craig Gerhart agreed that the Board of Supervisors will have to be careful in spending its available funds.
“Funds are extremely limited,” he said, adding that the county is “woefully limited” in the levels of service currently provided by county agencies.
However, Stewart said supervisors are planning a tax cut for homeowners and are hoping to battle the county’s foreclosure crisis.
Prince William County consistently led Virginia in foreclosure rates throughout 2008. To help remedy the problem, supervisors recently approved a program that would leverage $50 million per year to allow county employees to buy foreclosed homes, though Stewart acknowledged Tuesday the plan is “only a small dent into the problem.”
Despite the economic downturn, Stewart pointed out that 28 companies have announced intentions to invest $326 million in the county and hire 520 new high-wage workers in the past year.
