Fairfax County supervisors will consider a menu of fee increases Tuesday that would cost residents an extra $100 next budget year.
Kicking off three days of public hearings that will shape how they tackle a $257 million budget gap, supervisors will discuss raising sewage bills about $60 each year for the average homeowner — with an additional three years of increases planned — and reinstating a $33 vehicle registration fee. With real estate taxes also expected to rise from $1.04 to as high as $1.12 per $100 of assessed value, homeowners won’t reap the tax savings tied to plummeting home values, either.
While the Republican minority has united against the fees and what it calls exorbitant property taxes, even some Democratic supervisors are questioning whether the burden is too great for Fairfax residents.
“I think it’s too much of an increase for one year,” Supervisor John Foust, D-Dranesville, said of the sewage bill increase. “I understand the challenge they have to meet the environmental regulations being imposed on us, but I’m reluctant to go that far.”
» Sewage rates, vehicle registration and courthouse fees, 2:30 p.m. Tuesday
» School board, 6 p.m. Tuesday
» Public hearings will take place following the school board presentation Tuesday and beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday
» All hearings will be held at the Fairfax County Government Center auditorium, 12000 Government Center Parkway.
County officials have said they need to raise sewage rates to meet increasingly stringent nitrogen removal standards for the ailing Chesapeake Bay. The steeper bills would generate an additional $18 million next budget year, according to county projections.
Jurisdictions throughout Northern Virginia are exploring similar rate increases.
The county scrapped its vehicle fee in 2006, but it appears likely to re-emerge after multiple supervisors endorsed the move. However, drivers would not be forced to display a decal on their cars — an aesthetic tweak demanded by many Fairfax residents.
Vehicles weighing more than 4,000 pounds would be subject to a $38 fee and taxis, $23.
In a less-contested move, supervisors will hold a public hearing on a $2 courthouse fee for those engaged in civil lawsuits.
The new fees, combined with a more than $100 million reduction in county spending, are expected to make up for a drastic loss in real estate revenue — responsible for funding most county services.
