Fairfax County Executive Anthony Griffin proposed on Tuesday a $33 vehicle registration fee to help plug a $257 million budget gap, aiming to lessen the role of the real estate market in keeping the county afloat.
An effort to bring back the car fee was killed last year, but supervisors say they expect it to pass this time around. “I think we’re going to have to do it,” said Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust. “There’s only so much of a burden we can put on homeowners.”
The measure is expected to inject $27 million into the county coffers next budget year, if approved. Griffin also proposed a 5-cent increase in the property tax rate, slashing 284 county jobs and reducing transfer money to Fairfax County Public Schools by $16 million from the current budget.
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County supervisors will grapple with the suggestions in coming weeks and plan to adopt the budget in late April.
Under the proposal, the real estate tax rate would rise from $1.04 to $1.09 per $100 of assessed value, which county officials say would raise $93 million.
Quality of life departments, such as libraries and parks, were among the hardest hit in the proposal. Libraries would cut hours, shedding $3.4 million and 81 positions. And parks would lose $2.4 million worth of services and employees.
Griffin also proposed eliminating 26 community resource officers stationed at middle schools. Officials have said they are among the primary reasons gang activity has subsided in the county. Griffin also proposed eliminating 26 community resource officers stationed at middle schools.
Officials have said they are among the primary reasons gang activity has subsided in the county. “That just can’t happen,” Supervisor Jeff McKay, D-Lee. “I don’t see us passing a budget with that included.” The Fairfax County School Board will have to reconcile a budget that delivers $98 million less than it proposed. The school system would account for 53 percent of the total budget.
The county would cut 284 jobs and implement a compensation freeze for the second consecutive year. Still, the proposal wasn’t as dire as expected. Griffin scaled back his initial $316 million shortfall projection thanks to better-than-expected residential property values. But it continues a dramatic fall for the county that rose on the back of the housing boom. “It just confirms what people already know,” McKay said. “We don’t have any money.”
