Alexandria city employees on Monday blasted the city manager’s plan to have them contribute more toward their own retirement as part of his 2012 budget, while business leaders objected to a proposed tax increase intended to pay for transportation projects.
Dozens spoke at a public hearing before the City Council, which quickly evolved into a debate between the council and the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce over the city’s plan to raise commercial real estate taxes by 12.5 cents for every $100 of assessed property value.
The additional tax money would be dedicated to transportation projects. Arlington and Fairfax counties already have similar taxes in place.
The chamber, however, said the council’s comparisons to the counties was unfair. Most Alexandria businesses are small and locally owned and operated, and such a tax would be far more difficult for them than it is for many of the national corporations more commonly found in Arlington and Fairfax, officials said.
City staffers also took exception to a proposed 1 percent increase in their contributions toward their retirements, which could affect some 2,600 employees.
Employees questioned why officials would effectively shrink their pay just as the city’s financial outlook is recovering — it’s the first time in three years the city isn’t facing a budget deficit.
City employees haven’t received a market rate pay increase in four years, according to Brenda D’Silva, a police department employee and representative of the city’s civilian employees.
“The civilian employees have always been put on the back burner,” D’Silva said. “But we’re the infrastructure for the city. We keep things working, but they don’t value us.”
