The Prince William Board of County Supervisors agreed to reduce the real estate tax rate by 15.2 cents this year — from 91 cents to 75.8 cents per $100 of assessed home value — at a budget mark-up meeting Tuesday.
The reduction was made to help homeowners deal with an average 32 percent increase in assessments this year. The rate reduction will hold tax increases to 5.7 percent, or $174 for an average home.
Earlier this year, the board proposed reducing the rate to 76.7 cents. County calculations that were refined during the budget process found that the 76.7-cent cut would have increased tax bills, on average, by 7 percent. Supervisors had previously promised tax bills would never increase by more than 5.9 percent.
The tax rate has dropped more than 60 cents since 2000 to “what will probably be the lowest tax rate in Northern Virginia,” said Board Chairman Sean Connaughton.
But Supervisor Corey Stewart, R-Occoquan, is worried about what the cuts could mean for the county’s future. “This budget is a huge increase in spending over last year” — a rise of nearly 16 percent over last year, he said, though other supervisors said the amount was closer to 13 percent.
Stewart expressed concern that as real estate prices level out, the county will not be able to afford similar spending increases next year.
Prince William Budget Additions
» National Museum of Americans at War: $100,000
» Belmont Bay Science Center: $250,000
» Prince William Soccer Inc. Field Grants: $25,000
» Rainy Day Fund: $6.1 million
