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TextSupervisor McKay on the FY2009 County Budget
FairfaxCounty Budget
Message from Supervisor McKay
As the Board of Supervisors worked to balance its budget for the coming fiscal year that begins on July 1, I was very concerned about losing our Strike Team momentum. Protecting our communities from illegal boarding houses and zoning violations is one of my highest priorities. I am pleased that my colleagues recognized the work that our Strike Teams are doing to protect our neighborhoods and agreed to my request o increase funding by $1.25 million for a third Strike Team.
I would also like to share my budget press release with you.
Objects in the Mirror May be Closer Than They Appear.
The object fast moving up on us is a projected $350 million dollar deficit in fiscal year 2010. This morning, the Board of Supervisors approved a $3.35 billion budget with a three-cent increase in the residential and an 11 cent increase in the commercial property tax rates.
The budget constraints that we face this year pale in comparison with the projections for next year. And that $350 million deficit could go considerably higher if property values continue to decline and food, fuel, and raw materials increase. We dodged a bullet this year. The steep drop in property values allowed us to increase the tax rate by a modest 3 cents without unduly harming homeowners who over the past five years have seen their property tax bills skyrocket.
Our County taxpayers are being hit with high fuel costs, food costs, record home foreclosures, and are tightening their household belts. They cannot afford a huge tax increase next year to overcome a County budget shortfall of this magnitude.
It would be foolish to think that we can replay that financial maneuver again next year. This year, we nibbled around the edges without curtailing needed services and still managed to overcome a $175 million budget deficit. Next year, we will be looking at cuts in services that will affect every Fairfax County resident—from the youngest schoolchild to the oldest senior.
While the County Board has committed to a serious line of business review, I am concerned because I have not heard a similar firm commitment from our colleagues on the School Board. Education is the Board’s highest priority and this year 53.13 percent of our general fund has been allocated to the schools—up from 52.3 percent last year.
I ask my School Board colleagues to engage in a rigorous line of business review that looks at every component of the school budget. Since the school’s budget is the lion’s share of our County budget, it’s obvious that changes are mandatory on the school side. This year, many core County services took cuts while the school system got a $40 million increase above County budget guidelines. There’s no way around it—we must educate our children without severe damage to other core County services that we provide—from police and fire, to human services, code enforcement, public works, environmental improvements, libraries, parks, and so many others.
The County board cannot do this alone—Schools and County are in this together and need to work as a team if we are to ride out this coming storm. I look forward to a rigorous review with the Schools so that together we can weather the coming financial storm.
You can find detailed budget information on the County’s website.
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