Prince William County homeowners would see a cut of nearly 15 cents in the property tax rate under a spending plan proposed yesterday to the county supervisors.
The reduction is the largest proposed so far in Northern Virginia as localities launch the spring budget season. Real estate values have skyrocketed throughout the area, and taxpayers have clamored for cuts in the rate at which their property is taxed.
County Executive Craig S. Gerhart offered a $760 million budget.
(File Photo)
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In Prince William, the average existing home has risen in value by 23 percent in the past year. With a cut in the tax rate from $1.07 per $100 of assessed value to 92.4 cents, the tax bill on the typical home in Prince William would rise by 5.9 percent.
If approved, the rate would be the lowest in modern Prince William's history. The last time the rate was under $1 was 1967, when it was 90 cents, county Budget Director David Tyeryar said.
County Executive Craig S. Gerhart, who presented his $760 million spending blueprint yesterday, said he and his staff followed a directive from the Board of County Supervisors last October to keep the average tax increase for homeowners below 6 percent for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The average assessment of an existing home jumped from $266,502 to $326,800, and taxes would increase by $168 for the year.
In neighboring counties, officials have proposed more modest cuts in local tax rates -- of 5 cents per $100 assessed value in Arlington County and 3.75 cents in Loudoun County -- to offset soaring property values, which have roughly doubled in the region since 2000. Fairfax County residents will get their first glimpse of County Executive Anthony H. Griffin's budget plans Monday, while Alexandria's budget is expected to be made public March 8.
"This community has gone further to offset property assessments," Gerhart said in an interview yesterday. "Nobody has made that many pennies go away."
Because development has quickly expanded the county's tax base, Gerhart said he is able to propose a spending increase of 11 percent over the current budget and still cut the tax rate generously. The budget would fund two new elementary schools and nine road projects and help educate 3,360 more students than this year's 66,093.
The Prince William Taxpayers Alliance, an anti-tax group, would like the average increase to "be along the lines of the inflation rate," said Rick Hendrix, the group's chairman. "But this is a step in the right direction."
The alliance has hounded board Chairman Sean T. Connaughton (R) as he runs for lieutenant governor, saying he has played down the role of assessments in rising tax bills.
"We might have been better off if he had run for statewide office earlier," Hendrix said.
Connaughton said his run for lieutenant governor had no role in yesterday's proposal to cut the tax rate. He said everyone has been working toward the tax cap "to try to make sure the tax burden doesn't get out of hand."
Gerhart cautioned the supervisors yesterday that Prince William could find itself strapped for cash if the board continues to insist on a tax cap in the coming years, even as the county competes with surrounding counties to provide services such as good schools and an effective police department.
"At some point, we're going to decide if we are inexpensive or just cheap," Gerhart said.
Already Prince William is facing competition from surrounding counties for police officers and firefighters. Last year, about 60 police officers left the Prince William department -- many for the homeland security industry -- and there are 20 vacancies in the department.
In an effort to combat the turnover, Gerhart is proposing giving a $500 bonus to any county employee who refers a police or fire recruit to the county. The county would also give police and fire recruits a $3,000 signing bonus if they complete training and bonuses for remaining with the county.
Budget meetings, work sessions and public hearings are scheduled for March, with final passage of the budget set for April 19.
