Grim State Budget Forecast Ups Anxiety

The county is not getting "any revenue stream" from the Virginia Department of Transportation, and "you are going to have to have the guts to get it for us," Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large) told Prince William's legislative delegation at a recent briefing.

Prince William, which has the highest number of foreclosures in the state, wants additional authority to place liens on vacant property to help recover the cost of cleaning graffiti. It also wants to extend liability protection to neighboring property owners who mow grass or remove trash and debris from vacant properties.

The board discussed, but declined to support, granting counties the authority that cities and towns have to enact cigarette, admissions and meals taxes.

"This is going to be a tough budget year, and we are going to be fending off a lot of cuts from the state," Stewart said. "We ought to focus our guns on core issues and not get sidetracked by other things."

The main difference between Kaine's October projections and the more pessimistic Senate Finance Committee projections center on employment. Kaine's numbers assumed there would be no net job losses in Virginia during fiscal 2010, which begins July 1. In that scenario, jobs would increase by 0.80 percent. But the Finance Committee's projections assume a 1 percent drop in employment.

Kaine was among the governors who met with President-elect Barack Obama yesterday in Philadelphia, where ways to help the economy were discussed.

"Among the items mentioned by Mr. Obama were investments in infrastructure and helping out on the safety net, including Medicare," said Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey. "Those things are good for the whole country and would be very good for Virginia. They are not figured into the projections we're talking about."

Staff writer Anita Kumar contributed to this report.