Prince William proposes tight budget for capital projects

Prince William County officials presented a lean capital improvement plan to supervisors Tuesday that caps new projects and relies on state and federal funding to move forward on some transportation improvements.

The proposed $794.2 million six-year plan, which would begin in fiscal 2011, would cover 42 county projects and provide money to schools for capital improvements. Although the total is up about $20 million from last year's six-year plan, Prince William Budget Director David L. Tyeryar said the fiscal plan relies on about $90 million in state and federal funding, which is slated for widening part of routes 1 and 28. If that goes, so do the road projects it's meant to support.

Tyeryar said the six-year, secondary-road plan could also be in jeopardy. The county was projected to get $2.3 million in state money over the next six years, but the Virginia Association of Counties estimates that the state will reduce its funding for secondary roads 83 percent.

"We've had a very robust road-building program," Tyeryar said. "But I think it's fair to say if we don't find additional resources, that county road-building program will stop."

"The state really needs to step up and do its job," said Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large), chairman of the Board of County Supervisors. "The county has been doing the state's job for years, and clearly we are not going to be able to continue to do that given the economic constraints we're under."

In some cases, although the capital improvement plan provides funding to finish facilities, so far there is no money in other parts of the budget to staff them, Tyeryar said. That goes for two projects whose design and construction are being financed by proffers and fire levy funds: the River Oaks Fire and Rescue Station, which is expected to be ready to open in July, and the Innovation Fire and Rescue Station.

Expansions of the animal shelter and jail and the construction of a public safety center have all been deferred, Tyeryar said. There is no new funding for historic restoration, and what happens with the parks will depend a lot on how much the Park Authority is forced to cut its budget and staff.

Although most of the presentation was bleak Tuesday, the technology portion of the capital improvement plan contained a bit of good news. Deputy County Executive Melissa Peacor said staff members have identified $7 million in savings, bringing technology funding down to $22 million over the next six years. The savings were discovered during a budget analysis this summer after three former county technology employees, along with another Virginia man, allegedly pulled off one of the largest bid-rigging and embezzlement scandals in county history.

"Nobody wants to hear there is waste, fraud or abuse occurring inside their government, but the flip side is it's being discovered, and that's going to yield savings for taxpayers," Stewart said. "The public should feel confident that if waste, fraud or abuse exists in other departments, we are going to weed it out through our robust and aggressive internal audit department."

Peacor said the savings comes from upgrading instead of replacing various systems, something Prince William officials were once told they had to do.

"This is all part of the corrective action plan following" the alleged embezzlement, she said. "When something like this happens, you want to do everything you can to make sure your budget is okay. . . . That's what we are doing, and we want to rebuild trust in county government."

Peacor said that the 800 MHz system that supports radio communication will need to be upgraded in fiscal 2011 and that the county's dispatch system will need to be upgraded in fiscal 2012. The roughly $28 million needed for these systems is set aside in reserves.

Other systems that need to be upgraded and funded include the real estate assessment and human resources payroll systems, Peacor said.

On Tuesday, the board will provide county staff members with budget guidance as they work to draft a fiscal 2011 budget. Stewart said the board will probably ask staff members to create a budget that keeps the average residential tax bill flat, or close to it, which would lead to more reductions in school system and county budgets.