County Begins Two-Month Budget Process

With the BOCS resolution on Feb. 21 to advertise the proposed FY 13 tax rate of $1.215, the county has taken the first step in this year’s budget preparation process, a process that will take just over two months.

The county is on a relatively tight schedule in this process. State code mandates that the county must advertise a new tax rate 30 days before any public hearings. In addition, state code also mandates that the schools budget must be finalized by May 1.

"If we don't adopt the schools budget by May 1, then the superintendent and the school board would need to let teachers know that their contracts were being terminated at the end of June 30 because there was no authorized funding for them to start the school year on July 1,” said Michelle Casciato, who represented the Office of Management and Budget at the Feb. 21 county board meeting.

School funding featured prominently in the budget discussion on Tuesday. In a breakdown of sources of funding for PWCS, about 49 percent comes from county funding, Casciato estimated. The rest comes from state and federal funding.

The majority of the county funding come from real estate taxes, and the majority of the real estate taxes are from residential real estate, she continued. The majority of state and federal funding, on the other hand, comes from income tax. PWC does not have the ability to levy an income tax, Casciato explained.

Currently, the proposed county budget would give the schools $19.6 million, $1 million less than they were originally considering. This year, the school system needs to pay out $32 million to the Virginia Retirement System: a sum it will also have to pay next year. The schools must also pay an additional $10.8 million for the Cost-of-Competing.

As yet, Casciato said, the school superintendent, Steven Walts, has not accounted for that $10.8 million in the school budget, since school leadership was hoping they would not have to pay that this year, in a time when finances are already so tight.

In addition to all of this, federal funding has been cut by $11 million, and state funding has been cut by $12 million, Casciato said.

All of this would impact teacher raises, Casciato reported Walts as saying.

During Citizens’ Time, teachers and parents responded to the proposed budget, many pleading for a tax rate increase that would accommodate raises for teachers.

“One step of a increase would make a difference for me and my family," the spouse of a teacher said.

One teacher estimates she has worked over 7000 extra hours in the last 12 years of teaching.

“It's important that additional tax monies get funneled into our school system," parent Jeannie Ingram said.  "As a parent and a taxpayer, I insist that my children get their world-class education.”

One citizen said that PWCS had the largest class sizes in the state, but the average teacher’s salary is near the bottom of school systems in the D.C. area.

Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta agreed that teachers deserve a raise. "I would like the board to set a tax rate that would accommodate a raise or ask the school board what they would cut in order to give teachers a raise."

In the discussion on the budget before the vote, Casciato presented possible scenarios based on a flat tax rate or a flat tax bill. Casciato explained the difference between a flat tax rate and a flat tax bill: a flat tax bill is when the bill for this year is the same as the bill for last year. The tax rate drops to accommodate a flat tax bill, because of inflation.

With a flat tax rate of $1.204, schools money would decline by $2.7 million in FY 13 and by $31.5 million over the five year plan. The county share would decrease by $2 million in FY 13 and by $24 million over the five year plan.

With a flat tax bill of $1.175, schools money would decline by $9.8 million in FY 13 and by $179.4 million over the five year plan. The county share would decrease by $7.4 million in FY 13 and by $136.7 million over the five year plan.

In the second scenario, “you would be reducing county government by a third of what it is today," Casciato said.

Currently, PWC still has the lowest tax burden and lowest tax rate in Northern Virginia, she said.

Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi made a motion to raise the proposed tax rate from $1.215 to $1.218 to provide the schools with an extra $1 million. This failed, with only Principi voting in favor of the motion.

The main motion to advertise the proposed tax rate of $1.215 passed, with only Gainesville Supervisor Peter Candland and Potomac District Supervisor Maureen Caddigan voting against.

The future schedule for the budget planning process is as follows:

Budget Work Sessions: March 20, March 27
School Board Budget and CIP Adoption: March 21
Budget Public Hearing: March 29
Budget Recap: April 10
Budget Markup: April 17
Budget Adoption: April 24

The board also passed the following items from the agenda:

Authorize Advertisement and Public Hearing to Consider Fiscal 2013 (Tax Year 2012) Personal Property, Special Levies and Business, Professional, and Occupational License, Stormwater Fee and Other County Tax Rates and Fees and Personal Property Tax Relief for Qualifying Vehicles.

Authorize Advertisement of Aggregate Assessed Value of all Real Property Exempted from Taxation, the Total Reduction in Tax Revenues Resulting from Such Exemptions and the Percentage the Exemptions Represent of the Aggregate Assessed Value of all Real Property.

Authorize Public Hearing and Publication of the Notice of Proposed Real Property Tax Increase.

Authorize Public Hearing and Publication of Fiscal 2013-2018 Capital Improvement Program in Conjunction with Fiscal 2013 Budget Public Hearings.

Authorize Public Hearing to Consider Fiscal Year 2013 Countywide Solid Waste User Fee Rates.