Fairfax County and the City of Alexandria both passed their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1. And both are coming with changes in taxes and fees for residents.
Both Alexandria and Fairfax County gave homeowners a bit of a break with a decrease in the real estate tax rate.
The City of Alexandria reduced its real estate tax rate for residences by 2 cents to $1.11 per $100 of assessed value. In Fairfax County, the rate decreased by 1 cent to $1.14 per $100 of assessed value.
However, thanks to a significant increase in the assessed value of homes, most residential property owners will be paying more in real estate taxes in the coming year. (Some commercial real estate has decreased in value in the past year, and those property owners may see lower tax bills.)
Residents in both areas will be paying more for some services, as well.
In Fairfax County, the refuse collection fee will increase by $30, going up to $400 per household for those who receive County trash services. In addition, the Fairfax County sewer service charges will increase by 44 cents to $7.72 per 1,000 gallons. The sewer service base charge will also increase by $3.63 per quarter to $36.45 per household.
Alexandria city residents will pay much more in stormwater fees as the City of Alexandria significantly increases funding to deal with increasingly frequent floods. Earlier this spring, city council approved increasing stormwater fees from $140 to $280 per year for single-family homes (less for condos and townhomes), with more increases possible in the future.
In Alexandria, residents will also be paying more for refuse services, with a $24.22 increase in the residential refuse collection fee, from $460.00 to $484.22. This will help fund new vehicles required to convert yard waste collection and recycling from a contracted service to a city operation.
Local school systems take the lion’s share of the annual budget in both jurisdictions. The budget adds more than $29.3 million to the Fairfax County Public Schools budget of more than $2.38 billion. In the City of Alexandria, the budget provides $239 million to Alexandria City Public Schools, an increase of $5 million.
City and county staff salaries and benefits are also a major budget item. In Fairfax County, merit employees will receive a $1,000 one-time bonus and non-merit employees will receive a $500 bonus. In addition, all county employees will get a 1 percent pay increase. In Alexandria, city employees will receive their annual merit increases, which were deferred in the previous budget, and a pay increase, as well.
Additional highlights:
- In Alexandria, DASH bus fares will be eliminated.
- The City of Alexandria has put School Resource Officer program funds in a contingent reserve and will instead look to fund more mental health and wellness support services.
- There is a new position coming to Fairfax County: the first Immigrant Community Liaison. The chosen person will work with County departments to address specific immigrant community concerns.
A few things are planned for the future, as well, in Fairfax County, including an expansion in who will be eligible for tax relief.
