Arlington 2012-13 Budget Prep Begins This Week

This week Arlington County will formally start the process of developing its 2012-13 budget.

It begins 5 p.m. Wednesday with a county board work session with the county manager. The manager will then give an overview of her proposed spending plan at the board's Feb. 14 recessed meeting. At that point, elected officials must agree on the ceiling for any potential tax increases.

A series of meetings will be held with department heads, school officials and members of the public through April.

Meetings of note:

• Feb. 21: The board will hear budget request from the various commissions the county has established.
• Feb. 28: The board will hear from departments that deal with affordable housing and social safety net issues.
• March 1: The board will here from police, fire, emergency management and the sheriff's office.
• March 6: The board will hear from libraries and parks officials.
• March 20: The board will hold a public hearing on the budget.
• March 22: The board will hold a public hearing on the tax rate.
• March 29: The board will hear from Arlington Public Schools officials.
• April 17: The board will make its final budget decisions.
• April 21: Budget adoption.

Arlington's current budget is about $1.3 billion.

The base tax rate is 95.8 cents per $100 assessed value for real estate and storm water. That equals an annual payment of about $4,888 for the owner of a $510,200 home -- the average assessed value of a home in Arlington.