No Real Estate Tax Hike Expected Under Alexandria Budget

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Alexandria's proposed fiscal year 2019 budget would keep the real estate tax the same, although rising property values would increase the average tax bill by $197 annually. City Manager Mark Jinks presented the $742.3 million general fund budget and $2.1 billion for the Capital Improvement Program to the City Council Tuesday.

“Last year, the City faced flat revenues and unexpected new costs,” said Jinks in a statement. “Because we made responsible choices, we are in a position to maintain our progress this year without significant adverse changes. I am proud to propose a budget with no tax rate increases, no major service reductions, and funding for 100% of the Superintendent’s requests for the Alexandria City Public Schools operating budget and 10-year capital plan.”

The proposed budget includes a $10.1 million increase for Alexandria City Public Schools operations and debt service, as well as $101.7 million more for school facility needs in the CIP, fully funding the district's requests.

The budget will also fund the new Vision Zero traffic safety initiative and improvements to the King Street retail corridor, expand opioid treatment, and enhance employee recruitment and retention. City operations will increase by $970K after $4.3 million in budget reductions across departments.

After flat revenue and new costs prompted the City Council to approve a real estate tax last year, increasing real estate values will provide enough revenue to keep the tax rate the same this time around. The current $1.13 per $100 real estate tax is on par with neighboring Fairfax County, where a 2.5 cent increase is proposed for the next fiscal year. It is higher than Arlington County's $1.006 and and lower than the City of Falls Church's $1.33.

There are no changes proposed for the personal property tax, the stormwater and refuse collection fees, but the sewer fee is proposed to increase from $1.82 to $2.28. This change is due to required remediation of the city's combined sewer systems by mid-2025. The fix will mitigate the raw sewage flow into the Potomac River.

The city will adopt the fiscal year 2019 budget on May 3. Other meetings open to the public include a budget presentation Feb. 22, public hearing on March 12 and a tax rate hearing on April 14.

Like Del Ray Patch on Facebook to stay up to date with local news.

Image via Patch editor Emily Leayman