Alexandria Budget Approved With No Real Estate Tax Hike

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Alexandria City Council adopted a $761.5 million fiscal year 2020 budget on May 1 with no real estate tax increase.

The real estate tax rate will remain at $1.13 per $100 of assessed value. The average homeowner's tax bill would still go up by $118, or 1.9 percent per year based on real estate assessments.

Residents will see two other increases. The vehicle personal property tax will increase from $5 per $100 of assessed value to $5.33 due to the elimination of the vehicle decal with a $33 annual fee. The city trash and recycling collection fee will increase from $373 to $411. Five dollars of the annual fee increase will fund WasteSmart initiatives. There are no increases for stormwater or sewer fees.

DASH Bus fares will increase $1.75 to $2, pending approval by the Alexandria Transit Company board. The $2 fare matches base fares for Metrobus, the Fairfax County Connector, and Arlington Transit. The montly pass price will increase from $45 to $50. The changes won't take effect until the summer shutdown of Alexandria's Metro stations is finished.

The final budget had a few differences from the one the city manager proposed in February. City Council added more funding for Alexandria City Public Schools—a total of $231.7 million in operating funds, or a 3.5 percent increase from the last budget. Other changes included a local match to increase firefighter staffing if a federal grant is received, extended King Street tree lighting, increased contingency funding to plan for a proposed commercial property clean energy program, expanded early childhood services; a legal representation program for immigrants facing deportation, and expanded nutrition assistance services for low income residents at farmers’ markets.

The budget also works on improving energy efficiency and air quality for city facilities, vehicles and street lights. The city will link 100 percent of city government energy use to renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass.

For the upcoming summer Metro shutdown, the city has allocated approximately $2.1 million in state funds and $545,740 in local funds. The money will mitigate the shutdown of Alexandria Metro stations through alternative transportation and traffic changes.

On the capital funding side, budget adds $1.62 billion over 10 years.