No Change To Real Estate Tax Rate In Approved Falls Church Budget For Fiscal Year 2024

FALLS CHURCH, VA — The real estate tax rate will stay the same, and some priorities like speed cameras and additional library hours received funding in the approved City of Falls Church budget.

The Falls Church City Council gave 6-0 approval to the budget Monday night following a budget process with public hearings and town halls. Councilmember Dave Snyder noted the contributions to the budget process from Councilmember Phil Duncan, who was not present after receiving a double lung transplant, as reported by the Falls Church News Press.

At Monday's meeting, Mayor David Tarter noted the budget process has been better than "many years ago."

"We've got a new high school, and we've got some great economic development thats going to pay dividends for years and years to come. We're just getting started with some of these projects. West End project hasn't even opened yet, Whole Foods is under construction, the movie theater is set to open this summer," said Tarter. "So there's a lot on the horizon I think is very exciting and very helpful the city and to continue the great work we've done today. So I'm delighted to support this budget, and I thank all those who've worked so hard to get us where we are today."

The city's $119.16 million operating budget is a 5.6 percent over last year's $112.8 million budget. A large share — over $49.1 million — will be transferred to Falls Church City Public Schools. The school district's budget is expected to total $61.4 million, which includes state and federal funds and is a 6 percent increase over the last budget. The FCCPS advertised budget approved before the city's budget process funds staff pay and benefits to keep the school district competitive in the job market.

In addition, a new six-year Capital Improvement Program outlines capital funding for city facilities, city schools, parks, fields, the library, transportation, sewer and stormwater infrastructure. The $153.4 million capital plan has significant funding from federal and state grants. The city doesn't anticipate taxpayer-funded debt is needed until fiscal year 2027. A large share — $93 million — is geared toward transportation.

The real estate tax rate of $1.23 per $100 of assessed value will remain the same. However, the impact of market appreciation on property values will increase the average homeowner’s real estate tax bill by $364, or 3.4 percent.

"Councilmember [Phil] Duncan asked if we could lower the tax rate, and we all want to do that," said Snyder. "I think the issue was that the cuts would have to be made, and they couldn't really be identified without affecting major priorities."

The city's personal property tax on vehicles will increase by 50 cents to $4.80 per $100. The action doesn't quite return the tax rate to what it was before City Council lowered it by 70 cents last year to account for higher used car values. Average bills will fall by an estimated 8.8 percent.

"This would put some of those cents back into the tax rate," said City Manager Wyatt Shields. "But assessed values for vehicles are now dropping very sharply as we predicted that they would after the supply chain related disruptions that cause prices to go up so sharply in the last two years. And so for the average car owner, there would be a decrease in the bill paid relative to last year."

The sanitary sewer rate will increase 3 percent from $10.17 to $10.48 per 1,000 gallons, while the stormwater rate will increase 4 percent from $19.28 to $20.05 per 200 square feet of impervious area. Both were due to cost increases.

On the personnel side, the budget provides a 3 percent cost of living adjustment, step increase for uniformed police officers and 6 percent merit increase for other employees.

Budget revisions City Council made during the budget process include $80,000 for energy management software and renewable energy credits for city operations, $50,000 for city events (particularly Watch Night Falls Church and Fourth of July), $800,000 from capital reserves for maintenance of pavements, sidewalks, crosswalks, and traffic signals, and $104,500 for the Affordable Housing Fund of funds for a rental assistance program serving households making 30 to 40 percent of the area median income.

The budget also includes:

• An additional red light camera and speed camera in the 900 block of W. Broad Street school zone with funding for an additional part-time officer to review citations.
• $40,000 to add two more hours on weekends at Mary Riley Styles Public Library.
• Increasing the school resource officer unit from one to two full-time officers in schools.
• Funding a three-person rapid response crew focused on pedestrian and bike safety.
• Funding a construction inspector to ensure public improvements such as stormwater and sanitary sewer by private developers are monitored and meet city requirements; funding through proposed increase to Right of Way Permit fee.
• Funding a part-time fire inspector position in addition to one full-time inspector to account for growth in commercial and apartment buildings.
• IT core infrastructure renewal and replacement in the Capital Improvement Program.
• $3.25 million over six years in the Capital Improvement Program for the fire station improvements, public building security, and police facilities and equipment investments.
• $93 million over six years in the Capital Improvement Program for transportation projects and Metro funding.
• $200,000 for neighborhood traffic calming.
• $610,000 for park trail and playground equipment improvements through capital reserves.
• $75,000 per year for downtown beautification and improvements, funding through 1 percent of the 6 percent transient occupancy tax.
• $120,000 for the Affordable Housing Fund to expand the rental subsidy program to four households with 30 percent and 40 percent of the area median income.
• Funding for six major flood mitigation projects and green infrastructure projects in the Capital Improvement Program.
• $600,000 in federal grant funds for six electric and six hybrid vehicles and ten chargers for public works and $200,000 of local funds for vehicles and heavy equipment replacement with more fuel-efficient vehicles in the Capital Improvement Program.
• $2.4 million over the six-year Capital Improvement Program to reduce sewer backflow in basements or streams during floods.

Councilember Caroline Lian noted that unfunded priorities could still be funded later through revenue re-estimates before the next budget cycle.

Check back on the city's website in the coming days to find final budget documents.