Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Considers Giving Themselves a Raise

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to consider giving themselves a raise.

The vote was 8-2, with Supervisors Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) and Linda Smith (D-Providence District) voting against the measure.

The supervisors currently make $75,000 a year.

A sitting board can’t increase its own salaries, according to Virginia statutes. An increase would have to be approved before OKing a budget during an election year, which would be 2015. If a raise goes forward, it wouldn’t kick in until after the November 2015 election.

The last time the board saw a hike in pay was six years ago; the board voted for a 27 percent increase in 2007, when salaries were $59,000, giving them their current $75,000 annual salary that went into effect for board members who took office the next year.

The board on Tuesday asked staff to find out what other similar jurisdictions are paid.

The median salary for a regular member of any Virginia board of supervisors is $7,000, according to a recent article in Washington Business Journal.For the jurisdictions with more than 100,000, the median is $38,146 for district supervisors, and $43,847 for the chairman. Fairfax County’s population is about 1.1 million.

In Hennipin County, Minn., population about 1.1 million, board members are paid $97,000. Contra Costa County, Calif. board recently gave themselves a raise, from $97,476 to $129,216. In Hillsborough County, Fla, population of about 1.1 million, supervisors are paid $92,097 per year, as of 2011.

Herrity blasted the idea of raising salaries for the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

“With today’s vote the Board of Supervisors showed again that they are completely out of touch with the residents of Fairfax County,” Herrity said in a news release.

“It is ridiculous that in a time where we have imposed a tax increase on our residents in each of the last seven years, our commercial vacancy rate is hovering at 19%, we are facing a $178 million shortfall, and our AAA bond rating is in jeopardy, that we as a board are considering giving ourselves a pay increase,” he said.

“I cannot support looking at raising our salaries,” he said, “our residents don’t have this luxury, and we have more pressing priorities to deal with.”

PHOTO of board members (left to right); photo courtesy of Fairfax County

• Catherine M. Hudgins (Hunter Mill District)
• Michael R. Frey (Sully District)
• John C. Cook (Braddock District)
• Gerald W. Hyland (Mount Vernon District)
• Sharon Bulova (Chairman, At-Large)
• Penelope A. Gross (Mason District, Vice Chairman)
• John W. Foust (Dranesville District)
• Jeffrey C. McKay (Lee District)
• Pat Herrity (Springfield District)
• Linda Q. Smyth (Providence District)