Fairfax Supervisors Vote Remotely To Adopt FY 2021 Budget

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — For the first time in its history, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted remotely on a proposed budget. The Board opted Tuesday to keep spending levels flat to offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the county, as it approved the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget.

"This was a budget unlike any other any of us had ever seen before, and I appreciate the time and effort that all of my colleagues put into the budget process, especially during trying times," said Chairman Jeff McKay, after voting was done.

McKay presided over Tuesday's Board meeting from a conference room at the Fairfax County Government Center, with the other supervisors video conferencing in, as they followed social distancing best practices.

The FY 2021 Budget the supervisors approved offers few changes from last year's budget. It includes a General Fund Disbursement of $4.47 billion. That's a decrease of $281.63 million, or 5.9 percent, from the FY 2020 Revised Budget Plan. It's also a 0.5 percent increase ($22.49 million) over the FY 2020 Adopted Budget Plan.

Last month, County Executive Bryan Young revised his original proposal, which he submitted in February, to take into count the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Gone was a proposed the 3-cent increase to the Real Property Tax Rate, which would've raised the average household tax bill by $346 next year.

On Tuesday, the Board approved a Real Property Tax Rate of $1.15 per $100 of assessed value for FY 2021. That's the same rate in the FY 2020 Budget, which means the tax rate will remain the same through the rest of the calendar year as well. The vote was 9-1 to approve, with Supervisor Pat Herrity (Springfield) casting the lone dissenting vote.

The Personal Property Tax rate also remains the same as FY 2020: $4.57 per $100 of assessed value for most classes of personal property. Likewise, the Stormwater fee will still be $0.0325 per $100 of assessed value.

County transfers in support of Fairfax County Public Schools account for 52.7 percent of the County's total disbursement. FCPS will receive $2.14 billion to pay for its operations. In addition, the approved budget transfers $198.18 million to School Debt Service and $13.10 million to School Construction.

The FY 2021 budget pays for 20 new positions over FY 2020. Nineteen of those new positions will be added at the Heath Department to help support the County's response to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, a new position is being added at the Office of Elections.

Also see ...

New Fairfax County Budget Proposal Reflects Impact Of Coronavirus

Real Estate Tax Hike, Admission Tax In Fairfax's Proposed Budget