Final Vienna Budget Approved With Real Estate Tax Rate Decrease

VIENNA, VA — Town Council gave final approval to the town's budget Monday night, lowering the real estate tax rate and increasing water and sewer rates.

Town of Vienna property owners pay the town's real estate tax on top of Fairfax County's real estate tax. The new budget lowers the tax rate from 20.5 cents per $100 of assessed value to 19.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. Due to the continued impact of increasing property values on tax bills, Town Council had asked town staff to evaluate the lowest possible tax rate without compromising town services.

But despite a lower rate, average tax bills will go up.

"A one-cent decrease in the property tax rate amounts to $673,000 in revenue," said the town's finance director Marion Serfass. "It is not quite enough to equalize the 2024 tax bill to last year, but the average annual increase in homeowner property tax is $86. Some increases will be less, some will be more depending on the value of the home."

The tax rate that would have offset assessment increases and charged the same tax as the last year would have been $19.22 cents per $100 of assessed value.

According to Serfass, the balanced budget with a lower real estate tax rate was possible with "conservative budgeting, robust real estate development an increase in sales tax revenue and no increase in staff health insurance costs." For 11 consecutive years, the town hasn't raised the real estate tax rate.

The budget also increases water and sewer rates by 9.3 percent due to cost increases from the utility providers Fairfax Water and the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority. The average annual water service bill will increase by $81.

The town's $50 million budget includes four operating funds: general, water and sewer, debt service and stormwater. The budget provides pay increases for eligible town employees and adds a zoning compliance officer and a public works civil and capital projects engineer. According to a town news release, inflation in town operation costs is mainly covered by higher tax revenues from new construction.

Check back on the town's website in the coming days for full budget documents.