County Chairman Sharon Bulova’s April 25 opinion piece, “Budget Hits All the Right Notes,” about the proposed FY2019 real estate tax hike, is misleading. When she says the proposed real estate tax rate is $1.15, she omits the stormwater rate. When that is included the FY2019 rate will be $1.1825 instead of $1.15.

She states that new budget includes a 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate, but this omits the additional tax increase due to the 2.2 percent increase in average residential assessments. The effective rate increase when assessments and the additional stormwater rate increase (1/4 cent) are included is 4.7 cents, not 2 cents.

The typical Fairfax County homeowner’s real estate tax bill will increase by $258, a 4.2 percent increase. Loudoun County reduced its average tax bill by $48, a 1 percent decrease.

Chairman Bulova states that the tax hike fully funds the Market Rate Adjustment, Performance, Merit and Longevity increases for county employees and states that the Market Rate Adjustment is 2.25 percent. She does not state the total salary increase resulting from the Performance, Merit and Longevity increases. When those are included county employees will see average increases ranging from 4.25 to 4.50 percent.

Likewise, the school board is funding a 2.3 percent step increase and other salary adjustments, but does not say what the total average raise will be when the other adjustments are included. It is likely to be 4 percent also.

The real estate tax hike will increase county revenues by about $116 million. The cost of next year’s county and school raises is $139 million. Raises are the primary driver of the county’s annual real estate tax hikes.

Since FY2000, the supervisors have increased real estate taxes 169 percent, more than three times faster than inflation, which increased 53 percent.

If Chairman Bulova felt that the voters who defeated the 2016 meals tax, which would have raised $100 million, would support next year’s 4.2 percent tax hike to raise $116 million for 4 percent raises, why didn’t she acknowledge those numbers in her statement?

Arthur Purves

President

Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance