Politics & Government

Arlington Board Approves $1.1B Budget, Property Tax Increase

Spending plan restores a number of cuts that had been proposed.

The Arlington County Board adopted a $1.1 billion budget on Saturday, rejecting a laundry list of proposed spending cuts and raising taxes on the average homeowner here by $277 each year.

The spending plan sets aside $3 million to cope with the effects of federal sequestration and pumps $12.5 million into a fund that subsidizes and promotes the development of affordable housing. Another $3.4 million will cover pay increases for the county's 3,500 employees.

[More: Arlington County Salary Database]

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The budget also increases the real estate tax rate by 3.5 cents per $100 of assessed value — a fraction of a penny higher than what County Manager Barbara Donnellan had originally proposed. That rate will cost the owner of a $525,000 home about $23 more per month in taxes.

“This is not a year in which we can do many new things,” Chairman Walter Tejada said in a statement. “We can, however, maintain the fundamental commitments that Arlington has made, especially in areas like public safety, affordable housing, the social safety net for our most vulnerable residents, our natural environment, and our schools.  This budget reflects those values.”

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The board restored a number of cuts Donnellan had proposed, keeping the police and fire departments intact and increasing the amount of money the Sheriff's Office has available for overtime pay.

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The adopted budget:

  • Keeps nature center hours as they are.
  • Funds a number of programs for children and teens.
  • Delays a fare increase for a transit service for the elderly and disabled by six months.
  • Provides nearly $63,000 for tree planting and watering and another $100,000 to combat invasive plants.
  • Continues the funding needed for Arlington to locally regulate child-care providers.

Much of the restored spending is thanks to dollars that became available following the county's mid-year and third-quarter reviews.

Board members approved the budget unanimously, though Vice Chairman Jay Fisette said he would have liked to have kept the tax increase at 3.2 cents.

"Even though I think we could've done better, there is far more in this budget to like than to not like," Fisette said.

The county will transfer $415.7 million to Arlington Public Schools, which includes a $12.3 million increase in ongoing funds.

That amount falls short of the amount of money the Arlington School Board had asked for by about $1.7 million.

The school board asked for the additional revenue to cope with skyrocketing enrollment. The school board's proposed budget, in fact, was built assuming the county would fund its request.

Despite not getting the full extra tax increase school board members asked for, though, Arlington Public Schools did receive about $3.5 million more in state and local funds thanks to updated midyear and third-quarter revenue adjustments on the county's part and financial adjustments in Richmond.

The school board will hold a work session on its budget Tuesday and will adopt its final budget in early May.

This article was updated to reflect updated state and local revenue to the school system.

Read more:

  • Arlington School Board Makes Case for Extra Tax Increase
  • Artisphere: What Does Success Look Like?
  • Arlington Leaders 'Rethinking' Artisphere
  • Tax Increases: Arlington Residents Divided on How Big Hike Should Be
  • Hourly Wages: Arlington County Part-Time Employee Database
  • Arlington County Full-Time Employee Salary Database
  • Schools Ask Arlington County for Bigger Share of Tax Revenue
  • Fewer Community Police Officers? Board Weighs Budget Proposal
  • Jail Programs Suffer Due to Lack of Staff
  • Arlington County Real Estate Taxes Could Increase by Up to 5 Percent


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