Staff and the Arlington County Board met on Feb. 18 to receive FY 2017 budget proposal. Photo by Vernon Miles.
Between the County Manager Mark Schwartz’s budget proposal in February and the final adoption on April 19, little had changed. Surprisingly little, according to Budget Director Richard Stephenson. The tax rate is still being reduced half a penny, but Arlington homeowners will still see an average 2.8 percent increase in their residential real estate assessments. On average, the tax and fee burden will increase from $7,640 to $7,829, an average increase of $16 per month or $189 for the year.
The main topic of contention at the April 19 County Board meeting was mild disagreement over a statement in the budget that implied the school budget was being fully funded. For the schools, the County Board approved the $464.5 million in ongoing funding with an additional $2.5 million in one-time funding, roughly $2 million increase from the County Manager’s proposed budget.
“For them to read that we gave them more money than they asked for will not be interpreted well,” said County Board Member Jay Fisette, and the offending line was removed.
But the biggest changes to the budget were $1.5 million in funding for economic development and $1.2 million in funding for the Affordable Housing Investment Fund. Stephenson said the funding for the budget additions came from mid-year estimates on revenues and expenses that occurred after the County Manager’s budget proposal, bringing in additional monies carries over from the 2016 budget.
“The assessment numbers come back in January and show growth, but other tax sources are adjusted up in aggregate,” said Stephenson. “Mid-year and third quarter analysis is a pretty routine process.”
The final step in the fiscal year 2017 budget process will by the School Board’s budget approval on May 5.