The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Advertised a 4 cent increase in the real estate tax for FY 2025.
Supervisors hold public meetings on the FY 2025 Budget.Fairfax County Supervisors at its March 5 meeting approved advertising a 4-cent FY 2025 real estate tax rate increase for the County Executive's FY 2025 Fairfax County Advertised Budget. The advertised rate is $1.135 per $100 of assessed valuation.
Chairman Jeff McKay wrote in an email that he hopes the board can decrease the stated advertised rate. The Board is permitted to implement a lower rate than advertised, but not a higher rate.
Two months are left before the board adopts the budget and tax rate on May 7. District supervisors and county budget staff will host budget town halls in the coming weeks around the county. McKay says budgeting is the board's most difficult and important task.
"Receiving community feedback is instrumental to our decision-making process," McKay said. He encouraged residents to attend their supervisor's budget town hall, testify in the Government Center on April 16, 17, and 18, and/or contact him at chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Supervisor Patrick Herrity, the board's lone Republican, blasted the potential tax rate increase online through Facebook, saying, “This is unacceptable, and it is having an impact on our county." Recently released census data shows that more individuals are departing Fairfax County than arriving. Herrity said the reason is because of affordability challenges, including housing, living costs, and rising taxes.
Herrity said that the FY 2025 Advertised Budget increases real estate tax by 6.79 percent and assessments by 2.89 percent on average. “This is an increase of $524 in the tax bill for the average homeowner and follows a 56 percent increase in real estate taxes for residents since 2015,” Herrity posted on Facebook.
According to Bryan Hill's 11-page County Executive Message, dated Feb. 20, 2024, and prefacing his FY 2025 Fairfax County Advertised Budget, education assistance is the highest net increase in his budget. Hill emphasized that the county would need an increase above the planned 4 cents to fund the superintendent's proposed School Operating Budget and provide the county flexibility in fulfilling its undetermined Metro and Connector responsibilities.
Hill based his balanced budget on a $1.135 Real Estate Tax rate, which partially funds the school division’s request and the employee compensation package.
The underperforming real estate market, combined with the substantial funding increase request from Fairfax County Public Schools, employee salary and benefits requirements, and other expenditure pressures, are creating a challenging Fiscal Year 2025 budget picture for the county.