Prince William supervisors to tackle budget

Prince William supervisors are scheduled to set the fiscal year 2010 budget tax rate for advertisement this Tuesday, and the latest figure is a bit higher than what was originally discussed.

For weeks, it seemed supervisors were set on a $1.198 rate. But they're now on track to advertise a $1.212 rate, which "will give them a little more flexibility," said Susan Roltsch, assistant county executive, during a Friday morning press briefing.

In e-mails received by the News & Messenger, Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at-large, and Supervisor John Jenkins, D-Neabsco, said they favored rates of $1.198 and $1.295, respectively.

"This tax rate of $1.198 will support the county executive's proposed budget, which reduces govern-ment spending by $56 million," Stewart stated in his e-mail. "The county executive's budget is responsible and sustainable. By focusing our resources, it allows us to protect vital county services while providing tax relief."

Jenkins, for his part, finds the lower rate too restrictive for discussion purposes and asked other supervisors at the last board meeting to consider setting a figure for advertisement that wouldn't inhibit discussions. The sig-nificance of the tax rate that's advertised is that state law allows for supervisors to adopt a final rate that's lower, but not higher, than what is publicized.

At the $1.198 level, the average residential tax bill will decrease by 15 percent, or $514, according to background documents to the board. Meanwhile, the average commercial tax bill would increase 6.2 percent—but as county executive Craig Gerhart has said on several occasions, estimating the average bill in this category is impossible, given the wide disparities among businesses.

Sometime after the 2 p.m. meeting starts at the McCoart Administration Building, supervisors will also receive a revenue forecast from Finance Director Chris Martino.

Not surprisingly, numbers are down. Aside from housing—local home values have dropped by more than 30 per-cent and that means less money amassed by the county in the form of real estate taxes—Prince William is on track to lose significant revenues from personal property collections.

"Personal property taxes are the second largest revenue source in the county," said Dave Sinclair, a financial analyst for the county, explaining how truck depreciation generally occurs at a rate between 12 percent and 18 percent.

Current rates show the average depreciation for trucks at 31 percent—and for cars, the numbers aren't much better.

"The average for cars is roughly 11 1/2 percent," he said.

Moreover, the county's other sources of revenue—investment income and sales taxes, to name a couple—are all on the downswing, and most are predicted losses for this fiscal year.

In other matters Tuesday, supervisors will adopt the 2012 strategic plan, laying the course for fiscal planning in the areas of economic development and transportation; education; human services; and public safety. And they will also receive the latest updates about the General Assembly in Richmond from legislative director Dana Fenton.

Staff writer Cheryl Chumley can be reached at 703-670-1907.