Prince William County Roundup

County personal property taxes are due Oct. 6
The Prince William County Department of Finance is distributing the 2008 individual and business personal property tax bills to county residents in August. Personal property taxes and decal fees are due on or before Monday, Oct. 6.

The personal property tax relief reduction on qualifying vehicles for tax year 2008 is 58.5 percent of the tax due on the first $20,000 of a vehicle’s value. The reduction is shown on the tax bill, and the taxpayer pays the reduced tax instead of the full amount. Residents with vehicles worth more than $20,000 receive a reduction on the first $20,000 of assessed value, but must pay 100 percent of the tax due on the portion of the assessed value that exceeds $20,000.

The tax on vehicles is prorated monthly for the portion of the year it is located in the county. If you receive a bill and the months being taxed are incorrect, please call 703-792-6710 or Metro at 703-631-1703, Ext. 6710, to have your bill adjusted.

Individuals and businesses that owe no prior year taxes will also receive their 2009 decal along with the tax bill. Individuals or businesses that owe prior year taxes must pay all taxes and decal fees before a decal will be issued. When you receive your 2009 decal, you should place it on your vehicle immediately.

There are several convenient ways to pay your bill. If you choose to pay by check, payments should be mailed in the remittance envelope included with your tax bill. Checks for payment of taxes should be made payable to “Prince William County.” Payments by mail must be postmarked no later than Oct. 6 to avoid a late payment penalty and interest charges.

School age care deadline approaches
Registration is now under way for the Prince William County School Age Care (SAC) program. To attend the program on the first day of school, Tuesday, Sept. 2, a child must be registered by Friday, Aug. 22. Children registered between Monday, Aug. 25, and Wednesday, Sept. 3, may begin SAC the week of Monday, Sept. 8. Otherwise, registration is ongoing until school sites are filled.

The School Age Care program is open from 6 a.m. until school begins, and is open again from school dismissal until 6:30 p.m. Parents can opt for before-school only care, after-school only care, or both. Registration is on a first-come first-placed basis; once the program at a school is full, the child’s name is placed on a waiting list to start the program when space becomes available. Registration is ongoing until the program is filled.

Prince William County offers a before and after school child care program in the following 46 elementary schools: Alvey, Antietam, Ashland, Bel Air, Belmont, Bristow Run, Buckland Mills, Cedar Point, Coles, Dale City, Dumfries, Ellis, Fitzgerald, Glenkirk, Gravely, Kerrydale, King, Lake Ridge, Leesylvania, Marshall, Marumsco Hills, McAuliffe, Minnieville, Montclair, Mountain View, Mullen, Neabsco, Occoquan, Old Bridge, Pattie, Penn, Pennington, Porter, River Oaks, Rockledge, Rosa Parks, Signal Hill, Springwoods, Sudley, Swans Creek, Triangle, Tyler, Vaughan, Victory, Westridge and Williams.

Applications and information are available online at http://www.pwcgov.org/sacare, on the “SAC Applications and Program Information” page. Applications are also available at county libraries, the James J. McCoart Administration Building, Sudley North Government Center, the Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building, and the School Age Care Office at 4379 Ridgewood Center Drive, Suite 201, in Woodbridge, and by fax. Call 703-792-6091 for additional information.

County receives VACo award for mediation swap
Prince William County government received a 2008 Achievement Award from the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) for the Human Rights Commission’s Mediation Swap. The VACo Achievement Awards is a competitive program open to local government members of the association, which recognizes local government programs in awards criteria that include innovation, collaboration and model practices.

The Prince William County and Alexandria City Human Rights Commissions began a mediation swap in October 2005. The purpose of the swap was to maintain a firewall between mediation and charge investigations, a new contractual requirement by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Other agencies throughout the nation have addressed this requirement by establishing a mediation unit separate from its charge management division. This has resulted in hiring additional staff and requesting additional resources from the local general fund.

The Prince William and Alexandria agencies are small and have limited staff and funds to conduct its charge management program. The idea of creating and staffing a mediation program within the confines of their existing budgets was problematic. This project exemplifies the way collaboration can result in innovative and cost-effective programs that can be modeled in local governments throughout the nation.

VACo received 34 entries for the statewide contest. Prince William County is one of the 12 award recipients. Representatives from each of the award-winning counties will receive a certificate at an official ceremony during VACo’s 2008 Annual Conference in November.

For more information about VACo, visit http://www.vaco.org.

Prince William Edition features senior program
This week’s Prince William Edition features the “Stand Tall Don’t Fall” program, organized by the Area Agency on Aging. This exercise program for senior citizens focuses on balance and coordination.

The goal is to keep seniors standing tall. Less falls lead to less fall-related injuries, a common problem for people as they age.

The program takes place at the Woodbridge and Manassas Senior Centers in Prince William County. The show airs today through Sunday.

Prince William Edition is a five-minute, weekly public affairs program featuring the latest news and information on Prince William County government. Prince William Edition airs on CNN Headline News, which is Channel 29 for Comcast Communications East subscribers and Channel 28 for Comcast Communications West subscribers. The program can be seen seven days a week at various times.