The Washington Examiner reports that Prince William County Supervisors took the first step toward approving a budget that would raise property taxes by ten percent:
Prince William County supervisors directed administrators Tuesday to draft a budget that would raise the average homeowner’s tax bill 10 percent and put funding
for many top priorities within reach.
The tax rate would climb from 78.7 cents per $100 of assessed value to $1.008 per $100 under a plan that is sure to change over months of wrangling before its formal adoption in April.
The bill for an average homeowner would climb from $3,385 to $3,721, under the proposal.
Already approved police and firefighter staffing increases were cut in half and the county’s illegal immigration crackdown would not be fully funded, under the proposal that passed 5-3.
Chairman Corey Stewart warned that the final budget should include staffing and program cuts; however, fellow supervisors said that plan would sacrifice too many critical projects.
The tax increase proposal is higher than preliminary drafts in October because property values have continued to fall — at least 14 percent countywide — while the cost for programs has climbed.
Entirely predictable.
Maybe my math is rusty but to go from 78 cents to over 1.00 is a 25% increase, not a 10% increase. Sounds pretty onerous in any event.