Local Voices Square Off on Higher Taxes, Business Development
By URIAH KISER
PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Which is the better future forward for Prince William? Higher taxes that would put county services on par with the likes of Fairfax and Arlington, or should leaders keep taxes at their current rates and cut back where necessary?
That was the debate this week at the Prince William Committee of 100, where the opinions on this issue couldn’t have been more differing.
The discussion came on the heels of the county’s Board of Supervisors setting an advertised real estate tax rate (the main funding source for local governments in Virginia) to $1.196 of per $100 of assessed property value. That would make for a 3.6 % increase in the average tax bill for county property owners, generating a bill for about $3,400 each.
The tax rate for 2014 cannot be set higher prior to its adoption in April, but it can be lowered, and the final rate will be decided upon after a public hearing on April 9.
Democrats on the Committee of 100’s panel advocated for a higher tax rate, and said a 4% increase would satisfy many of Prince William’s “unmet needs.”
Neabsco District Supervisor John Jenkins said residents need new parks, and a new recreational and swimming facility similar to the Freedom Center in Manassas in lieu of a plans to build a swimming pool inside a forthcoming high school. He also wants to keep libraries funded at current levels, maintain at least $2,500 in annual funds in which Supervisors can use for projects and improvements in their respective magisterial districts like sidewalks, and advocated to keep Prince William County’s involvement in organizations like the Virginia Association of Counties.
“If we don’t belong to these associations we miss out on many lobbying events and on special projects in the region,” said Jenkins.
He also wants to keep in place the current holiday schedule for county employees following a proposal from Chairman Corey A. Stewart to change it.
Staunch conservative Jim Riley, who serves as the Home Owners Association president in one of the area’s largest neighborhood’s, Southbridge, read from prepared remarks that sounded like a campaign speech.
“Our residents are struggling financially, cutting back on life’s extras as their paychecks shrink and gas prices soar. It is unconscionable that raising their county tax bills is even being considered. Some supervisors are even suggesting 10 percent or more tax increases to address ‘unmet critical needs,’ said Riley.
He went onto criticize the county for a lack of economic development, saying Prince William has an “over-reliance on residential housing, the retail/hospitality industries, and government has created an economic house of cards. A stiff wind, such as what sequestration will bring in just a matter of days, could bring it all tumbling down.”
Babur Lateef, an ophthalmologist who unsuccessfully ran against Corey Stewart for Chairman in 2011, said residents don’t mind paying taxes as long as they know their money is going to fund the greater good.
“We spent a lot of money in may campaign on polls, and you do that to find out what the issues are, and they were, in order, education, transportation, jobs and so forth…” said Lateef.
Lateef, who serves on the staff at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, said parents with children in need of certain medical services are being told by doctors to move out of Prince William and into places like Fairfax and Alexandria where more public funds are available to treat their illnesses.
He also said the state should give localities more authority to levy taxes on anything they wish, from meals to toll roads, to fund the needs of a jurisdiction, and end the heavy reliance on real estate taxes.
Supervisor Wally Covington told audience members he advocates a flat tax in Prince William, which he says would be a more conservative approach to funding local government’s core services likes schools and streets. But he, too, worries about pending sequestration and the government worker furlough’s it could bring.
“Sequestration is going to happen, and the effects on Prince William County and all of Northern Virginia are going to be devastating,” said Covington.
In a particular is a federal housing voucher program that, if left unfunded, could put thousands on the streets leaving the county government looking for solutions for the potential problem, said Covington.
Covington also said a number unfilled full-time county employee positions should be cut, and that officials need to cut back on expanding the number of public safety police officers in the county.
