Manassas City Council met on Monday to review City Manager Patrick Pate’s proposed budget for the 2016 fiscal year.
“The largest issue not fully addressed in this proposed budget is the need for longer-term capital investments in our community,” said Pate.
He referred specifically to transportation projects that are to be constructed based on NVTA shared revenues.
Pate frequently cited their adherence to citizen surveys that had been conducted to determine community service needs. In addition to focusing on these concerns, Pate says that the budget aims to maintain the conservative fiscal policies that have resulted in a positive financial position for the city.
The proposed real estate tax rate would remain the same, at $1.190 per $100 of assessed property value. The use of the existing tax rate to fund current services means that there would be a 4% average tax bill increase. Pate added that tax revenues outside of real estate are not showing significant signs of economic growth. Sales taxes are projected to decline by $890,000 compared to the 2015 fiscal year budget and significant revenues such as meals tax, motor vehicle licenses, and cigarettes also appear to be stable or declining.
Pate said that they worked to maintain the direct services and programs that are currently offered to the community and that were highly rated in their citizen survey.
“I am quite pleased with the results of the citizen survey and in particular with the noteworthy ratings given to the quality of interaction with city staff. It is important for us to remember that we need to provide adequate compensation and quality working conditions to the dedicated men and women that are providing services to our community every day,” said Pate.
Pate said that the budget is not finalized and that council work sessions were scheduled over the next several weeks to discuss major issues that could impact the budget.
There is a budget work meeting scheduled for Wednesday at 5 p.m. followed by one on March 16 and another on March 18.
