New child advocacy center, small business relief are budget wins for Woodbridge District Supervisor

Some of the budget priorities passed into Fiscal Year 2021 adopted budget by the Prince William County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday’s meeting are those championed by Woodbridge District Supervisor Margaret Franklin.

The Board of County Supervisors approved a budget that will increase the average Real Estate tax bill for county residents, netting additional money for the county budget that is now about $40 million lighter than it had been before the coronavirus outbreak, thanks, in part, to a collapse in sales tax revenues brought on the by the government-ordered shutdown.

In a press release, Franklin outlines what she says are wins included in the coming year’s budget:

These priorities include creating a Child Advocacy Center to help victims of child abuse, a housing assistance program to aid residents in rental assistance and creating a small business relief fund to help struggling small business owners. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, these budget items are crucial in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 and supporting residents during this critical time. All of the budget proposals came with pre-determined offsets that did not require any new county spending.

FY21 Budget Priorities

Establishing a Child Advocacy Center 

The Child Advocacy Center is a child-friendly place where professionals who provide treatment, investigate, and prosecute child abuse cases can coordinate their efforts. On average, CACs reduce the number of times a child must recount their abuse from 15 to 3. This model also save $1,318 per case in investigation and prosecution costs and provides four times more medical exams to victims of abuse. 

PASSED with $1250,00 of funding coming from the General Fund.

COVID-19 Budget Priorities

Small Business Relief Fund

The Small Business Emergency Relief Fund is an initiative to support our small business community and provide immediate relief to those whose needs were not met by the Federal SBA loan program. This program will allow small business owners to apply for locally funded small dollar loans that would be reviewed by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA). 

PASSED with “Up to 1 million dollars” of funding from the Economic Development Fund with the potential for a federal match.  

Housing Emergency Aid Program

Housing Emergency Aid program supports our residents who are hit the hardest by the impact of COVID-19. This program will allow residents to apply for assistance with living expenses such as rent, if they meet specific application requirements. 

This is separate from the federally funded Housing Choice Voucher Rental Assistance program, as this program has been on a ten-year waitlist and applications have remained closed. Supervisor Franklin hopes to provide more immediate relief to our residents during this pandemic. 

PASSED with 500k from the “Affordable Housing Proffer Fund” with the potential for a federal match. 

Housing our Homeless Population

Supervisor Franklin is supportive of our county’s efforts to help and house our homeless community, one of the most exposed and vulnerable populations during this pandemic. Individuals without stable housing face greater difficulty taking preventative actions and are often in poorer health than other residents. Now is the time to prioritize assistance to high-risk individuals and families, while providing safe temporary housing for individuals who need isolation and quarantine. 

“I am proud to introduce these initiatives to help our most vulnerable residents.  Now, more than ever, our county needs us to offer services that will benefit the health and well-being of all our residents and small businesses. As a board, we need to stand together and ensure we take care of Prince William County,” Supervisor Franklin said.