Budget Archives - Potomac Local News

Published June 30, 2025 at 1:15PM

The Manassas City Public School Board. [Courtesy of MCPS]

Throughout a tight budget cycle, the Board was unsure if they would be able to fund a 5.5% salary increase due to budget constraints from both City Council and the Commonwealth. Many Board members had expressed a desire for a 7% salary increase to match other neighboring jurisdictions.

Prince William County Schools, for example, came to an agreement with the Prince William Education Association for a historic $160 million investment over a two-year period. This results in a 7% wage increase in fiscal year 2026.

Prince William

Haymarket Lowers Tax Rate but Some Bills Will Still Rise Under New Budget

By Potomac Local News

Published June 3, 2025 at 11:30AM

The council unanimously approved three key resolutions during its June 2 meeting:

Resolution 2025-006 amended the current fiscal year’s budget to reflect interest reallocation that will fund upcoming council and administrative expenses. This ensures year-end revenues are directed toward planned municipal operations and projects.

Manassas Park

Hey Manassas Park! Here’s What’s About to Cost You More (and What’s Not)

By Potomac Local News

Published May 31, 2025 at 10:27AM

💰 The City of Manassas Park just dropped its proposed budget for FY2026, and let’s just say… your water, sewer, and stormwater fees are going up, but there’s a tiny silver lining when it comes to your real estate taxes.

Here’s the scoop in plain language👇

Manassas

Heads Up, Manassas! Your Water, Power, and EMS Bills Are About to Get a Bit Pricier

By Potomac Local News

Published May 31, 2025 at 10:20AM

Starting July 1, 2025, your monthly bills in Manassas will look a little different—mostly upward. The city is planning to raise utility rates and emergency service fees to support its budget for the next fiscal year.

Let’s break it down so you don’t have to squint at a spreadsheet 🧾:

News

A Board Divided: Prince William Supervisors Continue to Clash Over School Revenue Agreement

By Caitlyn Meisner

Published April 29, 2025 at 9:00AM | Updated April 29, 2025 at 11:56AM

Before 1998 — when the RSA was established between the supervisors and the School Board — the two bodies had an unofficial agreement where PWCS received 51% of the county’s revenue and the county received the other 49%.

In 1998, the bodies came to an official agreement that allocated nearly 57% of the county’s revenue to PWCS, with 43% left for the county’s operations. In 2013, the RSA was amended to increase PWCS’ allocation to over 57% and the county’s to just under 43%.

News

Nancy Freeborn Britain Resigns from Occoquan Town Council; Bob Love Appointed to Fill Term

By Potomac Local News

Published April 27, 2025 at 9:41AM | Updated April 27, 2025 at 11:54AM

OCCOQUAN, Va. — A series of notable developments unfolded at the April 15, 2025, Occoquan Town Council meeting, including a leadership change and updates to the town’s ongoing budget planning.

Councilwoman Nancy Freeborn Britain, who was elected to the Town Council in 2022, formally announced her resignation, citing a new career opportunity that will take her to Staunton during the workweek. Britain was recently hired as the Program Director for a master’s degree program at Mary Baldwin University, where she will oversee 120 students and serve as a department chair.

Manassas Park

Manassas Park Proposes FY2026 Budget with Tax Rate Cut, but Homeowners Could See $483 Higher Bills

By Potomac Local News

Published April 25, 2025 at 8:34AM | Updated April 25, 2025 at 6:16PM

MANASSAS PARK, Va. — Manassas Park homeowners could see their tax bills rise by hundreds of dollars under the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget, despite a planned reduction in the city’s real estate tax rate.

City Manager Carl Cole presented the $129 million budget to the Governing Body on April 22, 2025, proposing a one-cent reduction to the real estate tax rate, which would lower it to $1.395 per $100 of assessed value. However, because the average assessed value of residential properties increased by 7.48%, the typical single-family homeowner, with an average home value of $507,689, would still pay approximately $483 more in real estate taxes next year.

News

Why Stafford’s Tax Rate Is Rising While Prince William’s Falls

By Potomac Local News

Published April 24, 2025 at 1:30PM | Updated April 25, 2025 at 6:16PM

STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. – Stafford County homeowners will see a higher real estate tax rate this year — $0.9236 per $100 of assessed value — as the Board of Supervisors adopted the Fiscal Year 2026 budget on April 15. Although the tax rate is three cents higher than last year, it remains two cents lower than the original proposal by the County Administrator.

By comparison, neighboring Prince William County, with four times Stafford’s population, lowered its real estate tax rate to $0.906 per $100. Despite the rate cut, higher home values in Prince William mean its homeowners will still pay more. The average tax bill in Prince William is $5,162, based on a typical home value of $569,772. In Stafford, the average homeowner will pay $4,069 on a home valued at $434,400.

News

Supervisors Reduce Real Estate Tax Rate Ahead of Tuesday Night Vote

By Caitlyn Meisner

Published April 22, 2025 at 9:00AM | Updated April 25, 2025 at 6:16PM

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors during the April 15, 2025, budget markup session.

At the April 15 meeting, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors made its final changes to the fiscal year 2026 budget and tax rates.

The Board, after fruitful discussion and back-and-forth, reduced the real estate tax rate to $0.906 per $100 of assessed value from the county executive’s proposed rate of 92 cents in February.

News

Ashworth Asks for More Staff as Supervisors Look to Approve Budget

By Caitlyn Meisner

Published April 21, 2025 at 9:00AM | Updated April 22, 2025 at 8:41AM

[KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA via Pexels]

Ahead of fiscal year 2025, Ashworth similarly requested more staff members despite the Board being reluctant to fund additional positions. In response, Ashworth sent a letter to the Board stating she would withhold prosecution of certain misdemeanor charges if the Board didn’t approve her request.

“The bottom line is that this office was not properly staffed and funded for decades as the County grew up around us,” Ashworth wrote in an email to Potomac Local in April 2024.