At the Monday night meeting, Manassas City Council unanimously approved its fiscal year 2026 budget, totaling more than $512 million and following months of meetings.
The budget will take effect on July 1; though the real estate tax rate will remain flat at $1.07 per $100 of assessed value, property assessments are increasing an average of 8%. The average increase for a homeowner’s tax bill is expected to be about $406 starting July 1.
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 🧾:
MANASSAS, Va. – A plan to allow backyard chickens within city limits has stalled after the Manassas City Council chose not to move forward during its May 20, 2025, work session.
The proposal resurfaced after growing public interest over the past year. Manassas previously explored the idea in 2021 but paused it amid concerns over noise, odor, neighborhood impacts, and enforcement challenges. Under current rules, chicken coops must be 250 feet from neighboring homes — making them nearly impossible on most residential lots.
MANASSAS, Va. – City leaders say they were surprised to learn that the first tenant of the newly opened Brickyard Data Center on Godwin Drive won’t contribute to the city’s business personal property tax base as expected.
The data center, operated by Digital Realty Trust, opened earlier this year. Officials had projected millions in tax revenue from computer equipment expected to fill the site. But when tax paperwork arrived on April 14, 2025, city officials learned the first tenant is a bank—an industry that is exempt from paying business personal property taxes under Virginia law.
MANASSAS, Va. – Manassas leaders agreed Monday night to keep the city’s tax rate steady for the upcoming fiscal year, despite calls from some on the City Council to lower it and give homeowners a break.
While the tax rate isn’t changing, rising property values mean most homeowners will still see bigger tax bills when they arrive later this year.
MANASSAS, Va. – A bank tenant inside a newly completed data center in Manassas has triggered a sweeping local tax exemption, upending financial expectations and leaving city officials blindsided.
At the April 30, 2025, Manassas City Council meeting, Commissioner of the Revenue Tim Demeria revealed that a tenant inside the new Brickyard data center, operated by Digital Realty Trust, had filed paperwork identifying itself as a bank. Under Virginia Code §58.1-1202, banks are exempt from local Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) taxes and the business personal property taxes that typically bring cities millions in revenue from data centers.
MANASSAS, Va. — A bird caused a power outage at UVA Prince William Medical Center on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, marking the second disruption to the city’s electric service in less than a week and raising new questions about the reliability and cost of Manassas’ electric utility.
City officials said the bird came into contact with utility lines near the hospital, damaging a transformer. The hospital, which has three backup power options, quickly switched to an alternate source, restoring power soon after the incident. However, the hospital later experienced a separate internal breaker trip, leaving one building without electricity for a short time.
