The City's Budget

On Tuesday, City Manager presented his proposed FY 2012 budget to the Council and the community. The presentation kicked off the budget discussions among Council and the community leading up to final adoption on April 28. The budget year is from July 1 to June 30. You can find the proposed budget and supporting documentation here.

As usual, City Manager Bob Sisson and his staff have done an exceptional job in putting together a budget document that is easy to read and understand for both Council and citizens alike.

Here are the highlights:

 Expenditures for all funds total $141,637,727 an increase of 5.8 percent over FY 2011
 General Fund revenues and expenditures of $116,312,425 an increase of 6.3 percent over
FY 2011
 Capital Fund expenditures for General Fund supported projects of $3,380,650 representing
2.9 percent of General Fund expenditures
 Real estate tax rate $1.00 per $100 of assessed value, an increase of $.045 from the FY
2011 Adopted Rate of $.955; includes $.01 dedicated to the Stormwater Fund; average
residential tax bill to increase 8.2 percent
 One cent on the real property tax rate is equivalent to $519,900
 Real estate residential assessments increase an average of 3.2 percent for CY 2011;
Commercial assessments decrease an average of 1.2 percent for CY 2011 (for the purposes
of equalization both exclude new construction totaling $35 million)
 Assessed value of all real property equal to $5,093,200,975 which is an increase of
$111,253,675 or 2.2 percent (includes new construction of $35 million)
 Provides for employee Market Adjustment (COLA) of 1.75% ($493,000)
 Recommended two additional Full Time Equivalents (FTE’s): 1 General Fund FTE (Division
Chief) provided for Community Development & Planning ; 1 Enterprise Fund FTE (Utility
Technician) for Wastewater Fund
 Increase to the Senior Tax and Rent Relief income limit from $52,000 to $62,000 ($100,000)
 Water service rate increase 7.5 percent and Wastewater service rate increase 12 percent
due to a significant number of capital projects, and additional debt service costs relating to
the City’s share of Fairfax County wastewater plant upgrades, where the City’s wastewater
is treated.
 Use of $3,192,000 Appropriated Fund Balance as follows:
 $220,000 from FY 2010 surplus to fund an additional employee and contract design work for
Community Development and Planning Department
 $700,000 from FY 2010 surplus to offset increase to School Tuition contract
 $1,772,000 from FY 2011 estimated surplus, generated largely by proposed tax increase
 $500,000 equivalent to about one‐half percent of the FY 2012 General Fund Expenditures
 Resulting Fund Balance equal to 10.8 percent ($12.6m) of General Fund expenditures

I'll reserve judgement and comments on all of these proposals until after we've heard from the department heads, who provide more detailed budget descriptions during their presentations, and of course citizens, whose input is valued and needed.

That said, I still think we need to be mindful of any proposed tax increases and/or cuts in services. The City - like our neighboring jurisdictions - are fortunate in that we haven't suffered the most severe effects of the economic slump. This doesn't mean though that we need to start spending more than we truly need to provide essential government services. For instance, the City Manager is proposing a 1.75% pay increase for our valued City employees. They deserve it. They are hard working and dedicated public servants. The question is: can we afford it right now? Similarly, there are a good number of proposed Capital Improvement Projects that while I would certainly like to see move forward, I'm not sure if the resources are there now to fully fund them.

So, now that the process has begun I look forward to input and conversations about how we can best spend hard-earned City taxpayer dollars and provide the best value and deliver exceptional services.