Fairfax Schools Would Be Fully Funded Under FY 2023 Budget Plan

Reston VA

23 February, 2022

12:36 PM

Description

FAIRFAX, VA — Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill released his $79.26 million advertised budget for Fiscal Year 2023 on Tuesday. If adopted, the proposal would fully fund the county school system and provide compensation increases for county employees. In making his presentation to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Hill proposed that the real estate tax rate remain the same as in last year's adopted budget, $1.14 per $100 of assessed value. Under that rate, Fairfax County residential property owners can expect to see a 9.57 percent increase in their real estate assessments this year. That equates to an average increase of $666 for every homeowner in the county. "I expect that mitigating this impact will be a priority," Hill said, adding that his proposal left a balance of nearly $80 million for the board's consideration. "Even with that balance, this budget fully funds schools, as included in the superintendent's proposed budget. It fully funds the county's compensation program and it provides for the investments in the board priorities such as affordable housing, our successful diversion first program, staffing for new facilities, and equity initiatives." Fairfax County Public Schools would receive $112.65 million, which matches the proposed budget plan for FY 2023 Superintendent Scott Brabrand submitted in January. This would be a 5.18 percent increase over last year's approved school budget. FCPS' budget would be funded by more than $88 million in increased sales tax and state aid. The school system has also received $326.5 million in direct federal stimulus funds, as well as $19.6 million from the county's Coronavirus Relief Funds. Related: Real Estate Assessments Up 9.57% For Most Fairfax Homeowners Hill recommended a $108.48 million investment in compensation for county and FCPS employees, who would receive a 4.01 percent market rate adjustment. Those adjustments start with the Feb. 12 pay period. In addition, the county's living wage rate would increase to $15.90 an hour. Hill's budget contained a new 25-year longevity step increase for uniformed pay plans, with non-uniformed employees seeing an average increase of 2.15 percent and uniformed employees receiving a 3.85 percent increase. Due to the backlog in pay raises over the last two years because of the pandemic, a greater proportion of employees are eligible for longevity increases. County employees will also see a 5 percent health insurance premium increase next January, if the board adopts Hill's proposed budget. The proposed budget also includes funding for projects and initiatives already approved by the board but that were paid for with pandemic stimulus money. Hill's budget factors in the $700 million in stimulus funding the county has received. "In 2021, the economy continued its strong recovery from the pandemic and it's now larger than it was in post-COVID," Hill said. "The unemployment rate has fallen to a level close to where it was when the pandemic began. The booming economy has also led to supply shortages and worker shortages and has driven inflation up to levels not seen since the 1980s." (Fairfax County) Hill based his budget proposal on the assumption that the economy would continue to grow moderately over the next year. "Economic analysts generally have been predicting growth in 2022," he said. "It will be 3 to 4 percent, with growth slowing to below 3 percent in 2023." While this economic outlook appears good, Hill said that several factors could affect future performance, such as the possibility of new COVID-19 variants, the end of the federal stimulus funding, the Fed increasing in interest rates to slow rising inflation, or geopolitical conflicts that increase the price of oil and create greater uncertainty. The next step in the budget process comes Thursday, when the Fairfax County School Board votes to adopt its advertised budget. Then on March 1, both county boards will participate in a joint meeting to discuss Hill's budget proposal. The public has many opportunities to provide input during the budget process, before the Board of Supervisor's final vote on May 10. The supervisors will be hosting budget meetings in their districts to answer questions and receive input from their constituents. FY 2023 Budget Timeline Feb. 24: School Board adopts FY 2023 Advertised BudgetMarch 1: Joint Board of Supervisors/School Board Budget Committee MeetingMarch 8: Board of Supervisors authorizes advertisement of FY 2023 tax ratesMarch 22: Board of Supervisors authorizes advertisement of FY 2022 Third Quarter ReviewApril 12-14: Board of Supervisors holds Public Hearings on FY 2023 Budget, FY 2023-FY 2027 Capital Improvement Program, and FY 2022 Third Quarter ReviewApril 26: Board of Supervisors marks-up FY 2023 Budget, adopts FY 2023-FY 2027 Capital Improvement Program and FY 2022 Third Quarter ReviewMay 10: Board of Supervisors adopts FY 2023 Adopted BudgetMay 5: School Board holds public hearings on FY 2023 budgetMay 26: School Board adopts FY 2023 Approved BudgetJuly 1: FY 2023 Budget Year Begins