In Dumfries, Plea for Lower Taxes Leaves Tough Choices

DUMFIRES, Va. — What officials want: Dumfries’ $4.4 million budget reduced by as much as four cents. While that may not sound like much, it amounts up to a $60,000 cut in town services.

At Tuesday night’s Town Council meeting, leaders tasked Town Manager Daniel Taber coming up with a way to fund the town’s needs, implement tax cuts, and take into consideration council members’ individual wants for the coming fiscal year. He’s to report back to them with a balanced budget in two weeks, detailing what services he intends to cut to make it all work.

With a four-cent reduction in the budget, the town of 5,000 residents automatically loses $34,000 in tax revenue. But a newly proposed and unbudgeted parks and recreation commission is expected to cost taxpayers $25,000, and it could come at the loss of another town staff position, which could include a police officer, said Taber.

In addition to paying Prince William County’s $1.18 per $100 of assed property value, Dumfries residents also pay $.313 on every $100 per assessed value of their homes, and that’s the rate officials want lowered.

But another expense asked for by Councilman Charles Brewer, to fund 100% of town employee’s healthcare costs, amounts to $28,000 in an unbudgeted expense. Right now, Dumfries pays up to 80% of medical costs for their employees, said Taber.

Mayor Jerry Foreman said to get to a lower tax rate, taxes on cigarettes should be lowered from $.60 to $.55 per pack, as a pack of smokes are less expensive if bought outside the town, he said. The fee for auto decals for the town should also be lowered $2, said Foreman.

But not everyone on the council agrees on lowering cigarette taxes.

“If we have to have taxes…one of the tax categories we should have is on people’s vices,” said Councilwoman Kristen Forrester.

Officials also spent time examining the proposed IT budget. At $248,000, up $168,000 from three years ago, council members asked why the budget was so high and what technology improvements they could expect in the coming year.

“People say they want to see us and hear us [on TV] during town council meetings,” said Foreman, complaining about the quality of the public meeting broadcasts on the town’s cable TV channel.

The town’s one-person IT department is led by Teresa Johnson, who said she spends 40 to 45 hours per week troubleshooting computer problems, and then schedules her time around night meetings to ensure video and audio of the event is broadcast on the town’s cable channel. Johnson also reminded the Council that budgetary items like wireless internet access cards that used to fall under the budgets of individual departments are now included on the IT budget.

“Everybody wants communication…I don’t think people realize the magnitude of what happens when you are not here, and I pray to god nothing happens to you,” Councilwoman Helen Reynolds told Johnson.

Improvements to town council meetings are coming, however, as a new display board that will show the results of votes taken, and a new audio system will be installed at Town Hall as part of this year’s budget.

The newly opened Ginn Park also came under scrutiny last night as officials wanted to know if there was a plan in place to complete the park. This coming year, $40,000 of the $79,000 public grounds budget will be allocated for the park.

A new waterline to the park, restrooms, and office, and amphitheater could cost as much as $260,000 more to completely build out the park, said Public Works Director Greg Tkac.

Also new to the budget this year will be a police school resource officer, that when all said and done, will cost the town about $120,000 to hire and equip, said Dumfries Police Chief Robert Forker. Stationed at Dumfries Elementary School, the officer will be the only SRO at an elementary school in Prince William County.