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Corey Stewart: ‘Budget needs to be something the community will accept, as close to perfect as possible’

In a room full of differing opinions, wants, and needs Corey Stewart says his job is to broker a deal.

As the At-large Chairman of the Prince William County Board of  Supervisors, Stewart is in the middle of a nearly four-month effort to find common ground with taxpayers that want certain county services funded. He  also must bridge gaps with fellow Republicans and Democrats on his Board in the second largest county in Virginia who will decide in late April what will be funded in the upcoming fiscal 2016 budget — and what won’t be.

The Supervisors began talking about the budget in December, and ordered County Executive Melissa Peacor to create a proposed budget that contained for funding cuts in everything from new sports fields, parks, as well as for freezing county government employees’ salaries. Just days after Peacor presented the austere financial plan, it became clear the cuts and wage freezes weren’t going to happen, and many of the programs on the chopping block were restored.

The Board adopted an advertised tax rate of $1.122 of $100 of assessed property value on March 2. If it sticks when the budget is adopted April 21, the average tax bill will increase 3.88%. That will be about enough to fund the county’s five-year plan, but officials still search for savings.

“I’m a Republican, and I want low taxes, but we have to pay for high-quality schools, parks, and infrastructure,” said Stewart. “It’s a balancing act, but if we can provide the highest quality education, parks, and infrastructure, which is going to attract business.”

In other words, a little investment now will lead to a big payoff later. If the county invests, heads of major corporations could take notice relocate to Prince William, become familiar with it, and wish to relocate their businesses here, said Stewart.

“If the investments aren’t made it is going to lead to a lower economic quality of life,” he added.

Stewart became Chairman of the Board about the same time the great recession reared its ugly head. In 2008, Prince William saw a record number of foreclosed homes – more than any other jurisdiction in the state.

The recession also meant the county put off funding new parks projects, roads, and hiring new police officers. Last year, the Board decided to restore the police department’s staffing plan and hired 25 new officers.

“At some point, when we start emerging from the recession, we have to understand that we have to go into a rebuilding mode to make up for the lack of spending during the recession,” said Stewart.

That position is a far cry from a politician who only two years ago advocated a flat tax bill and no new tax increases. Last year, the Board voted to increase the average property tax bill by 4% a year for five years. Supervisors went back on that on the 4% plan and under this year’s advertised rate, if it holds come time to approve the budget April 21, tax bills will increase by 3.88%.

Many of the community programs funded by the county that had been on the chopping block and later restored at a budget work session on Feb. 21 will be revisited. Stewart says he wants the Board to go through that portion of the budget line by line, again, and take a straw poll to see which programs stay funded and which ones don’t.

Two programs that appear to be on life support are the county’s in-house print shop and drug court program for juvenile offenders, which has seen lackluster program completion ratings. The cuts will save nearly $568,000 and eliminate eight county government jobs.

“Going line-by-line and then taking the straw poll holds each Board member accountable,” Stewart said.

The straw poll could happen during meetings on April 19 or 21.

Stewart echoed the words of fellow Republican Supervisor Peter Candland, who called this year’s budget process one of the most transparent in recent memory. He also said the Board’s direction to Peacor to create an austere budget was the right choice, as it’s a lot easier to add items back into the budget rather than to take them out.

“At the end of the day, if the budget that is adopted is not what I wanted, it needs to be something the community will accept, and one the Board of Supervisors thinks is as close to perfect as possible,” said Stewart.

The Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday, March 10. A public hearing on the budget will be held Tuesday, April 14, and a final budget will be adopted Tuesday, April 21.

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