Manassas budget process stalls, mayor urges more economic development to raise city revenues

MANASSAS, Va. — Those waiting to see if Manassas will raise taxes to support it’s 2018 capital improvement plan must wait until at least Wednesday.

Mayor Hal Parrish II on Monday said new information about the budget had come to light, and that it would be distributed to council members for review. Parrish told reporters that he had details on what the information was but he didn’t want to “preempt” the rest of the council members.

That new information will be presented Wednesday night at a meeting that is not scheduled to be televised as Monday’s session was. Other council members and a city spokeswoman Monday night said they did not yet have the information, either. The meeting will be held in a second-floor conference room at city hall

“Since it’s a conversation work session environment, we’ll have it upstairs. We may come here to take action, but we’ll start upstairs,” said Parrish.

The city council had expected to vote on its fiscal 2018 budget Monday night, with a “second reading” planned for Wednesday in the event leaders wanted to make any last-minute changes to the budget. The $230 million budget includes a $2.1 million increase to fund new projects like a new police station, a project that would turn the southern portion of Grant Avenue into a boulevard, and begin supporting a new combination library and city museum that would replace the existing structure in the city’s downtown.

The rate hike would mean the average homeowner would pay $84 more a year on their property tax bills, about 6% more annually. The increase would also come after the city had announced it would refund some $850,000 to business owners after leaders had learned taxes were higher than the law allows.

The city will make up the lost revenue by increasing personal property taxes on cars, boats, and trailers.

Republicans and Democrats on the council are split on the tax increase, with the former arguing against the rate hike.

“The taxpayers lose. We’re raising taxes to cover a mistake,” said Manassas Councilman Marc Aveni.

Councilman Mark Wolfe told Potomac Local that he supports the tax increase to support fully funding the city’s capital improvement plan.

Mayor Parrish spoke about his government’s continual investment in the city — something he says has been going on in the city for years inside the city’s schools.

“We’ve rebuilt Weems [Elementary], we’ve rebuilt Haydon [Elementary], we’ve totally torn down Osbourn [High School] and rebuilt it, we’ve built a new Mayfield [Intermediate School], and we’ve built a new Baldwin [Intermediate School] and if that isn’t an investment in your community I don’t know what is,” said Parrish,.

The mayor urged his fellow council members to think about new ways to raise revenues through economic development rather than just increasing taxes. A plot f land where the E.G. Smith Baseball Complex sits at the corner of Route 28 and Godwin Drive is ripe for commercial development, he added.

The city is also looking at what to do with a nearby 20-acre parcel that could be converted into more parkland.