Manassas hikes taxes to cover school funding promise, capital improvements

MANASSAS — A promise to make good on a funding request for city schools is forcing taxes to rise. 

The Manassas City Council on Monday approved its $239 million budget which increases the average property tax bill 3.72%, producing an average tax bill of $4,075 for homeowners.

The tax hike will generate an additional $4.7 $1.7 million in new funds, of which $1.5 million will be used to fulfill the third of a three-year agreement between the city council and school board to approve additional funding for schools. The general fund increases by $4.7 million in funds. 

Under the agreement, the city council agreed to increase taxes by 2.6% to fund the school division each year for three years. Council members are now in talks with the school board to continue the increased funding agreement.

The hike comes on top of last year’s 5% budget increase approved by the council to fund projects on the city’s capital improvement plan, to include a new police public safety center on Grant Avenue, as well as new streetscape improvements in the area.

Residential real estate assessments were about one percent lower than anticipated this year, and that, too, is driving the city’s tax increase. Officials said the city must raise taxes to fund the capital investments it promised residents last year while ignoring “citizen requests to significantly enhance [city] services.”

The city water and sewer rates will also increase 5%, as will stormwater retention rates. Residents will see an average increase of $2.15 per month on their public utility bill.

The new budget funds three new employees in the city’s public safety division — a communications center manager, and two career firefighter/medics positions.

Councilman Marc Aveni said he supported the budget because of the new staff positions and funding to develop city-owned land around Dean Elementary School, which will be used for a future park.

Councilman Ken Elston said this is a “strong” budget, and he addressed constituent concerns over the tax hike.

“To the person who spoke at the public hearing on the budget and said ‘last year, you set a rate and said we would not get any more increases.’ The conversation last year was about the [capital improvement plan], as we were pushing to fund the CIP projects, so we wouldn’t have to come back around to them and leave citizens wondering if we’re going to do them or not.”

Councilman Ian Lovejoy was the only one the governing body who opposed the real estate property tax rate hike.

The new rates take effect July 1 with the start of the fiscal year 2019 budget. The city council and school board are set to meet for an open-to-the-public budget work session at 7 p.m. Thursday in the second-floor conference room at city hall.