After banner economic year, coronavirus fear grips Manassas budget process

In an eerie and nearly empty city council chamber, Manassas leaders moved ahead with the city’s annual budget process in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The City Council on Monday, March 16, 2020, chose to advertise a property tax rate of $1.48 per every $100 of the assessed Real Estate property value for its budget for Fiscal Year 2021, which begins July 1.

A tax levied on Real Estate is the key funding source for the city’s proposed $253 million budget. The council took the vote during an emergency meeting called by Mayor Hal Parrish II.  

At that advertised rate, the average homeowner in the city would see a $4,295 property tax bill that’s about $22o more than the previous year.

The tax rate the City Council chose to advertise is higher than the $1.44 rate initially proposed by City Manager Patrick Pate, who, just a week earlier, told the City Council that the city had a ‘banner year’ of accomplishments, which heralded the largest number of private investments in the city’s 147-year history.

On March 9, Pate showed the City Council a video that highlighted those investments, which include a deal to build a new Tru by Hilton hotel near the Manassas Regional Airport, the opening of a Didlake Document Imaging Center, the expansion of Chantilly Air at the regional airport, the continued building at Landing at Cannon Branch, and the location of Applied Materials, a microchip maker. 

Then, of course, there’s the continuing work on the $3 billion expansion of computer chipmaker Micron, which was the largest economic development deal in Virginia history when it was announced by Gov. Ralph Northam in 2018.

“As you saw in the video, the city has seen remarkable growth over the past year,” Pate said. “Major public and private economic development projects are underway, including $133 million that is shown in new assessment construction in this budget. This is the largest increase as far as we know in private development in the city’s history…” Pate said. 

Taxable Real Estate values in the city increased over the last year, from just over $5 billion to just over $5.4 billion, including $133 million in new construction, Pate said. 

The $253 million budget Pate proposed on March 9 showed funding increases in nearly every funding category. The city’s school division would receive about $1 million more than it did the year before, while the city’s capital projects fund would get an additional $7.3 million — the largest annual increase of any category.

The city’s list of capital projects includes the construction of a new Fire Station 21, near the intersection of Dumfries Road and Hastings Drive. The $14 million fire station is scheduled to open by the end of June 2021. When complete, it will enhance the city’s ability to respond to 911 calls, said Pate.

In addition to the new firehouse, since 2013, the city has promised to replace four aging fire engines, fund two paramedic units, and a new tower ladder truck, said Pate.

A new $49.1 million Public Safety Center is also on this list and will be built in the old Grant Avenue Shopping Center next to the Georgetown South neighborhood. The new facility will serve as the city’s new police station. Additionally, it will provide offices for fire and rescue staff, and house the city’s IT department, Pate said.

At the March 16 emergency meeting, council members sat several feet apart from each other as they discussed the budget and voted on the advertised tax rate. The meeting was held on the first day of a two-week self-isolation quarantine ordered by President Donald Trump due to the spread of the coronavirus. 

Trump urged U.S. citizens to stay home, avoid public spaces, and maintain a six-feet distance from strangers, all to prevent the spread of the virus.

Parrish called the meeting in first-floor council chambers inside the city hall. Using the seats normally reserved for the audience, Parrish stood before the councilmembers who were seated apart from each other based on “social distancing” recommendations from the CDC.

Councilman Mark Wolfe motioned for the advertised tax rate of $1.48, and Councilman Ian Lovejoy seconded it.

Councilwoman Pam Sebesky said the needed to come up with a higher rate due to the unknowns surrounding the coronavirus and how it might affect their budget next year in the face of the national crisis.

Council members have been talking with the city’s firefighters, who are seeking higher salaries.

“We also had a long discussion about the needs of the firefighters,” Sebesky said.

While the city council can agree to lower the advertised tax rate, now that it’s been advertised at $1.48, it cannot raise it. Following that meeting, the city closed all of its buildings to the public in the wake of the coronavirus spread.

As of now, a public hearing on the tax rate is set for April 27, and the council is expected to take its final vote to approve the budget on May 11

But all of that is now dependent on what happens with the coronavirus, said city spokeswoman Patty Prince.

The city must approve a new budget by June 30, when the fiscal year ends.