Prince William Supervisors set to approve tax hikes for residents, restaurant customers Tuesday

Recently, Virginia’s General Assembly passed a law that allows local governments to set a meals tax of up to 6% without asking voters for permission through a referendum. 

Prince William County residents will face higher property taxes over the next 12 months, with the average homeowner paying $172 more in Real Estate taxes.

The Board of County Supervisors reviewed its Fiscal Year 2023 budget and spending plan for a final time Tuesday, April 19, making no changes to Acting County Executive Elijah Johnson’s proposed budget. The new spending plan to be approved tomorrow night includes a record increase of $124 million, including a new 4% restaurant tax on food and drinks tacked onto the sales tax, and an existing $35 million budget surplus.

Democrats, who hold the majority on the Board of County Supervisors, held the line on the spending plan as Republicans urged them to find cuts to the spending plan.

Coles District Supervisor Yeli Vega suggested setting the Real Estate Tax rate at 96 cents per $100 of assessed value (seven cents lower than Johnson’s budget) and slashing the county’s spending by 60% and the meals tax. The proposal would have allowed for a more minor $45 million increase in new county tax revenue.

The move fell flat after Board Chair Ann Wheeler said broadly slicing budgets is not sound financial management. She urged Republicans to name specific line items in which to cut and asked how they intend to make up the $24 million in new revenue the county expects to receive with its new meals tax.

Republicans criticized county leaders for lack of communication with restaurant owners, informing them of the new tax they say will harm small businesses recovering from the effects of government-mandated restrictions during the pandemic. Recently, Virginia’s General Assembly passed a law that allows local governments to set a meals tax of up to 6% without asking voters for permission through a referendum. 

Vega suggested not funding a created office of equity and inclusion and not moving forward with a nearly $1 million plan to implement a collective bargaining practice with its local government employees.

Those proposals, too, were dead on arrival. “Everybody in the nation now has an equity and inclusion department,” said Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey.

Brentsville District Supervisor Jeanine Lawson continued to draw attention to a plan to create new government positions while more than 400 positions have remained unfilled for more than two years.

For the second time this month, Lawson suggested eliminating the unfilled positions, not creating new ones, and using the savings to give current employees a 1% cost-of-living raise that would have been effective July 1. Democrats on the Board weren’t interested, and, instead, employees will get a 3% merit-based pay raise effective on the anniversary date of when they were hired.

Many of the positions Lawson advocated slashing were administrative positions held by civilians in the county police department. Police Chief Peter Newham said he would fill the open jobs over the next year if given the funding.

Filling the administrative positions allows the department to put sworn police officers currently doing those jobs back on the streets, added Newsham.

Gainesville Supervisor Peter Candland urged the Board to continue to press Johnson to fill the open positions. According to Candland, former Supervisors promised to ensure funded jobs were filled but failed to do so.

“Madam Chair,” Candland petitioned Wheeler. “This is a promise that I’ve heard at the budget time since I’ve been on the board dating back to 2012. No offense, but you sound like your predecessor Corey Stewart.”

“I am not Corey Stewart, and things will change,” said Wheeler, who replaced Stewart, who retired from political office in 2019.

Home assessments that increased by an average of 12%, despite a lower tax rate, are driving the increase in tax bills. A lack of new cars has also increased the value of older cars and personal property tax bills by extension.

Homeowners fund the majority of the county government and, by extension, its local schools. Nearly 60% of the county government budget is automatically given to the school division.

Supervisors will approve its new budget during its 7:30 p.m. public meeting Tuesday, April 26, at the county government center, 1 County Complex Court in Woodbridge.

According to Vega, county Supervisors have consistently raised tax bills over the past 14 years, including an average of $1,400 for homeowners since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.