Budget
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The average Stafford County homeowner could pay $370 to $462 more per year under the proposed FY2027 budget presented to the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 17, 2026.
The increase follows a recent property reassessment and a proposed tax rate hike to offset growing state-mandated costs.
Throughout a tight budget cycle, the Board was unsure if they would be able to fund a 5.5% salary increase due to budget constraints from both City Council and the Commonwealth. Many Board members had expressed a desire for a 7% salary increase to match other neighboring jurisdictions.
Prince William County Schools, for example, came to an agreement with the Prince William Education Association for a historic $160 million investment over a two-year period. This results in a 7% wage increase in fiscal year 2026.
The council unanimously approved three key resolutions during its June 2 meeting:
Resolution 2025-006 amended the current fiscal year’s budget to reflect interest reallocation that will fund upcoming council and administrative expenses. This ensures year-end revenues are directed toward planned municipal operations and projects.
💰 The City of Manassas Park just dropped its proposed budget for FY2026, and let’s just say… your water, sewer, and stormwater fees are going up, but there’s a tiny silver lining when it comes to your real estate taxes.
Here’s the scoop in plain language👇
Starting July 1, 2025, your monthly bills in Manassas will look a little different—mostly upward. The city is planning to raise utility rates and emergency service fees to support its budget for the next fiscal year.
Let’s break it down so you don’t have to squint at a spreadsheet 🧾:
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Before 1998 — when the RSA was established between the supervisors and the School Board — the two bodies had an unofficial agreement where PWCS received 51% of the county’s revenue and the county received the other 49%.
In 1998, the bodies came to an official agreement that allocated nearly 57% of the county’s revenue to PWCS, with 43% left for the county’s operations. In 2013, the RSA was amended to increase PWCS’ allocation to over 57% and the county’s to just under 43%.
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OCCOQUAN, Va. — A series of notable developments unfolded at the April 15, 2025, Occoquan Town Council meeting, including a leadership change and updates to the town’s ongoing budget planning.
Councilwoman Nancy Freeborn Britain, who was elected to the Town Council in 2022, formally announced her resignation, citing a new career opportunity that will take her to Staunton during the workweek. Britain was recently hired as the Program Director for a master’s degree program at Mary Baldwin University, where she will oversee 120 students and serve as a department chair.
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MANASSAS PARK, Va. — Manassas Park homeowners could see their tax bills rise by hundreds of dollars under the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget, despite a planned reduction in the city’s real estate tax rate.
City Manager Carl Cole presented the $129 million budget to the Governing Body on April 22, 2025, proposing a one-cent reduction to the real estate tax rate, which would lower it to $1.395 per $100 of assessed value. However, because the average assessed value of residential properties increased by 7.48%, the typical single-family homeowner, with an average home value of $507,689, would still pay approximately $483 more in real estate taxes next year.