McDaniel on FCPS budget

[Anonymous]

jvmorgan wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Members of the Fairfax County Board Of Supervisors are part-time employees. They voted themselves a 30% pay increase for supervisors, and 40% for the chair. This increases supervisors’ annual salaries to $123,283, and the board chair’s pay to $138,283. You think they are going to do the right thing to reduce property taxes if we vote to allow a meals tax?

The argument that some body of decision-makers had the audacity to decide to increase their salaries (in the case of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors, for jobs that are part-time on paper, but full-time in practice) has always struck me as an irrelevant cheap shot in discussions like these. It was one of the issues raised by meals tax opponents in Prince William County, even though they still make less than $50k per year for their service.

Deciding how much to pay for their roles is part of the job of elected leaders. Attacking elected leaders for actually making that decision can be rhetorically effective, but it is irrelevant to most taxing and spending decisions. And it can also lead to elected positions lagging so far behind relative to prevailing salaries for other jobs of similar or even lesser complexity and challenge that the most qualified people don’t even give elected offices a second thought.

The people who have the audacity to vote themselves a 30-40% increase for a part time job should not also get to decide to raise property taxes every.single.year when their constituents keep telling them to vote against it.

[Anonymous]

jvmorgan wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Members of the Fairfax County Board Of Supervisors are part-time employees. They voted themselves a 30% pay increase for supervisors, and 40% for the chair. This increases supervisors’ annual salaries to $123,283, and the board chair’s pay to $138,283. You think they are going to do the right thing to reduce property taxes if we vote to allow a meals tax?

The argument that some body of decision-makers had the audacity to decide to increase their salaries (in the case of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors, for jobs that are part-time on paper, but full-time in practice) has always struck me as an irrelevant cheap shot in discussions like these. It was one of the issues raised by meals tax opponents in Prince William County, even though they still make less than $50k per year for their service.

Deciding how much to pay for their roles is part of the job of elected leaders. Attacking elected leaders for actually making that decision can be rhetorically effective, but it is irrelevant to most taxing and spending decisions. And it can also lead to elected positions lagging so far behind relative to prevailing salaries for other jobs of similar or even lesser complexity and challenge that the most qualified people don’t even give elected offices a second thought.

When I had a payroll job my raises had to be justified by my performance.

Have safety, crime, school performance and other metrics important to the population improved or at least been maintained since their last raise?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the lottery money was supposed to be for schools. what happened to that?

don't forget everyone's favorite-the car tax.

Still not enough?

Move pension funding to 401k like the rest of us. It will open up the budget and everyone can still get some form of retirement like the rest of us.

The current retirement program (for the last 14 years) is very similar to a 401(k). Teachers contribute and there is a matching percentage from the state.

FCPS has two pensions (VRS and ERFC) and another program employees can optionally contribute to and receive a match from fcps. It’s an extremely generous benefit plan that way exceeds private employers.

[jvmorgan]

Anonymous wrote:
“50% since 2014 isn’t too bad. That’s an annual increase of about 4.1%. Faster than inflation (about 32% since 2014), but definitely not the 10% per year at least one poster claimed.”

I am the 10% poster. I never said it was 10% each year. They are raising my taxes 10% this year and have gone up 50% overall since I bought my house at the end of 2014. You must be in a different salary range to be able to say that a 50% tax increase is not that bad.

That is interesting. If you got hit with a 10% increase this year, then that would mean your real estate tax bill went up only 3.51% per year from 2014-2023, meaning that from 2014-2023 your real estate tax bill would have gone up an even more reasonable 36% (inflation over that period was a smidge lower at 31%).

Assuming you are saying your real estate taxes were raised from FY2024 to FY2025, when the real estate tax rate was increased 2.7% (from 1.095 to 1.125) rather than FY2023 to FY2024, when the real estate tax rate in Fairfax County was reduced 1.4% (from 1.11 to 1.095), your real estate assessment must have jumped over 7%, which is much higher than the average increase in assessments of 2.86% in Fairfax County.

That is quite the jump. Did you do anything to improve the value of your home or is your home in a hot real estate market? If your assessment jumped that much for no discernible reason, you might want to look into the Real Estate Assessment Appeals process (https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/taxes/real-estate/assessment-appeals).

[jvmorgan]

Anonymous wrote:
When I had a payroll job my raises had to be justified by my performance.

Have safety, crime, school performance and other metrics important to the population improved or at least been maintained since their last raise?

If you don’t think the incumbent elected supervisors have done an adequate job, then use your vote in the next election to make your opinion clear. That’s what it’s for.

[Anonymous]

jvmorgan wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
When I had a payroll job my raises had to be justified by my performance.

Have safety, crime, school performance and other metrics important to the population improved or at least been maintained since their last raise?

If you don’t think the incumbent elected supervisors have done an adequate job, then use your vote in the next election to make your opinion clear. That’s what it’s for.

You seem to have attempted to take over the thread with advocacy for tax increases in Fairfax County, most specifically a meals tax.

Do you really think county residents are going to be enthusiastic about taxes when a substantial portion goes to FCPS and FCPS spends so arbitrarily - for example, by expanding West Potomac HS to 3000 seats when there were vacant seats at Mount Vernon HS, budgeting over $80 million for an ES in Dunn Loring for which there is clearly no demonstrated need, and ignoring decade-long overcrowding at other high schools like Chantilly HS and McLean HS?

You appear to think your mission is to educate people on how a meals tax would impose comparatively less of a burden on county residents than real estate taxes, but it begs the question as to why residents who've seen how mismanaged FCPS is should support ANY additional taxes.

[Anonymous]

jvmorgan wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
“50% since 2014 isn’t too bad. That’s an annual increase of about 4.1%. Faster than inflation (about 32% since 2014), but definitely not the 10% per year at least one poster claimed.”

I am the 10% poster. I never said it was 10% each year. They are raising my taxes 10% this year and have gone up 50% overall since I bought my house at the end of 2014. You must be in a different salary range to be able to say that a 50% tax increase is not that bad.

That is interesting. If you got hit with a 10% increase this year, then that would mean your real estate tax bill went up only 3.51% per year from 2014-2023, meaning that from 2014-2023 your real estate tax bill would have gone up an even more reasonable 36% (inflation over that period was a smidge lower at 31%).

Assuming you are saying your real estate taxes were raised from FY2024 to FY2025, when the real estate tax rate was increased 2.7% (from 1.095 to 1.125) rather than FY2023 to FY2024, when the real estate tax rate in Fairfax County was reduced 1.4% (from 1.11 to 1.095), your real estate assessment must have jumped over 7%, which is much higher than the average increase in assessments of 2.86% in Fairfax County.

That is quite the jump. Did you do anything to improve the value of your home or is your home in a hot real estate market? If your assessment jumped that much for no discernible reason, you might want to look into the Real Estate Assessment Appeals process (https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/taxes/real-estate/assessment-appeals).

.


The idea that we should have to pay the government more in taxes because we add a porch, put a small shed in the backyard or plant a row of azaleas is an outrageous idea in itself.
“Oh look, you have somewhere to store your lawn mower and enjoy the weather on a nice day! Give us more money!”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the lottery money was supposed to be for schools. what happened to that?

don't forget everyone's favorite-the car tax.

Still not enough?

Move pension funding to 401k like the rest of us. It will open up the budget and everyone can still get some form of retirement like the rest of us.

The current retirement program (for the last 14 years) is very similar to a 401(k). Teachers contribute and there is a matching percentage from the state.

FCPS has two pensions (VRS and ERFC) and another program employees can optionally contribute to and receive a match from fcps. It’s an extremely generous benefit plan that way exceeds private employers.

You typed this in a misleading way. There are not two pensions and an additional match.

The 401k style is a hybrid plan under which all new employees are hired. It combines a (reduced) traditional pension with a 401k style contribution plan. Retirements have been reduced several times in the last few decades from Plan A to Plan B and now the hybrid plan. Please don’t pretend that the “old school” VRS pension that staff used to enjoy still exists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the lottery money was supposed to be for schools. what happened to that?

don't forget everyone's favorite-the car tax.

Still not enough?

Move pension funding to 401k like the rest of us. It will open up the budget and everyone can still get some form of retirement like the rest of us.

The current retirement program (for the last 14 years) is very similar to a 401(k). Teachers contribute and there is a matching percentage from the state.

FCPS has two pensions (VRS and ERFC) and another program employees can optionally contribute to and receive a match from fcps. It’s an extremely generous benefit plan that way exceeds private employers.

I believe this isn’t true. Perhaps you can find a link.

[jvmorgan]

Anonymous wrote:
You seem to have attempted to take over the thread with advocacy for tax increases in Fairfax County, most specifically a meals tax.

. . .

You appear to think your mission is to educate people on how a meals tax would impose comparatively less of a burden on county residents than real estate taxes . . .

People on DCUM started talking about a possible meals tax in Fairfax County, a topic I am especially interested in. I’m just trying to be an engaged citizen. Advocating for an initiative I support, and sharing information on why I support that initiative, in a forum where people are actually discussing that initiative seems to be a reasonable form of engagement. I might learn something. Others might learn something. It’s part of sharing a community. And if you don’t want me to respond to an argument you’ve made—perhaps attacking the idea of adopting a meals tax (an initiative I really support)—then don’t post something for me to respond to.

[jvmorgan]

Anonymous wrote:
The idea that we should have to pay the government more in taxes because we add a porch, put a small shed in the backyard or plant a row of azaleas is an outrageous idea in itself.
“Oh look, you have somewhere to store your lawn mower and enjoy the weather on a nice day! Give us more money!”

You may not like it, but that’s the law in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Va Code § 58.1-3201 (“All general reassessments or annual assessments in those localities which have annual assessments of real estate . . . shall be made at 100 percent fair market value”). Personally not a big fan of real estate taxes, which can jump all over place for reasons outside the homeowner’s control. That’s one reason why I support reducing Fairfax County’s heavy reliance on real estate tax revenues.