Alexandria: Your Average Tax Bill Is Increasing $314

Alexandria City Council unanimously adopted Monday evening a $624.8 million operating fund budget for fiscal year 2014 and an increase of $314 to the average residential real estate tax bill.

The city’s real estate tax rate is increasing 4 cents to $1.038 per $100 of valuation and the vehicle personal property tax is increasing to $5 per $100 of valuation.

While councilmembers noted the tax rate increase is substantial—it is the maximum increase they voted to advertise in March—Mayor Bill Euille noted Alexandria has the second-lowest tax rate in Northern Virginia behind Arlington County.

• See: Alexandria Council Advertises 4 Cent Increase to Real Estate Property Tax Rate

Increasing the tax rate by 4 cents was "nothing anyone on this dais is proud of," Euille said.

"Is it the best budget? No. …but we work within the parameters," he added. "I honestly believe this is a budget we can be proud of." 

Euille said he and council put an emphasis on the city’s capital improvement plan with this budget after some neglect on basic infrastructure investments as the city spent money on large projects in previous years, such as a new T.C. Williams High School and police headquarters.

The 10-year, $1.23 billion capital plan addresses Alexandria City Public Schools' capacity needs, aquatics facilities (including a 50-meter pool at Chinquapin Recreation Center), fire equipment and transportation capital investments.

"I didn’t run to raise people’s taxes," Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg said. "Apparently the [capital improvement plan] was not as funded in the recent past and we’re having to make up for that and the $31 million deficit we faced when we took office." 

On the operating side, ACPS received $185.6 million in its budget transfer—a $6.1 million increase from fiscal year 2013. Council also made new investments in early education.

Council opted to keep Warwick Pool open for at least one more year and moved to restore the city’s library materials budget. Both items were on City Manager Rashad Young’s chopping block in his initial budget proposal.

• See:  
• See: • See: City Manager Proposes $626.6 Million Operating Budget

Operating hours at the city library will be maintained at current levels.

“I think we have to be clear that this is a very large tax increase at a very difficult time for our residents,” said Councilman Justin Wilson, citing federal sequestration. “…We have to expect we’re going to be back at a very painful conversation in the next two years. We helped ourselves in some ways but we hurt ourselves in some ways. We did undo some cuts on the operating side, we rejected some cuts that were offered by the different members of the council. So we’ve now walled those things off in future budgets. In the future, when we’re looking at cuts, we’re isolating those cuts to some very small parts of the budget. I think we have to understand in the next year we’re going to have to talk about some stark cuts on the table and we need to kind of prepare the community.”

Alexandria's fiscal year 2014 begins July 1, 2013.

Editor's note: Councilman Wilson's quote was edited for clarification.