The Arlington County Board has decided to hold its real estate tax rate steady for 2016.
The tax rate will likely remain at $0.996 cents of $100 of assessed value, which will result in an average property tax bill increase of $281 per year for Arlington households. The County Board had advertised a rate 1.5 cents higher than it passed, but ultimately decided to make budget cuts instead.
“Every member of this Board is acutely aware of the tax burden on our residents,” County Board Chair Mary Hynes said. “We felt strongly that we did not want to add to that burden.”
The tax rate was one of the key decisions the County Board made during its final budget work session yesterday evening. It will vote on the Calendar Year 2016 tax rate and its FY 2016 budget next Tuesday.
In addition, the County Board vowed to fully fund Arlington Public Schools, allotting $6.2 million above County Manager Barbara Donnellan’s proposed budget. The combination of the flat tax rate and additional money for public schools meant the Board had to slash $2.8 million from their previous budgets.
The biggest of those cuts will come from closing Artisphere, effective June 30. The county still has a lease on the property and there are outside parties that would like to turn it into a tech incubator and conference space, but no formal proposal has yet been made on that front. Closing the center, converting the Metrobus 3A route to ART service and foregoing expansion of urban agricultural offerings were enough to fund a balanced budget.
The Board also acquiesced to other budget requests, including funding a new animal control officer for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, providing pay increases to the Public Defender’s office and injecting $900,000 into Arlington Economic Development’s budget.
“This budget fully funds Schools, maintains core services and the social safety net, values our employees by providing a modest step increase, and invests more in the critical areas of economic development and public safety,” Hynes said in a press release. “I am confident that next week, we will adopt a budget that continues this County’s long track record of wisely managing taxpayer money while making strategic investments in infrastructure and environmental and economic sustainability.”