But this is not SimCity 2000. It’s Arlington County. And here, increasing taxes provokes a fairly balanced response between those who think taxes are high enough already and those who take an “increase my taxes, please” approach.
Of the people who spoke at Thursday night’s tax rate hearing, eight asked the board to increase taxes to the maximum advertised rate to prevent cuts to programs and services.
The Arlington County Board is holding a public budget hearing at 7:00 tonight in the board room at 2100 Clarendon Blvd. Another public budget hearing will be held at the same time on Wednesday.
A public tax rate hearing with more restrictive rules on public comment will be held at 7:00 Thursday night.
Primary reporting for this article was provided by Barry Skidmore of People Powered Arlington.
Property taxes are going up, and on Saturday residents got a preview of just how high rates may go.
The county’s proposed budget for 2011 would raise taxes on the average Arlington family by $235 and — among other cuts — halve the county’s community policing force.
Acting County Manager Barbara Donnellan revealed her FY 2011 budget proposal at a county board meeting Wednesday. Facing a $65 million budget deficit, Donnellan said tough decisions needed to be made.
