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WHEREAS residential assessments for the average Fairfax County household increased 16 percent this year; and

WHEREAS residential assessments for the average Fairfax County household have increased a total of 32 percent since Kate Hanley was re-elected county chairman; and

WHEREAS in her re-election campaign, Chairman Hanley stated that she did not foresee raising taxes after the next election; and

WHEREAS the real estate tax for the typical Fairfax County household will have increased $950 since Chairman Hanley's re-election; and

WHEREAS the real estate tax increases since Chairman Hanley's re-election are the largest in the 22 years for which the county has reported real estate tax trends; and

WHEREAS over the past 25 years school staff has increased four times faster than enrollment; and

WHEREAS despite the increase in school staff, the average SAT score for Fairfax County Public Schools is still at the 65th percentile; and

WHEREAS over the past 25 years Fairfax County non-school staff has increased almost twice as fast as population; and

WHEREAS the Fairfax County taxpayers' recompense for higher taxes has been crowded roads and crowded schools; and

WHEREAS the 16 percent increase provides the county with an extra $187 million in revenue; and

WHEREAS there will be no increase in school construction funding, which will remain at $130 million per year; and

WHEREAS of the extra $187 only $2 million will be spent on transportation; and

WHEREAS to offset the 16 percent increase in assessments, the real estate tax rate must be reduced from the current rate of $1.23 to $1.06; and

WHEREAS reducing the tax rate from $1.23 to $1.06 is not a tax cut but only prevents a tax increase;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Fairfax County Republican Committee petition the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to set the real estate tax rate at $1.06.

Submitted by:
Arthur G. Purves, Hunter Mill District
Ken Cuccinelli, Springfield District

Updated April 6, 2002