To the Editor:
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (BOS) has been wrestling with the question of how to meet their self-imposed demands for more services and how to raise revenue (read "taxes") to support those demands. The first source is the real estate tax - the tax on our homes and businesses. The real estate tax is a function of the value of our property and a function of the rate of tax to be imposed based on the value of our property. Suffice to say, this is a game that is played each year - whatever you call it, about 15.5 percent more will have come out of our pockets over the past three years.
In Reston, we have a new demand for more money. Not learning from the Tysons experience, the new Reston Master Plan lays the groundwork for a Special Tax District to pay for the infrastructure features needed to support the new Metro Silver Line stations. For years, Fairfax County has placed this burden on the developers of the surrounding live, work, and play facilities to pay for these needs. What has changed? And why has the burden shifted to the small taxpayer?
Over the past year, new interest in building a North Reston Community Center with an improvement in Baron Cameron Park has surfaced. One of the options is a new $60M facility with a year-round 50-meter swimming pool, indoor tennis courts and meeting rooms. To fund this idea, we may well experience an increase in the RCC Small Tax District #5 rates.
Not to be outdone, the Water Authority (or who ever controls the sewer charge) wants additional revenue.
What can we do to reduce these demands? First, we can delay the refurbishment of the Crescent Apartments by a year or two. These rent-controlled (affordable housing to the liberals) units can wait a couple of years for the refurbishment. We may even consider selling off a portion of our holdings. We can go back to the drawing board on paying for the Silver Line infrastructure and get more favorable proffers from the developers who stand to make a lot of money on each parcel developed (think campaign donations). We can put the development of the Baron Cameron Park on hold. It has been doing well for the past 30 years. It can wait a few more years.
However, most of the discussion on the budget and taxes is moot until the Socialist Governor and leftist-controlled Senate of Virginia stop playing leverage games and face the fact that two out of every three Virginians oppose Medicare expansion. In spite of denials and flat out lies, the majority of Virginians do not want the train wreck Medicare-expansion - No McAwfulcare, no Warnercare, no Howellcare, and no Plumcare. Pass a clean budget bill.
Notice how quiet the Democrat-dominated BOS has been. Nobody has come forth to state what tax increase will be needed to pay for Medicare-expansion. You can be sure it is not chump-change.
Jack Kenny
Reston