A Message from Woodbridge Supervisor Jeannie LaCroix on the PWC Budget:
I want to share an update on this year’s county budget and what happened last night.
I’ll be direct: the final outcome was a disappointment. After a week of intense pressure, the Board walked away from the tax relief we had promised to you. To me, that feels like a slap in the face to our residents.
For years, people in Prince William County have been told that relief was coming. After steady increases, you were supposed to finally see real savings, paid for by the data centers.
Instead, that promise was abandoned.
That’s what makes this so frustrating, because just days earlier, we had it right.
After last Tuesday’s budget markup, I went home truly proud of the bipartisan work we did together for the residents. Our proposed budget:
Increased school funding by $96 million (the biggest ever increase)
Delivered a real cut to the real estate tax; and
Slashed the meals tax from 3% to 2%.
We showed that by working together, we could invest in our schools and give real relief to families at the same time.
But after Tuesday, things changed.
The School Board and PWCS leadership demanded we cancel the tax relief so that they could receive $31 million more. And they ran a full court press to force us to back down.
People can disagree about a budget, but what we saw was disgusting.
This Board was bullied. Every single one of us. Last night, one of my Democrat colleagues said he was even verbally accused of “raping the schools.”
Supervisors who had stood firm last week for fiscal responsibility and taxpayer relief were treated so poorly that they felt they had to back away from the commitments they made to you.
And because of that, most of the direct, immediate relief for residents was stripped out of the final budget, including the meals tax cut.
I’ve spent a lot of time talking with families and small business owners in Woodbridge, especially restaurant owners. Many told me the same thing: “Please get rid of the meals tax.” Some have already closed their doors because of it. They were counting on this relief.
So were you.
That’s why this outcome is so hard to accept. I believe when we say something to residents, we should mean it. And I understand why people may now question whether they can trust those promises going forward.
it’s not all bad news.
Some of the most important investments for Woodbridge that I fought for did make it into the final budget.
We secured $5 million to revitalize blighted properties and reinvest in our community.
We strengthened public safety, with $20 million more for our Police Department and funding for three new Sheriff’s Office deputies.
And the final tax rate prevents your bills from going up again.
But that’s not enough.
I will keep wearing my “resident hat.” I will work hard to build on the progress we did make: revitalization funding, public safety investments, and the limited tax relief that did get through.
Thank you for staying engaged and for holding all of us accountable.
Jeannie LaCroix
Woodbridge District Supervisor
A Message from Cole Supervisor Yesli Vega on the PWC Budget.
The majority of the Board of Supervisors will promote last night’s budget adoption as a win – but the reality is, they yet again passed a misleading budget that will undoubtedly raise taxes for county residents.
The lie that will inevitably be pushed by the media and my colleagues is that they delivered. In reality, the Board of County Supervisors voted to increase the tax rate on data centers to $4.50 and increase the tax rate on homeowners from $0.85 to $0.865. This also coincides with increased fees for homeowners.
Furthermore, the Board voted to return the meals tax from 2% to 3%.
Members of the Board will call this a tax cut, but by this point, most taxpayers know that the increased value of homes means many of us will still get bigger tax bills. The late Supervisor Weir’s words continue to ring true: “Members of the BOCS will tout the reduction of the rate […] as a victory for the taxpayer. The sad truth is that the change in the rate was proposed by the CXO at recap as a result of the assessed values coming in at a higher value than first anticipated.”
There is one highlight of the budget. We’ve received over $550M in additional revenue from the data centers that once promised a reduction in taxes. Guess what they chose to use it on? A 4.5% pay raise for themselves.
I want to thank each of you who called, emailed, and spoke publicly. I know this feels like another defeat, and even though the board majority ignored you, they heard you.
I will never waver and will always fight for the taxpayers of Prince William County, but please do not stop holding us, the Board of County Supervisors, accountable.
For Prince William,
Yesli Vega