To the editor: There’s a property-tax explosion in Fairfax County, and we are not getting value for our tax dollars.
According to our local government, my minivan was worth more in 2022 than when I purchased it new in 2018. With combined rate and assessment increases, the property tax on it went up by 45 percent between 2019 and 2022.
The same is true for houses. The assessment value of our house increased by 30 percent from 2020 to 2023. In real terms, the monthly property-tax differential in this time period is enough for an additional car payment. And we’re paying that additional monthly car payment, not for a vehicle, but for Fairfax County’s irresponsible, skyrocketing expenditures.
In the last year, our 22 local politicians – 10 members on the Board of Supervisors and 12 School Board members – have not just substantially increased spending, but overwhelmingly voted in favor of increasing their own salaries.
Beginning in 2024, the Board of Supervisors will get a 30-percent annual pay increase, and a 38-percent increase for the chairman, who also uses a publicly-funded vehicle. Fairfax County School Board members have followed suit and voted in favor of their own 50-percent pay increase.
School Board members, who serve in ostensibly part-time positions, have additionally allocated $400,000 to build their own office space. Meanwhile, public schools face a significant overcrowding problem. As a result, an increased number of students sit through classes in trailers as School Board members relax in their newly renovated offices – compliments of our increased tax payments.
Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, Springfield
