Same Tax Rate In Approved First Reading Of Manassas Budget

MANASSAS, VA — The tax rate could stay the same in the budget Manassas City Council gave first reading approval to Monday. Second reading and final approval of tax rates is slated for June 10.

The tax rate of $1.26 per $100 of assessed value stayed the same from Interim City Manager Douglas Keen's budget proposal. The city estimated the average tax bill would go up by $266 even with a flat tax rate due to assessment increases.

Councilmember Theresa Coates Ellis cited the effect of assessments on tax bills and had wanted a budget reduction to keep tax bills flat.

"I know I'm in the minority in this vote, but from the beginning of the budget planning and workshops that lasted months for months, I always said that we needed to be mindful of the high cost of living for our families, our workforce and our seniors," said Ellis. "Prices are still too high for everyday items such as groceries and even worse for housing.

Vice Mayor Pamela Sebesky said she "appreciated" the City Council discussion about budget cuts Ellis brought up during a work session. But she said keeping tax bills flat would have meant less funding for schools, eliminating employee positions and affected retention of public safety employees. Sebesky said City Council already found $1.5 million in budget savings to not increase the tax rate, as a two-cent increase was considered during the process.

"We could just not find another $4.5 million that did not risk important services, in my opinion, important services that needed to be funded for the city," said Sebesky.

Councilmember Sonia Vásquez Luna noted the budget has priorities like employee retention through compensation and benefits, funding for schools, shared service costs with Prince William County and capital improvements. She said the school funding increase of $1.8 million was important as a mother of middle and high school students, as well as the Marsteller property acquisition for a park and community center and resources for attainable housing."

"It's important that we keep that tax bill that we pay too and the residents pay, that we make the decision mindful of all the changes, but we keep it as low as possible but we're providing the services the residents already have and improving that," said Vásquez Luna. "That includes retention for the city employees and retention for the services we have as everything continues to increase."

A previous budget presentation showed the average residential assessment increase was 5.25 percent, and the average non-residential increase was 5.06 percent.

SEE ALSO: Purchase Agreement For New Park Site Approved By Manassas Council