From the Thursday Morning Jolt:
Pensions Costs, Health-Insurance Costs, Illegal Immigration: They All Hit Home.
Here in Fairfax County, property taxes are up . . .
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 7 to 3 to raise taxes on Fairfax County homeowners. This year’s $185 dollar property tax rate increase on the average homeowner results in a 16 percent tax increase over the last 3 years.
Sales-tax revenues are up . . .
Sales-tax receipts distributed to the Fairfax County government by the state government in April totaled $12.3 million, up 4.6 percent from a year before.
For the first nine months of the Fairfax County fiscal year, sales-tax receipts are up 6.6 percent from a year before.
And yet the school district informs me that they’re going to be forced to reduce spending by a bunch:
Fairfax County Public Schools expects the school year 2016-17 (FY 2017) budget to be a tremendous challenge with an anticipated deficit of more than $100 million.
Without additional funding, FCPS will be forced to have some very difficult conversations with the community to determine which programs to consider for reduction. In the coming months, there will be opportunities for the community to provide feedback on the potential cuts. In order to provide parents with accurate information and help you communicate about how we can work to #saveFCPS, a list of frequently asked questions about FY 2017 and other information is now online.
The school district’s explanation:
The cost drivers for the school year 2016-17 (FY 2017) budget include both items outside of FCPS’ control, like retirement and enrollment increases, and providing competitive compensation for our teachers. The cost drivers include:
- a growing student population with diverse needs.
- increased state-required retirement contributions rates.
- increased health insurance costs.
- increased compensation for our teachers.
Gee, what’s got the school enrollment in Fairfax County jumping so high? Ohhhh . . .
Three counties in the Washington region have received among the highest numbers of unaccompanied minors fleeing Central America since January, according to the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.
Fairfax, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties have taken in more children from the recent border surge than all but five other cities and counties across the nation, largely due to their sizeable populations of Central American immigrants. Most arriving children are placed with relatives or other guardians while awaiting deportation hearings.
According to the agency, only Los Angeles, Miami, one border county in Texas and two counties near New York City have received more such children in the past seven months. Fairfax has received 1,023 children . . .
Where else is all of that surging tax-revenue money going? I mean, I can see one expenditure that just shot up more than 25 percent:
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Tuesday voted to raise the salaries of future supervisors by $20,000 a year.
The vote was 6 to 4. Each member of the next board will make $95,000 a year, up from $75,000. The chairman will make $100,000, up from $75,000.
And there’s a cost-of-living increase for county workers:
The county’s 12,000 employees will receive cost-of-living raises of 1.10 percent — which is short of the actual 1.68 percent increase in the cost of living from last year.
So, let’s review:
- Underfunded pension plans.
- Rising health-insurance costs despite all the promises of Obamacare.
- A deluge of new children who, adorable and innocent as they are, entered the country illegally and now are requiring more resources to educate.
- Tax hikes.
- Higher salaries for lawmakers.
All conservatives deserve a throw pillow embroidered with “I TOLD YOU SO” on their couches.
Life ain’t easy for a conservative in “The Burbs.”