7NKNy Wrote:
> You can adjust for inflation in the tax rate, or
> in the assessment, but not both. If you adjust in
> both, you are doubling the impact of inflation,
> which some may want, but I doubt that is your
> objective. If the assessments float naturally
> upward with inflation and housing markets, then
> the rate does not need to be changed. Of course,
> all that goes out the window when markets stall
> and do not appreciate.

Yeah, I know that. I used the adjusted tax rate to calculate the adjusted assessment value. That's the same as just using the un-adjusted tax rate on the un-adjusted assessed value and then adjusting the assessed value. It represents the 'revenue' collected by the county adjusted for today's dollars.

Wake-up call Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Overall taxes have been going down since 2006
> but
> > mostly due to declining assessments.
>
> Exactly. And what the County SHOULD HAVE been was
> the opposite of the above -- raising the tax rate
> to protect revenues and services. But it DID NOT
> do that, and therein lies the problem that we are
> yet to recover from today.

Negative. The County's revenue (adjusted for today's dollars) has never gone down. It was at an all time high during 2005-2006 because they couldn't adjust the tax rate fast enough. It is an absolute certainly that any extra revenue during this time was immediately budgeted and spent instead of going into a reserve. Then 2007 rolls around, and suddenly there is a huge shortfall for funded programs depending on the same income as 2006 in 2007.

JNxVM Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Negative. The County's revenue (adjusted for
> today's dollars) has never gone down. It was at
> an all time high during 2005-2006 because they
> couldn't adjust the tax rate fast enough.

Come on, dummy. Anything that was at an all-time high in 2005-2006 would necessarily have declined since. Simple math. Meanwhile, the actual point was that rates were scaled back as assessments rose in order to keep revenue increases modest, but then as assessments declined, rates were never ramped back up as would have been mathematically necessary to protect revenues and hence programs. Years and years of cuts have ensued that we as a county can no longer afford. The time has come to restore and reinvest.

> It is an absolute certainty that any extra revenue
> during this time was immediately budgeted and spent
> instead of going into a reserve.

LOL! How would you have arrived at THAT conclusion? Pulled it out of your ass is the answer.

Go buy a clue. If you graph the last column you will see that there is a steady increase of revenue to the County with a simple linear fit (Only 2012 would be below the line). If the County didn't spend every single cent they collected each tax year...

GFELV Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Go buy a clue. If you graph the last column you
> will see that there is a steady increase of
> revenue to the County with a simple linear fit
> (Only 2012 would be below the line). If the
> County didn't spend every single cent they
> collected each tax year...

Stuff it, Junior. Go read up on some of that history that you completely missed out on. Work on math in your spare time.

Your arguments are so rational, how can I not follow advice? I am waiting for you to make a car analogy. I believe that is the next step after name calling.

When Fairfax County voted Republican, it was a model for efficiency. We not only were the richest county, but we had the best school district.

Now that the dumbass Democrats are in power, our school system suck, and our taxes have gone up 20% in the last few years. It's absurd. You lazy ass Democrats have one plan: let 100,000 immigrants move into Fairfax County, and immediately register them as Democrats. Then they can pass all kinds of crazy laws.

Too bad. It ain't going to work. HRC is suffering from her concussion, and can't even talk without a teleprompter. Her husband is a total embarrassment.

But the most horrendous of them all is that goofball Sanders. The rest of you LBGT guys can argue over whose bathroom you get to use, and get in line to give Sanders a hand-job. Meanwhile, let Republicans take care of the real problems, like the Economy, and Unemployment. Once we get in power, and regular people see how feckless, nay lame, the Democrats are, America will finally improve.

Fairfax Conservative Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When Fairfax County voted Republican, it was a
> model for efficiency. We not only were the richest
> county, but we had the best school district.
>
> Now that the dumbass Democrats are in power, our
> school system suck, and our taxes have gone up 20%
> in the last few years. It's absurd. You lazy ass
> Democrats have one plan: let 100,000 immigrants
> move into Fairfax County, and immediately register
> them as Democrats. Then they can pass all kinds of
> crazy laws.
>
> Too bad. It ain't going to work. HRC is suffering
> from her concussion, and can't even talk without a
> teleprompter. Her husband is a total
> embarrassment.
>
> But the most horrendous of them all is that
> goofball Sanders. The rest of you LBGT guys can
> argue over whose bathroom you get to use, and get
> in line to give Sanders a hand-job. Meanwhile, let
> Republicans take care of the real problems, like
> the Economy, and Unemployment. Once we get in
> power, and regular people see how feckless, nay
> lame, the Democrats are, America will finally
> improve.


You very stupid. Move away or shut fuck up thank you!

The money is needed for more water parks, and fact finding trips to the beach.

DLG6E Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wake-up call Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > There was no "housing bubble".
>
> Knowledgeable people ranging from Alan Greenspun
> to the Economist to Fairfax officials have stated
> otherwise, but clearly YOU are THE expert. There
> is not much point in responding to someone who is
> so obviously trolling or being deliberately
> stupid.

Who is Alan Greenspun? is that Alan Greenspans cousin.

Sounds like a lot of people on the FFU feed off of this tax money.
I feel instead of a tax increase, just cut Government benefits.
yes I'm a troll, because I don't agree with tax happy sheep.
I also pay $20 parking fee's when I go to Richmond to speak against things, rather than just crying on the FFU.

Fairfax Conservative Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When Fairfax County voted Republican, it was a
> model for efficiency. We not only were the richest
> county, but we had the best school district.
>
> Now that the dumbass Democrats are in power, our
> school system suck, and our taxes have gone up 20%
> in the last few years. It's absurd. You lazy ass
> Democrats have one plan: let 100,000 immigrants
> move into Fairfax County, and immediately register
> them as Democrats. Then they can pass all kinds of
> crazy laws.
>
> Too bad. It ain't going to work. HRC is suffering
> from her concussion, and can't even talk without a
> teleprompter. Her husband is a total
> embarrassment.
>
> But the most horrendous of them all is that
> goofball Sanders. The rest of you LBGT guys can
> argue over whose bathroom you get to use, and get
> in line to give Sanders a hand-job. Meanwhile, let
> Republicans take care of the real problems, like
> the Economy, and Unemployment. Once we get in
> power, and regular people see how feckless, nay
> lame, the Democrats are, America will finally
> improve.

Anyone who can't understand this is their own worst enemy. Taxes are needed, but raising them year after year without question is foolish. You should care, and should ask what's it in for you.

Wake-up call Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Meanwhile, the actual point
> was that rates were scaled back as assessments
> rose in order to keep revenue increases modest,
> but then as assessments declined, rates were never
> ramped back up as would have been mathematically
> necessary to protect revenues and hence programs.
> Years and years of cuts have ensued that we as a
> county can no longer afford. The time has come to
> restore and reinvest.

This isn't telling he entire story. Yes real estate tax rates were cut back during the early years of the last decade. However even with those rate reductions, real estate taxes rose far more rapidly than the rate of inflation. In fact over the decade from 2000 to 2010 real estate taxes rose more than twice the rate of inflation, even with the drop in values that happened later in the decade. If the tax rate had been adjusted so that real estate taxes would have risen at the rate of general inflation, then the rate would have been in the .50-.60 range in the peak valuation year of 2006, and holding level with inflation would have meant seeing the rates rising to around .90 in 2010, which was slightly below the County base rate for that year.

The other part of the story though was that at the same time as rates were falling on rising real estate values, the County was expanding its spending commitments. Rates that were more than adequate to meet the inflation adjusted 2000 spending commitments were for several years inadequate to meet the 2006 level spending. With the run up in home prices the past couple of years that situation is changing. Under the proposed real estate tax rates, most home owners will be paying more than inflation adjusted 2006 rates on their properties. Yet nobody would suggest that even with the proposed rate increase the level of County services would be comparable to 2006. There are several reasons for this, but one is even with the budget crunches after 2006, certain spending commitments have continued to increase.

It is not simply that we failed to protect the revenue. It is also because we are spending more in inflation adjusted tax dollars. If you keep telling residents year after year that they need to spend more and get less in return, you make them more willing to listen to demagogues that urge blindly hacking away at spending regardless of consequences.

The thing is for me its not like a big deal cuz I don't live in the suburbs ( me with my finger in my throat) but what about people who do? How is this going to be good for them? They have the car payments and now this?

.

x

b

a

Bill.N. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It is not simply that we failed to protect the
> revenue. It is also because we are spending more
> in inflation adjusted tax dollars.

You can drop the pretense of understanding what's going on. Such increases are a GIVEN!!! You will always be paying more because you will always be asking the County (and its schools) to do more.

You were the one hiding behind the "we didn't protect the revenue" line. I just showed you were full of crap. There is an argument to be made that Fairfax County needs to do more than it used to. You need to man up and make that argument. As I have said before it is people like you that are making it possible for anti-tax demagogues to make headway.

Meanwhile in Arlington County they are proposing a budget that lowers tax rates

UenKC

LOL it sounds like that Bill N guy is a tax collector. I mean i guess we need some taxes, but I'm lucky cuz I live in the city so I dont have to pay them, but still.

In Fairfax County, Karen K. Garza makes $265,000 per annum and manages a budget of $2.5 billion. In DC, Kaya Henderson makes $275,000 per annum and manages a budget of $1.2 billion. And lastly, the outgoing Superintendent from Montgomery County, Larry A. Bowers, made $265,000 per annum and manage an annual budget over $2.2 billion. And regarding the proposed budget, its not focused on the teacher retention and salary, the school board hasn't provided any proof other than anecdotal evidence. Does the School Board and Systems have exit interview data to show all the departing teachers from FCCPS is leaving for Arlington County, Alexandria or Falls Church City to get a higher pay rate?

The superintendent needs to tone down the rhetoric because FCPS has a lot of internal problems and there has been a large amount of teachers leaving because of the administration it not because of salaries.

I am not for a tax hike. Most of us can barely make it now.....

Lets tone it down Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does the School Board and Systems have exit interview data
> to show all the departing teachers from FCCPS is leaving for
> Arlington County, Alexandria or Falls Church City to get a
> higher pay rate?

No, they don't because there has never been a reason to spend any money at all in seeking to collect such data. Nobody fixes what ain't broken. Now something is indeed broken, and anecdotally at least, Fairfax is losing significant numbers of top teachers and top administrators to other jurisdictions over compensation issues. Systems to collect data from departing staff are in the works but not yet in place.

> The superintendent needs to tone down the rhetoric
> because FCPS has a lot of internal problems and
> there has been a large amount of teachers leaving
> because of the administration it not because of
> salaries.

LOL! Where are the data supporting THAT notion? What a farce!

Lets tone it down Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I am not for a tax hike. Most of us can barely
> make it now.....

You live in a low-tax area. You pay less and get more than most. If that's too tough a deal for you, you are not well off at all. Which means that "most of us" are not whining because we are in a much better situation than you.

There will be many FCPS meetings at Sea Pearl, it seems owning stock in that place would be a way to make some money off of the waste at FCPS. Those fancy dinners do not help the students, not one bit.

9H9Gy