Rod Stewart tells us that the ‘First Cut is the Deepest.’ Corey Stewart tells us that cuts will be ‘deep’ and ‘painful’.
The News and Messenger highlighted part of yesterday’s BOCS meeting but concentrated on Chairman Stewart’s State of the County Address. Excerpts include:
As part of his “state of the county address,” Stewart talked of Prince William’s unusual circumstances in comparison with surrounding jurisdictions.
“Last year, when other major localities in the region hoped for the best, we prepared for the worst,” he said.
And as a result, Prince William differs from other communities in that budget shortfalls were not felt in this current fiscal year, and taxes are not planned to increase in the coming fiscal year. Still, he said, challenges are coming.
“[Our] work has just begun,” Stewart said, “[and] 2009 will present the toughest fiscal challenge this board or this county has ever faced. Declining home values and
shrinking sales tax and other revenues means a projected shortfall in the next fiscal year of $190 million. This problem is compounded by the substantial cuts expected from the General Assembly.”
The work for the upcoming budget season will focus mainly on cuts: “The cuts will be deep. The cuts will be painful. But the cuts mean that … this board shall deliver a tax cut to all of you at home,” he said.
Stewart touted some of the county’s perceived successes of the past year — deporting more than 1,300 illegal aliens; implementing an illegal immigration policy that’s being copied by other communities; building roads in the face of transportation budget shortfalls and cuts; creating a housing assistance program for government employees that “helps reduce the oversupply of unsold homes” and foreclosures.
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