Pr. William’s $61M rainy day fund is off-limits as county faces crunch

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Prince William County supervisors say a $61 million rainy day fund is off-limits as the county faces a dire budget crunch without any money in its annual contingency fund.

“You leave that fund alone unless you have some truly traumatic event happen,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart said.

The board’s decision to drain its $800,000 contingency fund Tuesday to pay for illegal immigration enforcement has raised questions about the county’s capacity to deal with major unforeseen expenses and a looming deficit of at least $51 million next year.

Supervisors and school board members trying to fund a number of expensive initiatives discussed the potential for dipping into the reserve fund in the fall, but many have discarded that proposal as a nonstarter.

The $61 million reserve assures the county has money in the bank if necessary, but can be used only if absolutely needed, supervisors said.

“You need that money to be there,” said Supervisor Wally Covington, R-Brentsville. “It’s there for either a manmade disaster or a natural disaster … to repair infrastructure to keep society going.”

County officials say they must operate through June 30 within the framework of the approved budget. Any agencies spending more will have to cut back or ask other departments with unexpected savings for transfers.

The fund is critical to maintaining the county’s top-rated AAA bond rating, which essentially requires a savings of 7.5 percent of the county’s revenue fund. The AAA rating assures the county gets the lowest interest rates when it issues bonds and other debt to pay for school and road construction. A lower bond rating also would hurt the county’s economic development prospects, said County Executive Craig Gerhart.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com

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