Dan Genz, The Examiner
2008-02-14 08:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

Northern Virginia counties and cities already grappling with multimillion-dollar deficits expressed dismay Wednesday at the governor’s proposal to cut state aid.

Gov. Tim Kaine proposed Tuesday to cut state funding to local governments by more than $135 million to help close a $1.4 billion budget deficit.

“It hurts us because our own revenue situation is dropping,” Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly said. “It’s more revenue that we’re going to have to live without and it couldn’t come at a worse time.”

The plan would cut 5.4 percent of state aid to local governments outside of its contributions to school operating expenses and distribution of the car tax.

While local governments suffered only a sliver of Kaine’s first budget cuts in the fall, he said their funding would have to play a larger role now given the worsening financial climate caused by struggles in the housing and commercial real estate markets.

“Every round of cuts gets tougher,” Kaine said. “Localities needed to be at the table” because they receive 49 percent of the state budget.

Because the car tax and school funding will be exempted, Kaine said localities will lose only 2 percent of state money, while state agencies will face a 3 percent reduction and probable layoffs, he said.

“Local governments know that when it’s a bad revenue time, there are consequences for local revenue, never wanted, and never welcome,” said Mike Edwards, deputy legislative director for the Virginia Associations of Counties.

The new cuts came as the City of Alexandria was trying to restore $1 million in state cuts the governor already had made to jail funding, Mayor Bill Euille said.

“We were already fighting to get that money restored. Now, we know that’s not going to happen and we have to prepare for more cuts,” Euille said. “There will be some serious impacts to our local budget.”

The reaction Tuesday was tempered in part because no one knows the total significance of the cuts on programs and services.

“We haven’t seen anything yet that provides us with the ability to calculate what all this means,” Euille said.

An earlier $11 million cut from support to local police departments, for example, jeopardized funding for Prince William County’s illegal immigration crackdown, and county leaders are bracing for a new round of cutbacks.

“Adding a new round of cuts onto the real estate woes is going to put the county in a bad spot,” said Supervisor Wally Covington, R-Brentsville.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com