Dan Genz, The Examiner
2008-03-05 08:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

Prince William County supervisors deadlocked Tuesday afternoon over how much to raise property tax rates in a budget year decimated by the collapse of home values.

Supervisors trying to raise tax rates to pay for implementing a nationally watched illegal-immigration crackdown and other expensive priorities such as school construction and bolstering the police and fire departments failed to reach consensus on four votes.

The board appeared split between one camp that wanted to raise the average homeowner’s taxes at least 8 percent to cover the cost of those programs and another camp that wanted to slash spending and adopt a lower increase of 3.3 percent to the average homeowner.

The proposed plans ranged from an increase in the property tax rate of 23 percent to 31.3 percent, which would counter home values that have fallen 16 percent.

Supervisors used a procedural vote over advertising the maximum proposed tax rate to set a cap on the tax increase, but neither side seemed willing to bend and delayed their discussions into the night session. Under state law, counties must advertise any tax increase over 1 percent.

“If we don’t vote to advertise a tax rate, we have to have a relatively flat tax revenue,” Prince William Chairman Corey Stewart said. “It’s one of the obstacles available to me to prevent a tax increase.”

Stewart proposed cutting $7.7 million from County Executive Craig Gerhart’s $924 million budget to help lower the tax rate, but several supervisors criticized his plans to cut employee raises and said it would jeopardize the high school construction and illegal-immigration crackdown.

“I just feel like we’re sending a terrible message out,” said Supervisor Maureen Caddigan, R-Dumfries. “I don’t think Prince William County can afford illegal-immigration [enforcement]. That’s the message we’re sending out.”

But Stewart said the county could avoid a larger tax increase as well as pay for the crackdown on illegal immigration and other initiatives by cutting in other areas.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com