Budget writers and politicians should not be afraid of priorities
by James Simpson

Potomac News
Friday, March 19, 2004

If anyone reading this column is interested in having an impact on the proposed 9.5% tax hike, attendance at the weekly Board of County Supervisors (BoCS) meetings - held every Tuesday - as well as the upcoming Budget Hearings is critical. If you don't attend and participate, those in office will continue to operate under the delusion that citizens are just fine with continually increasing tax bills.

The first Public Hearing is to be held this coming Monday, March 22, beginning at 7:30pm at the Stonewall Jackson High School. The second Public Hearing will be this coming Tuesday, March 23, beginning at 7:30pm in the Gar-Field High School Auditorium.

For the past two years the County has received a surplus of revenue and spent it. At this past Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting a General Revenue Forecast Update was presented that uncovered another $7.88 Million surplus. Don't look for a refund though, as Craig Gerhart, the County Executive, was quick to provide a list of 7 areas the money could be spent.

Individuals do not base their annual budget on what increase they expect to receive from their employer. Instead they start with their base pay from the previous year, and decide where to direct any additional income they receive, which I can guarantee is nowhere near the increases Prince William supervisors have heaped on taxpayers over the last half dozen years.

The Vision Statement of Prince William now includes the line "We are a global technology leader for the 21st century." And the budget now includes a fifth strategic goal - "Community Development."

It is clear to me that the county suffers from what is known in the business world as "Mission Creep." At a time when it is decrying a shortfall in money coming back from the state, our Supervisors have decided to expand upon the county's mission as well as add another "strategic goal," both of which require additional funding.

There are folks who suggest that I am "...pretending that deeper cuts do not impact real families in terms of less programs for their children at schools, less police officers on the streets and fewer county-built roads"

Pro tax folks keep misinforming the public that those like me, who are simply asking for a slower rate of growth in government, are demanding cuts. To add insult to injury, they say that these so called "cuts" can only be made at the risk of critical services. These claims are egregious. Even the $1.01 property tax rate, which Supervisor Stewart (R-Occoquan) wanted county staff to prepare a budget at, is NOT a cut.

Supervisor Nohe (R-Coles) stated a couple of times during the BoCS meeting that he would be more amenable to a proposed reduction in the tax rate, except for the fact that the county has no set of "priorities" from which to work.

I remember learning about priorities when reading the writings of the founding fathers. The government should provide those services to citizens, which they would find difficult or impossible to do individually, that are necessary for the protection of life, liberty and property.

Individuals and companies can provide to consumers: golf courses, swimming pools, and museums. It seems pretty clear, to me, that police, transportation, and fire & rescue take precedent over parks and recreation, libraries, or even historical properties. I don't understand why Marty has such a difficult time with these decisions. Can he really have a tough time deciding whether we need to add a policeman or a golf course instructor?

I offer the following example of something that could easily be cut to lessen the impact of another huge tax hike on citizens of Prince William County. In the Sunday March 7 edition of the Potomac News, Keith Walker wrote an article titled "Great American pastime still a bargain." The article compared the costs of a night watching Cannons baseball, for a family of four, to a night at the movies. In his final analysis he determined that the family would only spend $53 at a Cannons baseball game, whereas it would shell out $65 for a night at the movies. When the value of entertainment was broken down by the minute there was an even greater difference as baseball games tend to run about an hour longer than the average movie - thereby returning a better value for the hard earned dollar.

However, the comparison is not fair. The baseball game, unlike the movie theater, is subsidized by taxpayers. Both bring revenue into the county, both provide jobs, and both are capable of providing family entertainment. The difference is that one has shaken off the responsibility of competing in the free market by being the arbitrary recipient of taxpayer subsides. In a free market, the consumer would determine where their entertainment dollar was best spent. However, our supervisors prefer to use more socialistic thinking by deciding - for us - where our entertainment dollars are to be spent.

The proposed budget provides another $200,000 to the Cannons, for repairs to Pfitzner stadium. This should, more justly, be rolled into the cost of the ticket. The county does not throw taxpayer money at AMC when it needs to perform upgrades, and it should not do so to the Cannons.

Following Supervisor Nohe's statement about not being able to determine what is a priority and what is not - Supervisor Covington (R-Brentsville), asked for the Mr. Gerhart to provide information on the savings to taxpayers if county and school employees didn't receive a 5-6% pay raise this year, but instead a slightly smaller raise.

He should be warned ... a pay raise of only 3-4% will be most certainly be considered a pay-cut by those who like to spread misinformation and half-truths.

James Simpson lives in Lake Ridge and can be reached at JamesSimpson@aol.com or 703-490-5532.