New Wave of Taxes, Budget Cuts Washing Over Counties; Fairfax Rules Out Many Doomsday Proposals
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors yesterday ruled out many doomsday budget-cutting proposals, such as laying off police officers and firefighters, wiping out aid to the needy and closing parks, health clinics and recreation centers.</br></br>Although the county remains in a deep financial hole for the budget year beginning July 1, the board agreed that the most radical plans outlined by agency directors were unpalatable. Instead, the supervisors will spend the next week negotiating where else to cut and how much to raise taxes and fees to cover a $91.6 million shortfall.</br></br>"We're trying to narrow the options and let people know what we're not considering," said Board Chairman Thomas M. Davis III (R).</br></br>At a daylong session punctuated by testy exchanges, the supervisors spared from the budget ax many of the most popular services offered by the county, but they did not discuss next year's school budget.</br></br>In total, the board restored $3 million of spending reductions in Acting County Executive Richard A. King's proposed $1.4 billion budget and rejected all but $34 million in additional cuts from a $110 million supplemental list he produced to close the shortfall.