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Mr. Chairman and Members of the Board,

I am Arthur Purves, and I address you as president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance. Thank you for holding this hearing.

At issue is $652 million. That is the amount left over from FY2023, which ended on June 30 of this year. The county General Fund had an ending balance of $321 million, and Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) had an ending balance of $331 million. That totals $652 million.

By comparison, locally collected car tax revenue this year is $505 million, and the average car tax per household is $545. If the county did not spend the $652 million, next year it could eliminate the car tax for one year and save the average household $545.

The increased revenue from this year's real estate tax hike is $317 million, costing the average household an additional $413. After eliminating the car tax next year, the county could perhaps reduce the average real estate tax hike by half.

However, this is not the plan. Instead of returning the $652 million to the taxpayers, the county and schools intend to spend all of it.

Last week, my church along with neighboring churches sponsored a clothing drive. We had a basketball court filled with rows of tables, and the tables were piled high with donated clothing. I was not there to see it, but I was told that after the doors were opened, 3/4 of it was gone within two hours.

This is to say that people are hurting. They are hurting from inflation, from high gas prices and expensive groceries. Inflation is a regressive tax. It hits the poor harder than the affluent. Fairfax County citizens, especially the poor, need a break.

FCPS's $331 million ending balance for FY2023 is $190 million more than its ending balance five years ago, when it had 8,000 more students. It got the extra $190 million by commingling $272 million of one-time COVID relief funds (ESSER funds) with recurring revenues in the school operating budget. This manipulation does not inspire confidence in FCPS budgeting. The ESSER funds should have been put in the Grants and Self-Supporting Fund.

In last November's budget preview, FCPS said it needed $30 million for the Equal Access to Literacy program. However, in the superintendent's proposed budget in January, the amount was reduced to $15 million. When I asked what got cut from the program with the $15 million reduction, it seemed that it was just a placeholder.

In its carryover package, FCPS allocates $63 million for reserves and has $57 million of encumbered* purchases. That totals $120 million. The remaining $211 million should not be spent but should be saved for tax relief next year. FCPS also has $53 million of unspent ESSER funds; that should be returned to the federal government. Also, the encumbered purchases should be audited for "use it or lose it" purchases.

Similarly, the county carryover package allocates about $12 million to maintain the Managed Reserve at 4 percent of General Fund Disbursements and has $53 million of encumbered purchases, totaling $65 million. There is also $119 million of unspent and unallocated COVID relief money (ARPA); that should be returned to the federal government. The remaining $138 million should be saved for tax relief. Again, encumbered purchases should be audited.

This would provide $349 million for tax relief, enough to cut the car tax 68% and save the average household $370. That might help with groceries.

Or, the county may need $100 million or so to pay Fairfax County's share of WMATA's $750 million FY2025 operating budget shortfall next year.

This proposal cuts a myriad of projects. The projects should be regarded with a zero-based budgeting mindset. Ask: Is this project more important than a family needing to buy gas, groceries, or clothes?

Thank you.

* "encumbered purchases" refers to items ordered but not yet paid for.