Arlington County, Virginia, homeowners will be paying more to live there, after county board members voted to approve a new $1.65 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2025, a 6.4% increase from 2024, on Saturday.
Under the new budget, the base real estate tax increases 2 cents to $1.033 per $100 of assessed value, which is partially offset by the move to a stormwater utility fee that reduced the tax rate by 1.7 cents, according to a news release.
“We’ve summarized what is a mythical average taxpayer in the county, and the additional burden for that household would be $541,” Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz said during the board meeting.
He said the average apartment renter will see an increase of $233 on real estate tax.
This is the first real estate tax increase approved by the board since 2020. Board members said the increase will fund needs facing the community, including affordable housing, eviction prevention, investments in the environment and support for teenagers.
The Arlington County Board said it came to the decision following months of research and community feedback.
In the budget, $113 million from the tax hike will go to housing programs, including $21.5 million for the county’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund, $4.3 million will go toward intervention, prevention and education efforts to address teen mental health and substance use, and $3.5 million will go to the county’s Climate Fund.
Additionally, “workforce investments in the new budget include salary increases and an increase in family leave benefits for current county staff,” according to a news release.
Arlington Public Schools will receive $639.7 million from the county.
The new fiscal year begins on July 1.
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