FOOTBALL ALL-STARS: The 2020 all-Cedar Run District football team is revealed. SPORTS, Page 11.
April 29, 2021 | Vol. 20, No. 17 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
County supervisors adopt $1.34B budget
Party-line vote will boost tax bills by an average of $264 By Daniel Berti
Times Staff Writer
PHOTO BY ALFREDO PANAMENO/THE SKY’S THE LIMIT MEDIA
Prince William police officers respond to a May 2020 protest in Manassas after the murder of George Floyd -- a time when some activists called to reduce police spending.
New budget boosts law-enforcement spending After accusations about ‘defunding the police,’ supervisors add new positions, equipment By Daniel Berti
Times Staff Writer
Prince William County supervisors are increasing their support for local police this year, upending accusations that the board’s Democratic majority was considering cuts to the local police budget. The board adopted a budget Tuesday, April 27, that adds eight new police positions, raises the police budget by $2.8 million – or 2.5% – and creates a schedule for adding another 48 new police officers by 2026. It also provides $1.8 million for new body-worn cameras and tasers for sheriff’s deputies over five years and $3 million for the design of a new, $120 million public safety training facility in Nokesville. The board backed an additional $1.3 million in police equipment purchases in separate actions at the
end of 2020, including $557,000 for new police tasers and $750,000 from the county criminal forfeiture fund for patrol rifles, officer safety equipment and surveillance drones. “Prince William County is not defunding the police,” Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chair Ann Wheeler (D) said in a recent interview. “Over the last two years, we’ve given the police more resources.” The board’s Democratic majority faced accusations of wanting to cut police funding last November spurred, at least in part, by speculation from board Republicans that the county’s strategic planning committee – which includes Deputy Police Chief Jarad Phelps – would recommend “reallocating funding away from police.” See POLICE BUDGET, page 5 LIFESTYLES: Manassas Ballet brings ‘Giselle’ to the Hylton. Page 9
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Prince William County supervisors signed off on a $1.34 billion county budget Tuesday evening funded by rising real estate tax bills, increased tax rates on data centers and a new, 40-cents-per-pack cigarette tax. Supervisors approved the budget in a series of party-line votes with the board’s five Democratic supervisors voting in favor. The board’s three Republicans voted against the budget over concerns about the increase in county taxes. The final budget reduces the county’s real estate tax rate from $1.125 to $1.115 per $100 in assessed value – a 1-cent decrease. It is the
first decrease in the real estate tax rate since 2016. But property owners’ tax bills will still see an average annual increase of $264 due to rising real estate assessments. Residential property values rose by about 7% over the past year. Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, R-Brentsville, said she appreciated Democratic supervisors’ reduction in the real estate tax rate, but said she still could not support the budget. “The tax bills are rising by hundreds of dollars and I just can’t get there, especially during this pandemic,” Lawson said. Supervisors also approved a 15cent increase in the business tangible computer and peripheral tax, also known as the data center tax, from $1.35 to $1.50 per $100 in assessed value. See COUNTY, page 5
Glass recycling makes a comeback By Cher Muzyk
Contributing Writer
The future of glass recycling in Prince William County was anything but clear in 2019 when residents could no longer place glass curbside for pickup. But just two years later, the “purple bin” drop-off program has crushed all expectations for glass recycling in the county. In response to global changes in the recycling market, Prince William County removed glass from its curbside recycling program in 2019. It also asked the Prince William Board of County Supervisors to take the extraordinary step of formally removing glass from the list of materials required to be recycled in the county by ordinance.
‘Purple bin’ glass recycling collectors:
• Prince William landfill in Manassas • Balls Ford Road composting facility in Manassas • A.J. Ferlazzo Building in Woodbridge • James Long Park in Haymarket In concert with those steps – and in an effort to keep glass collection alive – the county’s recycling office launched a pilot program to collect glass in separate containers at the Prince William County landfill and the Balls Ford Road composting facility. See RECYCLING, page 4
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