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NEWS
Prince William Times | www.princewilliamtimes.com | June 1, 2023
Dumfries adopts $10.7 million budget for 2024
Spending plan reflects 49% increase in tax revenues fueled by ‘The Rose’ By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
Dumfries has big plans for the coming fiscal year as a result of an expected 49% increase in the town’s budget, growth propelled by a projected 260% increase in gaming tax revenue and 129% increase in meals tax revenues expected when “The Rose” gaming facility opens next March. The town’s real estate tax rate will remain 18.9 cents per $100 in assessed value – the same it’s been since 2016. Because of rising property values, average real estate tax bills will rise by about $50 during the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, according to Dumfries Mayor Derrick Wood. But Real estate taxes make up only about 13%, or $1.3 million, of the town’s $10.7 million budget, which the town council adopted May 16. Other local taxes, including gaming taxes, which are expected to rise to $3.6 million next year, and meals taxes, which are projected to add another $2 million, make up 66% of the town’s budget. The town’s spending plan is based on revenues that won’t be achieved until The Rose officially opens, so the town council might pull back on some planned spending decisions if tax revenues are lower than expected, Wood said Wednesday. “It’s a matter of if everything is trending the way it’s supposed to be,” Wood said. Now under construction along Interstate 95 near the now-closed Potomac Landfill, The Rose will be Virginia’s first casino-sized gaming facility that’s technically not a casino. By state code, gambling at The Rose will be limited to off-track betting and historic horse race betting machines,
Maria Martin
John Stirrup
which are similar to slot machines. The $400 million complex is slated to include a hotel with up to 305 rooms, eight restaurants, a 1,500seat theater and 175,000 square feet of gaming space. The town will use the extra tax revenue, in part, to boost spending on its police department from $1.7 million to $2.6 million. The town will add five new positions to its police force, raising the department’s ranks from 20 to 25, while also tripling spending on overtime, from $39,000 to $150,000. The town will also add four new positions to the town staff, including a deputy town clerk, a human resources coordinator, an executive assistant and an accountant, according to budget documents. All staff will also receive 3% raises under the new spending plan. Dumfries will also spend $20,000 to establish a youth council and summer youth employment program, which will hire local teens to work town events. The town council also adopted a $3.5 million capital improvement plan for fiscal years 2024 through 2028. The town plans to spend about $2.37 million of that in the coming year, with the largest expense, about $1.5 million, going toward the second phase of work to restore Quantico Creek. Other projects include $300,000 toward an $800,000 plan to upgrade the former rescue squad building to provide space for various activities, group recreation and a learning lab. The town is also planning to spend $400,000 to upgrade Ginn Park with new drinking fountains, a covered pavilion and accessible play equipment in conjunction with a new fitness court. Although the plans might change based on
Bill Woolf
PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN
An aerial view of “The Rose,” a $400 million gaming facility under construction along Interstate 95 in Dumfries. business at The Rose, Wood said he is pleased with the opportunities the new gaming facility will create for the town. “When you look at the grand scheme of our budget, (The Rose) gives us the opportunity to make investments in our community we haven’t been able to make in the past,” Wood said. Reach Jill Palermo at jpalermo@fauquier.com
Josh Quill
Robert Ruffolo
Local GOP candidates vow to ‘tighten’ voting laws GOP, from page 1 Stirrup said early voting is a burden on the parties, the candidates and the taxpayers who pay for election officers to staff early voting locations. Stirrup also said he does not support same-day voter registration and would like to revert back to allowing early absentee voting only with a reason, such as having to commute out of the county for work or being away for travel. Republican Josh Quill, Stirrup’s opponent in June 20 primary was not present at the debate because of death in his family and informed the organizers in advance that he could not attend. During an interview with the Prince William Times earlier this month, Quill said that the early voting period in Virginia needs to be shortened. “I think voting is too long. Forty-five days is a long time,” Quill said. “I’d say a week would be ideal, (but) if we could compromise on two weeks, I’d be willing to go there.” In 2020, former governor Ralph Northam (D) and a Democratic-con-
trolled General Assembly passed legislation to expand voting access and make voting much easier in the commonwealth. State lawmakers repealed the state’s voter ID law, enacted 45 days of no-excuse absentee voting, designated general Election Day in November a state holiday and put in place automatic voter registration for individuals who receive a Virginia driver’s license. In the 2020 presidential election, more than 2.8 million people voted early across Virginia, which was nearly five times as many as voted early in the 2016 presidential election, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Forty-six states and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands offer early in-person voting to all voters. Just four states—Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi and New Hampshire— do not offer early in-person voting to all voters, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Data compiled by the NCSL shows a wide range of early voting periods across the U.S., with early voting be-
ginning up to 50 days before Election Day or as late as the Friday before Election Day. Virginia has one of the longest early-voting periods. The average early voting period is 27 days. At the forum, Bill Woolf, who is vying for the Republican nomination in the race for the 30th District state Senate seat, expressed concerns that early voting could lead to fraud and said he does not support the use of ballot drop boxes. “I have concerns with the amount of early voting that’s going on. … I’m concerned about fraud,” Woolf said. While Woolf said he doesn’t think “our elections are invalid,” he said it is the role of the government to “put up appropriate guardrails” to “prevent fraud from happening in the first place.” “We have made it so easy to vote. Why do we need to create a system that is inherently set up for fraud?” he added. “I think there are plenty of opportunities to cast that vote, whether it is a mail-in ballot or whether it is going in person.” Woolf’s opponent in the State Senate District 30 primary contest,
Robert Ruffolo, told the audience of about 50 people that the first thing he would do if elected would be to propose an “election integrity” bill to reduce early voting from 45 days to five days, require photo ID to vote with compulsory signature verification and allow absentee voting only by exception. Maria Martin, who is seeking the Republican nomination in the state Senate’s 29th District, said she is also concerned about election fraud. “Our quality of voting is in jeopardy where we are right now,” she said, adding: “I really think we have to tighten up voting.” Martin posited the idea of issuing licenses to voters who demonstrate a need to access early voting such as military families, mothers with young children and the elderly. Martin’s primary opponent, Nikki Rattray Baldwin, was not present at the debate due to another commitment. Primary Election Day is June 20. Early voting began on May 5 and runs through June 17. Reach Cher Muzyk at cmuzyk@ fauquier.com
