A hearing on the "effective tax rate" will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8.
In any year that real estate taxes increase more than one percent, Virginia state law requires the Board of Supervisors to reduce the tax rate.
The rule of thumb is that property tax levies — tax bills on houses — can’t climb more than 101 percent higher than the previous year.
If the board does not reduce the tax rate — in Fairfax County, it is $1.23 per $100 of the value of a house — supervisors must vote to increase “the effective tax rate” — the taxes levied.
Before an increase in the “effective tax rate” is allowed, Virginia Code 58.1-3321 requires a public hearing before the Board of Supervisors.
Because of rising real estate values, that hearing will be required in Fairfax County for the fifth consecutive year. A public hearing is scheduled at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 8, at the Fairfax County Government Center.
It must be advertised in a newspaper at least seven days in advance.
Citizens who want to speak about the tax rate can call 703-324-3151 to be scheduled. Or, they can write, e-mail, or call the Fairfax County supervisors.
According to Joanne Theon, co-chair of the McLean Citizens Association's budget and taxation committee, Fairfax County supervisors "need to satisfy the law."
But she said it confuses taxpayers when the hearing is held on the same day as a budget hearing.
In Fairfax County, hearings on the budget begin at 7:30 p.m. on April 8 and continue for three days.
"When they hold the public hearing concurrent with the budget hearings, it gets muddled. People don't understand that they have a say" in setting the tax rate, she said.