How It Works: The Budget Process in Fairfax County, Virginia
Each year, Fairfax County publishes sets of budget documents or fiscal plans: the Advertised Budget Plan and the Adopted Budget Plan. Submission and publication of the budget is contingent upon criteria established in the Code of Virginia. The Advertised Budget Plan is the annual budget proposed by the County Executive for County general government operations for the upcoming fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30.
The Advertised Budget Plan is based on estimates of projected expenditures for County programs and it provides the means for paying for these expenditures through estimated revenues. According to the Code of Virginia, the Board of Supervisors must approve a tax rate and adopt a budget for informative and planning purposes no later than the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1).
Following extensive review, deliberation and public hearings to receive input from County residents, the Board of Supervisors formally approves the Adopted Budget Plan typically in late April in order to satisfy the requirement that the Board of Supervisors approve a transfer to the Fairfax County School Board by May 1, or within 30 days of receiving state revenue estimates from the state, whichever is later. The transfer amount has traditionally been included in the Board’s Adopted Budget, requiring that the Board adopt the budget on or before May 1, not July 1 as the Code allows.
|
&
