BY JONAS BEALS
Budget season officially begins this week in Stafford County.
County Administrator Anthony Romanello has not revealed details of his proposed fiscal 2011 budget, but one word is sure to get a workout when he proposes it to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday: "challenge."
"I cannot recall a time when there have been state reductions of this magnitude," Romanello said. "The scale of the numbers is much larger than anything we've ever had to deal with."
A significant portion of the county budget comes from the state, and county officials have had to prepare their local budget while state representatives deliberate over different proposed budgets. The Virginia Senate and House of Delegates have passed separate budgets, and significant negotiations will need to take place to reconcile them.
For Stafford and other localities, forming a budget can amount to trying to hit a moving target because of action at the state level. But two things local officials are certain of this year are lower revenues and more cuts.
Romanello said supervisors are aware of the situation on the state level. Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs David Gayle is gathering information in Richmond and reporting to county staff as the state budget work progresses.
"We monitor it very closely," Romanello said. "We've got a chart that shows each of the budgets as we understand them. We're still waiting for locality-specific information from the money committees, but what we'll give to the board is our best estimate for the most conservative scenario for the county."
State officials are trying to cut $4 billion from the commonwealth's budget, and Romanello is trying to anticipate how those cuts will affect Stafford. Schools, sheriff's offices and social services have been mentioned as targets, but the cuts could affect every aspect of local services.
At the local level, real-estate assessments have fallen by 23 percent, according to Commissioner of the Revenue Scott Mayausky. A real-estate tax rate increase to offset that decline is likely. Such an equalized rate would still leave a $5.8 million budget shortfall in the county's annual budget.
Tuesday's presentation will be the beginning of a two- or three-month process. A budget will be adopted and a tax rate will be set in April or May, at the latest.
A number of meetings and at least one public hearing will happen first. And new information and more reliable figures will have county officials making further changes to their budget in a challenging year.
"The exercise is familiar," Stafford Budget Director Maria Perrotte said, "but the details are more difficult. We're trying to analyze and anticipate."
Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036
Email: jbeals@freelancestar.com