Evening star., 1951-08-31
Fairfax Taxes
To Be ST Million
Above Estimate
Realty Assessment
$42 Million Over
Figure for Budget

Fairfax County is slated to col
lect at least 81 million more in
taxes this year than the total pre-
dicted in the current budget,
adopted last April.
Commissioner of Revenue John
w. Ferguson yesterday set the Of
fetal real estate assessment total
at Sal, 1873 ,066, more than $42 mil
lion above the figure used by the
supervisors in their budget and
more than $11 million above a
revised estimate announced two
weeks ago.
The county's tax receipts are
divided between general govern
ment, which gets so cents Of the
$2.65 tax rate. and schools. which
get the $2.15 balance. Under this
arrangement, the schools should
receive about 100000 more than
the budget calls for, Mr.. Fergu-
son said.
"Unanticipated Revenue"
Each year the supervisors and
the School Board trim their pro-
posed expenditures for taX-rate
purposes just before official budg-
cts are adopted because they know
that the county'S phenomenal
growth has brought in thousands
of dollars in "unanticipated rev.
enue" each year.
However, both G. Wallace Car
per, chairman of the Board of
Supervisors, and Fred w. Robin
son, School Board chairman, have
expressed surprise that the official
assessment total is as much as AZ
per cent above the amount used
in budget calculations.
The real estate assessment eSti-
mate adopted by the supervisors
is not the only conservative figure
they used in their So million bud
get.
Last Saturday. the State Alco-
holic Beverage Control Board an
nounced the county'S share of
profits for this year as $286.222
This figure is about 1000 above
the amount the county carried for
this item in its budget.
Check on Personal Property.
The revenue commissioner said
he is now checking the assessment
total for personal property. In
setting up the budget, a figure of
24,150,000 was used for total as
SeSsment of personal property,
merchants capital and public util-
tiles.
A reaSsessment program was
completed early this month. The
increase in real estate totals from
$50 million in 1950-51 to $141 mil
lion is a result of this program,
plus heavy residential and apart
ment construction in the areas
bordering Falls Church, Arlington
and Alexandria ..
Assessor Graham James, who
made the 500 estimate for the
Supervisors last March, empha-
sized at that time the reassess-
ment program had not been COM
pleted. The final figure ran far
above his original estimates, Mr.
James said, because new con-
Struction in the Falls Church.
magiSterial district greatly ex-
ceeded expectations. The assess
ments are based on 40 per cent
of fair market value and include
construction which was asseSSable
by last January /.
The board chairman, Mr.. Car
per, has predicted a lower tax
rate next year as a result of the
large assessment total.
It has been suggested. to the
School board that the additional
receipts be used to add cafeterias
and other facilities to the schools
it is building. Imitation and other
factors have forced the board to
cut many cafeterias and all audi
toriums from it's construction
program.
Mr.. Robinson replied the board
CuJ lGS p1OPOSCQ DuOSCI 4ooC 1AcI I'll
with the expectation that receipts
would be higher than listed in
the budget.
Breakdown of Figures.
The $141,123,066 total of real
property valuations is broken
down for the various magisterial
districts, sanitary districts and
towns as follows:
Centreville district, $4,590, ,432,
| to bring in tax receipts of $121,-
646; Dranesville district, $5,644,-
f22, taxes $149, ,569; Falls Church
district, $10,453,6 $50, taxes $277.-
O21, Falls Church sanitary dis
trict No. /, $45, ,738, 100. taxes ST.
28O, ,668: Lee District, $4,558,970,
taxes $12O,812; Mount Vernon
district, $18,892, ,107. taxes $780,
$40; Mount Vernon sanitary dis
trict No. l, $14 1896, ,240, taxes $403,-
O94; Providence district, $26,719,
800, taxes $708,063; Providence
sanitary district No. l, 1884 $40,
fovec S76 166. t0wn Of Clifton