Local Counties prepare for brutal cuts in services

"In Virginia, area leaders say they have heard a chorus of pleas from residents to raise taxes rather than slash more services.

"The message they gave us loud and clear was 'If you have to raise taxes, do it,' " said Sharon Bulova, chairwoman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. " 'We don't want to see the quality of education and other services decrease.' "

Fairfax County, which has a similar operating budget as Montgomery, is facing a $257 million shortfall -- the most severe in Northern Virginia -- forcing officials to consider dozens of layoffs, including police officers, eliminating bus routes and doling out $98 million less than the county's school board requested.

Sinking home values are hardly a reprieve for taxpayers, as counties are proposing higher property taxes to fill the coffers left emptied by plunging assessments."



Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Region_s-residents-face-major-cuts-in-service_-higher-taxes-87524377.html#ixzz0iFhdADum