Politics & Government

One Week Left to Build Your Own Fairfax County Budget

The deadline for Supervisor John Cook's new exercise is Monday, April 8.

Fairfax County residents who want to know if they’re as smart as their supervisors have a week left to build their own Fiscal Year 2014 county budget.

Braddock District Supervisor John Cook introduced the tool, which allows residents to sit down and construct a budget based on the proposed package from County Executive Ed Long. The deadline for the exercise is Monday, April 8, before the first budget public hearing on April 9.

Using Long’s list of reductions to agencies and another list of reductions not taken, residents are asked to make funding increases or reductions to nine different areas of spending, including schools, public safety and compensation for county employees.

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Residents also choose a tax rate based on the changes they make. Their work will produce a tax amount, and if the amount is too high, they’re encouraged to try again.

Cook says the exercise is a new way to gather feedback from residents and constituents, as well as a way to show folks that putting together a budget is always a challenge.

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According to Cook’s staff, the exercise should take about 30 minutes if done correctly.

Click here to find the budget tool. After completing the “Design Your Own Budget” exercise, residents can hand-deliver it to the Braddock District Office at 9002 Burke Lake Road, Burke, VA or email the results to braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Cook’s office is also on Facebook and Twitter. Users can Tweet their budget using the #myffxbudget hashtag.


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