Manassas Park reviews FY2026 budget; staff to advertise 1¢ tax cut and enterprise fee increases

Manassas Park city leaders on April 29 reviewed a reworked FY2026 budget package that staff said balances general fund revenues and expenditures but leaves the city's enterprise funds short of cash reserves.

City staff presented a model showing that a 1¢ reduction in the real-estate tax would reduce general fund revenue by roughly $273,000 in a single year (the presentation said that amount compounds in longer-term models), and that denying needed increases to enterprise fees would push water and sewer, stormwater and solid-waste funds into negative positions without general-fund subsidies.

Calvin O'Dell, director of community development, told the council that Manassas Park is "only a distribution authority. We are not a treatment authority," and explained the city buys water from neighboring systems and pays sewer-treatment and capital costs through the UOSA cost-allocation agreement. Under a "do nothing" scenario staff showed the water and sewer fund starting FY26 about $102,000 negative and projected to finish the year roughly $3.2 million in the red unless rates or other revenue sources change.

Why it matters: city staff said enterprise funds are typically expected to be self-sustaining. The city faces mandated stormwater capital work tied to state TMDL requirements and MS4 permit obligations; staff said grant funding and congressional-directed spending cover some projects but not enough to avoid large capital costs in FY28 and FY29.

What council directed: after extended discussion about trade-offs, timing and customer impacts, the council gave staff direction to advertise a 1¢ reduction in the real-estate tax for the May 6 public notice and to advertise proposed FY26 fee increases for enterprise funds: 15% for water and sewer, 15% for stormwater and 10% for solid waste. The chair and staff noted the advertised amounts set maximums for notice purposes; council members can approve smaller changes when the body votes.

Public comment and equity concern: staff read an online comment from Laura Hampton of 129 Cabell Drive asking the council to "scrutinize the budget to identify and implement a better way forward," arguing the proposed enterprise fee increases "come at the worst possible time" for residents already facing higher insurance and property tax bills.

Numbers and household impact: staff presented examples for a typical single-family household using 5,000 gallons per month, showing a 10% water/sewer increase would add roughly $10'to $11 per month on the sample usage, and noted the current stormwater fee is about $182 per year, so modeled increases were framed in both dollar and percentage terms.

Next steps: staff said rates must be advertised for seven days in the local newspaper before final action and that the council will consider the final ordinance and rate resolutions at a subsequent meeting. Council members asked staff to provide additional models showing multi-year, phased increases and comparisons with neighboring jurisdictions before the final vote.

Meeting procedure: the agenda was approved at the meeting's outset; no formal roll-call vote on the advertised rates was recorded at this session. The council moved on to the scheduled interviews after giving rate-setting direction.