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Manassas Park manager proposes 2026 budget with utility-rate hikes and 1¢ property-tax cut
Summary
City staff presented a conservative FY2026 budget that would reduce the real-estate tax rate by one cent while recommending increases to enterprise fund rates: 10% for water and sewer, 25% for stormwater (phased), and 10% for solid waste. Council pushed for more analysis before May 6 rate-setting.
Unidentified Speaker 5 presented the Manassas Park FY2026 budget on April 22, recommending a one-cent reduction in the real-estate tax rate and increases to enterprise fund fees to eliminate ongoing general-fund subsidies.
Why it matters: The changes would shift some costs from general-fund subsidies onto utility customers. Staff called the package “conservative” and said it aims to stabilize enterprise funds that have been subsidized for years.
The recommendation for water and sewer would be a 10% increase, put forward as a compromise to a larger immediate increase: “If we want to fix it all at once, we’d need to have a 12% increase … But what I’m recommending is 10%,” Unidentified Speaker 5 said. Using the city’s example, a typical residential customer who uses 5,000 gallons monthly would see about a $10.43 increase per month under the 10% proposal.
For stormwater, staff said addressing the full subsidy immediately would require a much larger increase; the presenter proposed a 25% increase initially and additional adjustments in future years. “That is the minimum necessary to not subsidize the stormwater fund,” the presenter said, while noting federal grant opportunities could alter funding needs.
Solid-waste fees were described as long-subsidized; staff proposed a 10% increase now, pointing out the city’s contract for hauling comes up for rebid in 2027 and costs could be higher then. Staff estimated a curbside residential customer would pay about $2.49 more per month under the 10% increase.
Council response was mixed. Several members expressed concern about the scale of the proposed utility increases and the potential effect on renters and homeowners, with one member calling the enterprise increases “really steep.” Others supported separating enterprise fund solvency from the general fund and welcomed the proposed one-cent tax reduction, while asking staff to model alternatives.
Staff stressed that no formal rate votes were requested that night; the governing body’s rate-setting session is on May 6. Unidentified Speaker 5 reminded members that using reserves to lower advertised tax or rate amounts must be decided before the advertising deadline leading up to that meeting.
Next steps: Staff will provide more modeling and answer follow-up questions before the May 6 rate-setting meeting. The governing body may revise the numbers at that session or at subsequent budget work sessions.
