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Arlington County manager warns of multi‑million shortfalls; proposes cuts and unshared tax increase
Summary
County Manager Mark Schwartz told a joint county‑school budget work session that hotel, meals and other revenue declines are producing a roughly $5.5 million shortfall shared with schools and that the county faces multiyear headwinds; the county’s proposed tax‑rate increase is not being shared with Arlington Public Schools.
County Manager Mark Schwartz told a joint work session of the Arlington County Board and Arlington Public Schools on Monday that long‑term shifts in the local tax base and current drops in tourism revenue have left the county facing a significant shortfall that will affect next year’s budget.
Schwartz said the county projects it will be about $5.5 million short of revenue assumed in the FY26 budget and that the schools’ share of that gap is approximately $4.8 million. "We have projections ... that we'll be short around 5 and a half million dollars," he said.
Why it matters: Schwartz and county staff framed the gap as part of a larger change in Arlington’s tax mix — lower state and federal shares of revenue and a commercial office market that remains heavily vacant. That combination, county officials…
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