What a week full of news in Alexandria.
With city offices closed due to Veterans Day on Wednesday, there were still a number of big stories.
taxes
If you’re behind more than $1,000 in real estate taxes in Alexandria, everybody is likely to know about it soon.
The Alexandria City Council will decide on Tuesday whether to publicly post the names of delinquent real estate taxpayers owing more than $1,000.
Drug Take Back Day is October 24 — “Safely dispose of your unused and expired medicines during Drug Take Back Day on Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Drop off locations will be available at APD Headquarters, Fire Station 210, and the Neighborhood Pharmacy of Del Ray.” [Twitter]
Council Approves Real Estate Tax Deferral — “Yesterday Council approved a resolution providing for a ‘hardship deferral’ option for payment of Alexandria’s second half real estate tax payment. Upon request, this allows an individual taxpayer to defer payment of the November 16th payment until March 1.” [Twitter]
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(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) The Alexandria City Council on Saturday will consider extending the deadline for paying the second installment of real estate taxes until March 1, 2021.
Council will consider the extension at its public hearing on Saturday, October 17.
After Flooding, Councilman Says City Stormwater Management Needs Work — “Councilmember Chapman tells 7 On Your Side Thursday’s flooding means city leaders need to quickly consider wholesale changes in terms of storm management.” [WJLA]
City Extends Deadline on Personal Property Tax Payments — “To provide relief for our residents and businesses during the ongoing pandemic, the City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday evening to extend the deadline for payment of the Personal Property Tax (Car Tax and Business). Payments are now due on December 15th.” [Twitter]
A regional gas tax usually goes to supporting the capital funding for WMATA, but data presented at the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission meeting last night showed that regional gas spending has taken a nosedive in the last few months.
Starting in March, gas tax revenue started to dip below $3 million. While the gas tax revenue has fallen to $2 million in March in years past, by June it had plummeted far below that. For the entire region, roughly $500,000 was collected in gas tax revenue, compared to over $3 million in February.
Alright, which of you went to a movie in April?
At the height of the pandemic, when nearly everything in the city was shut down, the city’s latest revenue report shows that the city still collected $2 in admissions tax. The city’s finance officials ran the numbers and said that meant that four people bought tickets at movie theaters in Alexandria while nearly everything in the city was shut down.
Alexandria businesses struggled with poor sales during the shutdown, and now that drop in revenue is coming around to leave the City of Alexandria with little commercial tax support for an already strained budget.
According to information shared by Mayor Justin Wilson, the city faced a dramatic drop off in business taxes in April and May.
Police Shooter Bashir Takes Insanity Defense for Alleged Stalking/Arson — “[Kashif] Bashir is charged with felony counts of arson, attempted arson, and making a false statement on a consent form to purchase a firearm, as well as nine counts of misdemeanor stalking, unauthorized use of an electronic tracking device, and possession of a firearm by a person acquitted by reason of insanity.” [WTOP]
Residents Cope With Cabin Fever — “Next week puts a little more pressure on me, because when my kids don’t have structure, then they do a lot of fighting.” [Alex Times]
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Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson is full of praise for the city’s COVID-19 response efforts, but the hard times are just beginning, he told ALXnow in a recent interview.
“Everyone is trying to find so many different ways to give back,” Wilson said. “It’s been very gratifying and we’re gonna need it because the need is only going to be exacerbated over the next couple of weeks and months, if not longer.”
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The Alexandria City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a $1.155 real estate tax rate cap per $100 of assessed value — potentially a 2.5 cent increase — for the proposed city budget.
City Councilman John Taylor Chapman proposed that council approve a half cent more than the $1.15 rate proposed by City Manager Mark Jinks last month. That half cent equates to $2.1 million, which Chapman says is a cushion that will allow council to add budget items without making cuts.