Well folks, it looks like it is finally going to happen.
Friday will be March 1, which marks the start of
sequestration and the end of Fairfax County as we know it.
Overall, some 80,000 government contracting jobs in the county
could be put in jeopardy as a result of the reduced defense spending inherent
in the sequester. These loses would in
turn have a negative effect on housing prices, which forms the cornerstone of
local revenues.
The county also takes in revenue from commercial real
estate. This means that if businesses
close as a result of the sequester, than that is even more revenue lost for the
county.
In short, the budget for Fairfax County is about to take a
big hit. It probably won’t be felt
immediately, but I would keep my eye on the budget for fiscal 2014. It could be ugly.
Fairfax County Supervisor Sharon Bulova acknowledged as much
in an article published on the website of WTOP last Thursday.
In the article, Bulova said that the sequester could mean
cuts in local services, including parks, libraries, and public safety.
In addition, the County could be forced to raise property
taxes to compensate for falling revenues, Bulova stated.
Everyone in the county better buckle down for a long slow
economic decline.
The party is finally over for Fairfax.
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