The COVID-19 recession closed retail businesses for Fairfax County and the nation, and as a result, pushed unemployment to its highest level in any recession for Fairfax County, with the County’s unemployment rate reaching 10.2% in April 2020 and 8.8% in May 2020. Most local retail businesses are resuming operations at a reduced scale, and some have closed permanently. The path of recovery to public health and economic normalcy remains uncertain, both with respect to severity and timing. Furthermore, the “new normal,” when achieved, may possibly differ from the “old normal,” if behavioral changes adopted during the pandemic persist to some extent rather than being fully discarded.
The recession immediately resulted in reduced revenues from sales tax, Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) taxes, and other local taxes and fees. Due to the expected impact of the recession on property values and therefore assessments, property tax revenues are likely to be affected beginning in the County’s fiscal year commencing in July 2021. The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) passed a resolution that commends the Board of Supervisors for its prompt action to respond to the pandemic by imposing a hiring freeze and directing agencies to defer non-critical expenditures.
The MCA urges the Board of Supervisors to: (a) be cautious in funding County expenditures due to the ongoing uncertainty; (b) continue finding efficiencies and otherwise limiting costs to fund important needs; (c) respond to the needs of residents suffering from high levels of unemployment; and (d) fully fund the County’s annual contributions to the pension plans for which it is liable, without reducing or delaying them. You can see the resolution by clicking on MCA Resolution - Pandemic Caused Recession 7-1-2020.
The Board's discussion and vote on this resolution may be viewed starting at position 2:02:26 in the video recordinthe video recording of the meeting.