'No Devolution' Say Supervisor Chairs

Should Northern Virginia residents be forced to pay more in taxes in order to improve roads?

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair  Sharon Bulova (D), along with Corey Stewart (R) chair of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and Scott York (R), chair of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, say no.

The issue of "devolution," or shifting responsibilities from the state  to the counties, is likely to come up in the upcoming General Assembly session.

"Although we are of different political parties, we are firmly united in opposition to devolution because of the massive property tax increase it will produce for the residents and businesses of Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun counties," the supervisors said in a letter to The Washington Post. "Our three counties would likely need to spend hundreds of millions of dollars just to bring our roads up to the neglected statewide maintenance standards. The cost of this action alone could easily exceed $500 per household."

The supervisors say once the state abandons the responsibility, it is unlikely to take it back. To read the rest of the letter in the Post, click here.