Tax Hike Fuels Fairfax Frenzy: Residents Reel as Budget Boosts Burden

On March 6, 1957, Fairfax County Executive C. C. Massey set off a firestorm when he proposed a 1958 county budget of approximately $22 million. The plan, which would raise the county tax rate by 23 cents and increase the price of automobile license tags by $5, sent shockwaves through the community. The Board of County Supervisors, who would eventually adopt the budget, were the first to take a hit, with Massey submitting his proposal to them before it was advertised for public hearing. The budget, which must be adopted by May 1, would see the county tax rate on real estate and personal property soar to 34.3 cents, with some sanitary districts imposing even higher levies for services like streetlights. ‘The 23-cent tax increase would raise the county rate on real estate and personal property to 34.3 cents in several sanitary districts,’ Massey warned. The auto tag increase would push the cost to $10, a move already advertised for public hearing on March 12. But the real question was: who would bear the brunt of this budget blitz? Would it be the county’s wealthy elite, or the average Joe on the street? As the battle for the budget raged on, one thing was clear: in Fairfax County, the price of progress would be paid by its residents.