Tax Rate, City Fees For FY 2026 Approved By Alexandria City Council

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The fiscal year 2026 budget was adopted by city officials Wednesday with no increase to the real estate tax rate, or several other fees, for Alexandria residents and businesses.

The Alexandria City Council voted to unanimously adopt the fiscal year 2026 operating budget of $956.5 million. The new budget will go into effect July 1, 2025.

“This budget reflects months of thoughtful collaboration between City Council, our residents, and our workforce. Together, we asked tough questions, shared priorities, and worked through challenges to ensure this plan moves Alexandria forward,” said Mayor Alyia Gaskins in a news release. “I’m deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to this process — your voices and values helped shape a budget that builds on our progress and invests in the future we’re creating together.”

Highlights Of FY 2026 Budget

The approved budget focuses on City Council budget priorities of eliminating community disparities, employee attraction and retention, and promoting the economic strength of Alexandria.

• Supports community-based food hub operations;

• Allocates funding for early childhood support and intervention projects;

• Increases funding for Neighborhood Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center;

• Maintains the current real estate tax rate of $1.135 per $100 of assessed value;

• Does not propose changes to personal property tax, sanitary sewer, or refuse rates;

• Increases stormwater utility fee rates from $324.10 to $340.30 as scheduled;

• Funds an increase of $9.4 million in the ACPS Operating transfer to support the ACPS operating budget including a 1% pay scale adjustment for ACPS staff — including a one-time $1.2 million investment in support services for Alexandria City Public Schools to help improve the physical, social, and emotional well-being of students and families.

• Increases DASH funding to support collective bargaining and inflationary costs of operations;

• Uses $6.4 million in efficiency and cost-cutting savings to balance the budget;

• Includes funds for the FY 2026 – 2035 Capital Improvement Program, which totals $2.08 billion and is focused on improving our existing infrastructure and making strategic new investments.

Previous Coverage On Stormwater Fees

The stormwater utility fee, which provides dedicated funding for stormwater quality and capacity projects, has been on the rise in Alexandria. The fee per billing unit is based on a typical single-family home, but fees will be less for condo and townhouse types and more for larger single-family homes.

When City Council first adopted the stormwater utility fee in 2017, the fee totaled $140 per billing unit. Then, the fee doubled in two phases within a year — $140 to $210 in June 2021 and $210 to $280 in November 2021. Since then, fee increases have continued to be adopted with annual budgets.

Before the increases, a larger portion of funds went to stormwater quality initiatives to meet state and federal mandates than stormwater capacity initiatives. But when the city experienced multiple severe flash flooding events tied to insufficient stormwater capacity, a task force was created and recommended fee increases to accelerate stormwater capacity projects and maintenance.

“Each year, the budget process challenges us to make thoughtful, strategic choices — and this year was no exception. Despite these challenges, our focus remained on maintaining high-quality services and delivering on the priorities our community counts on,” said City Manager James Parajon in a statement. “I’m proud of the careful, collaborative work across departments to ensure every dollar is aligned with Alexandria’s values and vision.”

To see the full budget adoption document, visit alexandriava.gov/Budget.