Vienna Meals Tax Proposal To Fund Recreational Facility Deferred To Later In 2025

VIENNA, VA — The decision to temporarily increase the meals tax rate to fund construction of an indoor pool and fitness center was again deferred by Vienna Town Council Monday.

This is the third time Town Council has deferred action, this time until Aug. 25. The council's decision will give more time to review the facility's construction costs and long-term operating costs, as well as community feedback.

"We’ve been given a great deal of information over the past few months, and it is important that we allow sufficient time to do our due diligence to ensure whatever decision we make is in the best interest of our community," said Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert via a news release. "This facility would be a big investment, and before voting on how to fund its construction, we must be sure that we will have the resources to maintain it once it is built."

The 1 percent temporary meals tax as a way to accelerate construction of the proposed pool and fitness facility. Through resident outreach by parks and recreation, the pool and fitness center facility was identified as the top resident preference for 301 Center Street South, the former Faith Baptist Church building that the town purchased. The town has said that using meals tax revenue would help the project move forward with an opening in 2030. If the project went through the town's normal capital improvement program process, the town believes it would not fit into the capital funding plan until 2036 and delay the opening date to 2040.

The town already has a 3 percent meals tax rate charged for prepared meals. The 1 percent temporary tax would sunset after 10 years. A temporary meals tax addition was previously in place from 2002 to 2008 to pay for the Vienna Town Green.

The town had been considering Jan. 1, 2025 and July 1, 2025 as effective dates for the 1 percent meals tax hike, but those are no longer possible after Town Council's deferred actions.