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Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chair Deshundra Jefferson, left, explains why she supports hiking taxes on data centers during a recent board meeting.
Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chair Deshundra Jefferson, left, explains why she supports hiking taxes on data centers during a recent board meeting.
Speaker after speaker urged the Prince William County Board of Supervisors Tuesday to hike taxes on data centers to give homeowners a break and provide more services to residents during the first public hearing for the county’s proposed $1.77 billion budget.
“I’m here today in hopes that you will maximize the data center rate and use the resulting proceeds to lower our property taxes,” said Marilyn Karp of Haymarket. “That’s what you’ve been promising for years.”
Marilyn Karp, of Haymarket, urges the board to raise taxes on data centers to reduce the burden on homeowners.
Jill Palermo
Those voicing support for raising the county’s tax rate on “computer and peripheral equipment” from the current $2.15 to $3.70 per $100 in assessed value — a more than 70% increase — included several western Prince William County residents who opposed the massive Prince William Digital Gateway and said their side of the county has been besieged by data centers.
“Why should I pay a $3.70 tax rate on my car, but the data center pays $2.15? I call the B.S. card,” said Donna Gallant, who lives near several data center projects in Bristow. “You need to tax them equal to — if not more — than what we pay.”
County Executive Chris Shorter’s proposed budget would keep the data center tax rate flat at $2.15. But there is support for raising it to $3.70, matching the “car tax rate” among the county supervisors. In February, the board voted to formally propose a $3.70 data center tax rate at the urging of Board Chair Deshundra Jefferson. Once a rate is advertised, the board can reduce it but cannot raise it.
On Tuesday, April 9, Jefferson said she remains strongly in favor of the change.
“It’s been really hard to look at our neighboring counties and to see that they have a much higher tax rate than we do,” Jefferson said.
“We have all this development coming into Prince William County, but the residents, particularly those who are most impacted, don’t feel (the benefit). … I ask the question: To what end? I cannot in good conscience raise the residential property tax rate when there are other ways to get the revenue we need.”
Both Supervisors Kenny Boddye and Andrea Bailey also voiced support for raising the data center tax rate, and all but Supervisor Victor Angry voted in February to advertise the $3.70 rate. If approved, Prince William County’s data center tax rate would remain lower, however, than what is charged in neighboring Fairfax, Fauquier and Loudoun counties, all of which have rates above $4 per $100 in assessed value.
Although all businesses in the county must pay taxes on their computer equipment, data centers make up the bulk of the revenue because they are large warehouses filled with computer servers that help power the internet.
Prince William County is set to overtake Loudoun County as the data center capital of the world in the coming years. Prince William currently has at least 44 operating data center buildings totaling about 8.3 million square feet. The county is on track to have as much as 80 million square feet based on other projects underway. That’s about double what Loudoun County has today.
Supervisors mull smaller residential tax increase, affordable housing fund
Shorter presented an updated county spending plan on Tuesday night that proposes reducing the real property tax rate to 94 cents from 96 cents.
The move would still result in an annual tax bill increase of $132 for the “average” assessed home, which is now worth more than $530,000. Home values have risen about 5.57% over the past year, according to county estimates.
The supervisors are slated to debate both the data center and real estate tax rates at their next meeting on Tuesday, April 16.
If the board raises the data center rate to $3.70, the move would generate about $55.8 million in extra revenue, which would be split with local schools according to the county boards’ “revenue sharing agreement," which directs just over 57% of local tax revenue to the school division. Schools would get about $31.9 million, while the county government would receive $23.9 million.
Some speakers shared ideas for spending the money. Several urged the board to beef up its contribution to a planned affordable housing trust fund. Members of the nonprofit VOICE, or Virginians Organizing for Interfaith Community Engagement, urged the board to increase its investment in the fund from $15 million to $25 million by 2029.
The money would be used to give low-interest loans or grants to builders in exchange for setting aside a certain percentage of units deemed affordable for those earning under 80% of the area’s household median income. The county's household median income was $152,100 in 2023; 80% of that would be about $121,000.
Proposed budget fully funds schools, staff raises
As proposed, Shorter’s spending plan, which keeps the data center tax rate flat, would fully cover the county's portion of the school board’s budget and would provide county employees with a minimum of 3% raises.
Police officers received 17.5% raises during the current year and thus are not slated for raises this year but would get $1,000 bonuses as well as a boost in pay for being on call, both of which were negotiated as part of the county’s first collective bargaining agreement. The budget also seeks to add 20 police officer positions in each of the next two years.
Firefighters received a 15% raise for the current year and would get a 1.25% pay boost in the coming year. Shorter’s budget also pledges to hire 30 additional firefighters in each of the next three years so the department can transition from a 56-hour workweek to a 50-hour workweek, a key priority for the local firefighters’ union.
Mike Katchmeric Heritage Hunt Gainesville. I totally support immediately raising the Computer and Peripheral tax to $3.70 any delay would only continue the $48 million a year tax break to the data center industry. Thanks to my Supervisor Bob Weir I know PWC current tax revenue from data centers for the C&P tax was about $66M on $2.15 tax rate per $100 of value. That make the tax break $1.55 compared to a max tax of $3.70 which is paid by all other businesses for their furniture and fixtures. There is only one reason to phase in any tax increase and that is for Supervisors to leverage this tax break to obtain political contributions. The data centers will glad to make $100K political donations when they will be getting $10Ms in tax breaks. It is the best rate of return that any business could ever get 100 to 1 ratio. These supervisors who voted for the PWDG know how to maintain there own political leverage to get political campaign donations but were not concerned at all about maintaining leverage for PWC government and residence. They never were interested in negotiating the best deal for the PWC.
I am a strong Democrat and was the former Chair of the Gainesville Democratic committee. I would never support the 3 supervisors who voted for PWDG and the one who abstained for any office they just can not be trusted to do what is right for all residences of PWC. It is up to the courts to correct their mistake. They need to make amends by voting for the $3.70 tax rate now. This is now the time to do what is right for PWC maximize the C&P tax rate. I suggest any additional revenue be split 50/50 between home owners tax relief and new initiatives.
Citizens told the Prince William Board of County Supervisors on April 9th that “enough is enough” as far as lavishing sweetheart deals on the predatory data center industry. And thankfully, this latest incarnation of the Board heard them. Is it possible the wind is shifting?
The BOCS, which was an industry doormat under Ann Wheeler, will not roll over so easily under new Chair Deshundra Jefferson. There was tangible optimism in the chamber that an elected official was actually going to deliver on a campaign promise. To county residents who have never seen it before, this is what leadership looks like.
There was no explanation why the budget presented by County Executive Christopher Shorter assumed the computer & peripheral tax would remain unchanged at $2.15. But several supervisors quickly disabused the audience of any intention of leaving it there. Most encouraging were the supportive comments of Occoquan Supervisor Kenny Boddye and Potomac Supervisor Andrea Bailey. Chair Deshundra Jefferson then left no doubt of her intention to support a maximum hike. It appears that a new majority is coalescing around the will of the public to insist the data center industry pay its freight.
There was a significant presence in the audience of advocates for affordable housing, a cause which had taken a distant back seat to the prior Board’s data center preoccupation. Now there is hope that their nemesis may actually provide the source of funding they have patiently waited for.
The budget is where the County demonstrates its priorities, and each supervisor’s vote will reveal their principles and loyalties.
Chair Jefferson emphatically stated: “Integrity cannot be bought”. What a novel concept. Let’s hope it’s catching.
Budget mark-up is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 16th at 7:30 PM. Take it to the max - $3.70 or bust.
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(2) comments
Mike Katchmeric Heritage Hunt Gainesville. I totally support immediately raising the Computer and Peripheral tax to $3.70 any delay would only continue the $48 million a year tax break to the data center industry. Thanks to my Supervisor Bob Weir I know PWC current tax revenue from data centers for the C&P tax was about $66M on $2.15 tax rate per $100 of value. That make the tax break $1.55 compared to a max tax of $3.70 which is paid by all other businesses for their furniture and fixtures. There is only one reason to phase in any tax increase and that is for Supervisors to leverage this tax break to obtain political contributions. The data centers will glad to make $100K political donations when they will be getting $10Ms in tax breaks. It is the best rate of return that any business could ever get 100 to 1 ratio. These supervisors who voted for the PWDG know how to maintain there own political leverage to get political campaign donations but were not concerned at all about maintaining leverage for PWC government and residence. They never were interested in negotiating the best deal for the PWC.
I am a strong Democrat and was the former Chair of the Gainesville Democratic committee. I would never support the 3 supervisors who voted for PWDG and the one who abstained for any office they just can not be trusted to do what is right for all residences of PWC. It is up to the courts to correct their mistake. They need to make amends by voting for the $3.70 tax rate now. This is now the time to do what is right for PWC maximize the C&P tax rate. I suggest any additional revenue be split 50/50 between home owners tax relief and new initiatives.
Citizens told the Prince William Board of County Supervisors on April 9th that “enough is enough” as far as lavishing sweetheart deals on the predatory data center industry. And thankfully, this latest incarnation of the Board heard them. Is it possible the wind is shifting?
The BOCS, which was an industry doormat under Ann Wheeler, will not roll over so easily under new Chair Deshundra Jefferson. There was tangible optimism in the chamber that an elected official was actually going to deliver on a campaign promise. To county residents who have never seen it before, this is what leadership looks like.
There was no explanation why the budget presented by County Executive Christopher Shorter assumed the computer & peripheral tax would remain unchanged at $2.15. But several supervisors quickly disabused the audience of any intention of leaving it there. Most encouraging were the supportive comments of Occoquan Supervisor Kenny Boddye and Potomac Supervisor Andrea Bailey. Chair Deshundra Jefferson then left no doubt of her intention to support a maximum hike. It appears that a new majority is coalescing around the will of the public to insist the data center industry pay its freight.
There was a significant presence in the audience of advocates for affordable housing, a cause which had taken a distant back seat to the prior Board’s data center preoccupation. Now there is hope that their nemesis may actually provide the source of funding they have patiently waited for.
The budget is where the County demonstrates its priorities, and each supervisor’s vote will reveal their principles and loyalties.
Chair Jefferson emphatically stated: “Integrity cannot be bought”. What a novel concept. Let’s hope it’s catching.
Budget mark-up is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 16th at 7:30 PM. Take it to the max - $3.70 or bust.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
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Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.