Foust casts deciding vote to give himself a $20,000 pay raise

2002 – “There should be a sacrifice that comes with public service.” John Foust, candidate for Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
2015 – A 61% pay raise for Supervisors since then

This includes a whopping $20,000 pay raise that The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted to give themselves. The vote was 6-4, and while there was bi-partisan opposition for the pay increase, the supposedly moderate John Foust cast the deciding vote. A Congressional consolation prize?

I guess the sacrifice Foust was talking about was the taxpayers making a sacrifice. In 2015, the average homeowner can expect to pay $850 more than they did in 2011, an increase of 15.4%.

While government grows and politicians pad their pockets, citizens of Fairfax are finding it harder to pay these higher taxes. Job growth is anemic. In 2014, job growth in Fairfax County was a measly 0.4%, and the economy is performing lower than the national average. Commercial vacancy rates are at their highest since 1991, and currently stand at a staggering 15.2%. This double whammy means more of the burden for funding services is being passed on to homeowners.

As far as fiscal management, Fairfax has its problems. Earlier this year, the County received a negative outlook on its AAA bond rating due to the low county reserves and the pension liability funding. The current budget is projected to have an additional $90 million deficit, further stressing the County’s finances.

With such poor performance, one must wonder how Supervisor Foust transitioned from “public service sacrifice” to “public salary skyrockets.” When he first ran for office, the job paid a nifty $59,000. A dozen years later, and the job is jacked to $95,000 with a $5,000 bonus for the chairman.

Fail to keep cost of government reasonable, fail to create private sector jobs, fail to keep budgets balanced and bond ratings secure = A giant raise? Is this Common Core math?

One thing is certain. Foust apparently feels that the quality of his work deserves a huge pay hike at a time when his constituents’ paychecks have been virtually stagnant. In the 8 budgets that he has voted on, he voted for 7 that had tax increases, and now more of those taxes will go right to Foust’s pocket.

If he’s re-elected.

Do the voters in Dranesville want to give $20,000 more to John Foust?