Nice to see the County Board visiting neighborhoods and talking about Amazon.
Trouble is the County Board is not talking about Amazon's almost complete lack of transparency about the costs and benefits of Amazon's presence in Arlington.
Reality is Amazon and its employees will cost the County more than they will provide in tax revenue. At least 2,500 of 25,000 Amazon employees who will work in Arlington will have at least one child enrolled in Arlington's public schools. At $20,000 per student per year that's another $50 million annually.
Amazon plans to bring and hire 25,000 employees in Arlington over the next decade or about 2,500 / year. County's population growth is about 3,000 per year without Amazon. So the County's total population growth over the next decade will be more than 35,000, assuming 20% of Amazon's employees will live and work in Arlington.
So far Amazon has made no commitment to contribute to public infrastructure, including schools, apart from whatever taxes Amazon will pay (if any).
Arlington County has historically attracted for-profits, non-profits, and upscale residents who are disinterested in philanthropy and there's no reason to suppose Amazon will be any different.
So it seems likely that residential assessments and the real estate tax rate will both increase every year for the next several years, thanks to County Government's decades-long addiction to 'growth for the sake of growth'.
Charles -- 22203
