By Jonathan Mummolo
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Loudoun County Administrator Kirby M. Bowers, citing the bleak economy, mounting debt, plummeting residential property values and growing service demands, proposed a $1.2 billion operating budget yesterday that would increase the tax rate by 25.6 cents.
Bowers described the budget proposal as the most "lean" that Loudoun has considered since the early 1990s, saying most of its limited enhancements to county services are confined to public safety, including increased staffing for the sheriff's department. Personnel in the county's building and development department would be cut because the demand for building inspectors has waned with the slumping housing market.
The plan includes an $81 million increase in operating expenses for the 54,000-student school system, $23 million less than school officials requested.
"The party's over," said Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large), noting that years of unbridled growth, combined with a slow economy, have contributed to the county's fiscal challenges. York declined to comment on the viability of the tax rate increase before hearing public input.
Other supervisors were more blunt.
"I'm quite sure we will reduce it," said Supervisor James Burton (I-Blue Ridge), adding that for residents whose property assessments did not decline drastically, the proposed rate would be too much to bear. "The schools are not going to be happy with what we do. ... Everyone is going to have to share in the pain."
School officials who attended the presentation said their funding request was warranted.
"There is an absolute demand in this county that children be educated, and educated well," said Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III, who added that he thinks county residents are willing to pay higher taxes for a better education system. "I understand that these are difficult economic times, but I also understand that we're expecting 3,200 more students next year."
Related Story
Related Links
Advertisement
Over the past year, the average assessed value of a single-family home in Loudoun fell to $447,605, from $487,187, according to county figures. Bowers's plan calls for a tax rate of $1.216 for each $100 of assessed value, up from 96 cents now.
Under the proposal, the average residential tax bill would increase 13.6 percent, or about $640.
Last year, an election year, the average tax bill increased about 2 percent, which some current supervisors said contributed to the county's fiscal problems now.
Burton said he thinks the last board "cut things way too close."
Once the second-fastest growing county in the nation, Loudoun was fourth as of 2006, the latest year available, according to census figures. From 2003 to 2004, the county added more than 18,000 residents, demographer Jill Allmon said, compared with about 8,000 last year.
Still, Bowers said, uncertain economic times erode property assessments and tax revenue while prompting an uptick in the demand for county services such as parks, libraries and assistance programs. It's a difficult combination, he said.
The proposal will be hashed out over the coming months, and funding for the schools, which accounts for more than 70 percent of county spending, is likely to be a source of tension.
In addition to operating costs, the School Board's six-year capital improvement funding request would also be cut significantly under Bowers's proposal, to $850 million, from a requested $1.3 billion. Bowers's full proposal totals $1.63 billion, including capital improvements.
His proposed capital appropriations for fiscal 2009 total $257 million. The package also includes $171.8 million in debt service appropriations.
Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.
Copyright 2009 The Washington Post Company