Supervisors: Budget, Taxes Are Top Priorities

By Melissa Arseniuk

Originally published at 3:21 p.m., January 7, 2008
Updated at 9:27 p.m., January 7, 2008

About two weeks after being sworn in, three of Loudoun County's new Board of Supervisors, along with Chairman Scott York (I) and Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge), met with local business leaders Monday to discuss plans for their four-year terms.

The three new supervisors in attendance -- Susan Klimek Buckley (D-Sugarland Run), Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac) and Stevens Miller (D-Dulles) -- agreed that the board's top priority over the next four years will be the budget.

"Obviously, the budget is the number one priority and issue that we'll have to deal with in the next few months," York said during the Meet the Loudoun County Supervisors Breakfast at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne. The event was organized by the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce.

Early in the discussion, York noted the county has a shortfall of more than $200 million to cover.

"It will be quite the balancing act between keeping taxes affordable and funding the services needed by Loudoun residents," Buckley said.

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Members of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meet with members of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce Monday morning. (Emmy Crawford)

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Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York (I) addresses members of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. (FILE PHOTO) (Emmy Crawford)

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Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York (I) takes a question from the audience during the "Meet the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors" meeting with the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. (Emmy Crawford)

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Supervisor Jim Burton (I - Blue Ridge District) listens to a comment from one of the board members during a meet-and-greet conference with the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. (Emmy Crawford)

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Supervisor Susan Klimek Buckley (D - Sugarland Run District) introduces herself to members of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. (Emmy Crawford)

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Supervisor Susan Klimek Buckley (D - Sugarland Run District) takes a question from a member of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. (Emmy Crawford)

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Supervisor Andrea McGimsey (D - Potomac District) addresses members of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. (Emmy Crawford)

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Newly sworn-in Supervisor Stevens Miller (D - Dulles District) listens to a question posed by a member of the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce. (Emmy Crawford)

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Burton was curter. "There's no question that taxes will go up," he said. "How much they go up is going to be the center of the debate."

Eric Zicht, of the Paeonian Springs-based engineering, planning and land surveying company Zicht and Associates, told supervisors he didn't like the board's emphasis on spending and taxation.

"I am very concerned after listening to certain presentations that I'm considered a sheep," he said. "The emphasis needs to be changed. You people on the board aren't the only ones who provide services to the residents of Loudoun County. We also provide services and we are also essential to the community for purposes other than being sheared."

Before Zicht's comments, Miller proposed the board work to build the county's commercial tax base to keep Loudoun moving forward.

"(But) that does not necessarily mean that I'll be seeking to increase the taxes that you individually pay," Miller said. "My principal goal … is to bring more taxable businesses to Loudoun County."

To help attract businesses, he proposed forming an ad-hoc committee to "look at businesses that either considered Loudoun, but did not choose to come here, or businesses that were here, but decided … to leave." The group then would recommend ways to eliminate the obstacles.

Transportation was another popular topic of discussion.

"I think it would be appropriate for the board to revisit the county transportation plan," Miller said. "The solutions to our transportation problems are going to have to be rather more subtle and complex than just widening roads."

He called for multifaceted, manifold solutions to combat snarled traffic on the county's busy thoroughfares.

The first-time supervisor also asked business owners in the crowd for their help. He said traffic woes would be alleviated if more businesses were developed in Loudoun because fewer people commuting to and from work would result in less traffic on roadways.

In other proposed changes, York said he wants a shift in the way the county elects its sheriff.

"Law enforcement in this community is extremely important," he said. "It is very difficult to know the qualifications of everybody who is running."

He proposed moving from the current electoral system, where the public votes for its sheriff, to a closed system, where a group would review the credentials of each candidate and make the hiring decision based on qualifications.

"I think that a panel of individuals hiring a chief of police over law enforcement is probably the right thing to do as opposed to having a four-year popularity contest," he said.

York didn't suggest who would make up such a panel.

He did, however, say his proposal would result in increased job security for sheriff's deputies, who currently work terms that are renewed or discontinued every four years by the sheriff.

Buckley encouraged her fellow board members to do the best for Loudoun both now and into the future, "Where residents are afforded the opportunity -- and can afford -- to live, work and play in Loudoun County."

Burton was optimistic the new board would be more efficient and effective than previous ones.

"I anticipate that the atmosphere and mood of this board will be different," he said, suggesting the collective is "a much more congenial group, willing to listen to each other and consider each other's views.

"Each board that comes into office develops its own personality, its own characteristics," Burton said. "It's going to be a while before we … figure each other out."

Tagged: Board of Supervisors, Chairman Scott York, Chamber of Commerce, LC Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Andrea McGimsey, Supervisor Jim Burton, Supervisor Stevens Miller, Supervisor Susan Buckley

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