What is so terrible about the county having to make due with the same income as last year (or a tax rate of $1.07)? There are reasonable spending cuts that would save millions without long term damage to the county. These economic times will pass and Loudoun will continue to be a great place to live and raise kids.

Posted by colemanassoc (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 7:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

A tax rate of $1.14 results in an increase of about 5% (over the previous FY) in the total tax levy for our particular home. Sounds reasonable, considering our property tax has increased on average about 7.5% over the past ten years, if we take into account this most recent one and the $1.14 rate stands.

Posted by blarf (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 8:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

We can't barely pay the mortgage as it is and now the tax rate increase? In previous years, the rate was low but the assessment was high. Now, the assessment dropped and the board raised the rate. It work out to be same to the property owners - we owe everyone else more and more. I now owe the bank more money than my house is worth. I'm moving to another state. It's too expensive to be living in Northern VA. The brain drain is already starting.

Posted by Dung_B_Hoang (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Basically, the rate increase will result in a tax bill about $15-$25/month over the previous year. Dung, are you saying that you are living so close to the margin that you can't find and extra $20/month, given the fact that most previous increases were more than that?

And if you owe more on your house than it's worth, the best thing to do is to stay where you are, keep working and keep paying your mortgage. And pay down your principle. You'll be glad you did.

If you knew NoVA was expensive, why did you move here?

Posted by blarf (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 9:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Once again I am not allowed to vote on a tax increase that adversely effects me and my neighbors! This is not play money. Please tell me how you, the board, can justify the additional 55 million dollars increase for the school system alone? Blarf, do you think the tax increase is the only bill going up for the residents of LC? Besides those trapped in a poor mortgage, what about the increase in food, gas and insurance? Not to forget electricity, water and sewage. Yes they all went up this year along with Trash removal. Blarf please tell me you did not have any increase in anything other than this tax rate. I would like to know how you do it? Times will get harder and we need the board to stop kissing the school boards butt. Hey, lets build another school library or community center!

Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 10:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I do it because I'm a good manager of our finances. As a family, we make *below* the median in Loudoun County. We don't have new cars, and we keep them for nine or ten years. We live in the same home we've had for almost ten years. We plan on things going up and yes, that includes taxes as well as food, gas, utilities, etc. We don't waste our money on flat screen TVs, iPods, eating out, etc. If finances are tight, we won't take a vacation (which most people seem to think they're entitled to).

It's basic home economics, really.

Posted by blarf (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This is terrible. Our county needs 7% more than last year, spending is out of control. And Sally Kurtz requested an even higher tax rate.

Posted by dfhaines (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 11:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Welcome to your tax and spend BOS! Property values going down? Tax revenues not what they were projected to be? Raise the rate so they can keep spending freely on such unnecessary things like new government headquarters. Oh, and they'll boost their salaries while they're at it.

Posted by SavedByZero (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Nice. Raise taxes then give county employees a pay raise. Good going.

Posted by mazman128 (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 12:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Here's a thought: Most of us are getting a nice little $600 present from the IRS soon. Now I know Bush wants you to go out and get a new washing machine or a new Blackberry to boost the economy, but how about you take some of that windfall and apply it to your increased property taxes. It will ease the sting a bit and you'll still have enough left over to buy a Wii (if you can find one).

Posted by blarf (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

lbuividas,

By my calcs, your property assessed at over $1M. Nice going. Cancel the trip to Aspen this year.

Posted by blarf (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 1:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We are not allowed to vote on taxes because we live in a representative democracy, not a direct democracy. This BOS was voted in mainly on a slow growth/pro-education wave of sentiment. You may not be interested in having good schools, but that's why many of us moved here. If the school system loses its aura of excellence, house prices will start to go down (just ask people in Prince William County).

Posted by octamatilda (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Spending is not out of control: Costs are rising for the county as for everyone else. I know the board struggled with this, and they tried hard to hold the line. Look, Scott York and Lori were voting with Delgaudio, for pity sake. Don't you think if there had been "fat" to cut, Delgaudio would have been all over the papers with it? Historically the fiscal chickens of the past years have come home to roost. This was a tough call, trying to balance service and cost. All the counties in our region are facing it. Think hard whether you really want service cuts across the board. Think hard how your home's value will hold up if our schools start falling behind.

I personally wish they'd done better; a friend of mine who works for the California schools, for example, is facing a 7% cut in most departments. But it could also have been worse for us. You can't just expect them to come in and three months later cut things willy nilly in the face of the dominance of the school budget and still-rising enrollments. I do expect the board to begin their own detailed fiscal study of the schools, because it is clear this era of elevated costs for the schools is not a passing thing.

Posted by homekelly (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 2:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Homekelly, I agree. When both schools people AND the low taxes people are unhappy, it means the BOS probably got it right.

Judging from what the newbies said at the meetings, I'm guessing that next year they're going to be both more conservative and more focused on details than this year when they are still learning the ropes.

Posted by betterthanitcouldhavebeen (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I find it interesting Chairman York's incessant whining, but not a single proposal to cut the budget. Certainly with 12 years on the Board he could do better than that.

Posted by LoudounModerate (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 3:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Loudoun Moderate...methinks you ain't so moderate. You voted for Fireball, didn't you?
He's up in Deleware, where he lived before. He also has a snazzy new license plate that he paid $16,000 for...all while he owes for his campaign. Sorry, but I'll go with York on this one.... he's representing the citizens instead of any singular other alliance. I'm dissappointed in the other five members. I'd been convinced that they were fiscal conservatives, and I had hoped that they'd be the Board that put Hatrick in his place.

Posted by honchonumberone (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Loudoun County is the Salt Lake City of the east. It has more families with two or more children per capita than anywhere else on the East Coast. And what do those families move here for? Sprawling new schools for their children. Have you seen some of these schools? They are nicer than some private college campuses! And who votes for the politicians who keep funding those schools with public money? The parents. In essence, there really is no compelling reason for most folks without school-age kids to live in Loudoun County, which is probably why it's a rarity to spot a senior citizen or childless young couple in the eastern part of the county. There certainly isn't much bang for the tax buck unless you like traffic, broken roads, overcrowded malls, chain restaurants and seas of cookie-cutter subdivisions. Personally, I would rather see taxes go to more police protection, creating more park space and other quality of life issues. But that will never happen in Loudoun as long as some people feel a new school needs to go up as soon as some class size is one student above the optimum or another 500 homes are tacked on to yet another subdivision. It is surprising, though, with all the jobs and new businesses in Loudoun that homeowners continue to get hammered with higher taxes. Wasn't all this growth suppose to help the tax base and provide tax relief to homeowners? Isn't that what we were told by by pro-growth politicians? It seems like tax dollars are just disappearing. And not even the schools can be responsible for what appears to be plain old fiscal irresponsibility by county leaders. Everything needs to just slow down in this county and find a natural balance. Too many years of prosperity has turn to rapid greed and destruction. Too much of anything, including schools, leads to other problems. But there wouldn't be the need for so many schools if someone would just say no to the ridiculous amount of residential development. Even in the current real estate slump, Loudoun leaders and developers continue to clearcut trees and forests for yet more ugly townhomes, offices and stores. Stuff like this doesn't happen in New England or part of the Carolinas. Seems people there live within their means and appreciate the fact that trees provide oxygen. But I digress... For an educated area, Loudoun and Northern Virginia in general seems to lack perspective. Too much entitlement and not enough perspective on what is really happening. With a bit more awareness and activism, we can slow down taxes. We can demand our politicians say no to developers. We can stop the madness of what is going on on Route 7 between Leesburg and Sterling. Folks, it's a big problem. The schools are part of it, but long before the schools came the greed. Loudoun needs to freeze taxes and put a moratorium on development. That will stop the insatiable need for more schools and infrastructure, at least for awhile.

Posted by mjc8075 (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 8:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Thanks for the stream of consciousness rant. I didn't know Ted Kaczynski had access to a computer.

Posted by brucewinter (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 8:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Honcho: I agree with you. But, if York wants to be a leader doing nothing more than whining just doesn't cut it with me. Lori Waters showed the gumption to come up with real ideas. BTW, Fireball wasn't my guy, but York has got to be better than this.

Posted by LoudounModerate (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 10:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Once again, no leadership from this BOS. Plese explain to me why the County can't live on a 3% increse in these tough times. This board has never made a tough call. If you think this budget is bad, wait until next year. Next year property values will be 5% lower than they are today. what will the County do then?

Posted by rburns (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 10:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The root issue is the proper role of our local government. Over the past few years it's been spend, spend, spend because of unprecendented growth and tax revenue. Now we've taken on hundreds of millions worth of bonds to build schools without reducing spending anywhere, or so it seems. It's time to look at our check book and conclude our spending is above our income, and just like we do at home, we have to cut back and not expect income to increase. Our government is to respect our money more than county services. If we have to do without, then we do without. We'll be fine. We have the cost of all those schools hanging over our heads which our kids will eventually have to pay for because we don't exercise restraint in other areas of spending. Now's our chance to show wise restraint. Reduce spending first!

Posted by NormalJoe (anonymous) on March 28, 2008 at 2:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Okay another year and here we go. The School board ask's for much more then they need. Obligatory outcry by both pro and anti increase "advocates". The BOS scolds the schoolboard and sends them to their room. The schoolboard make painful, drastic cuts and resubmits to BOS. BOS gives them less then what they initially ask for, but more then they really need. The schoolboard regretfully accepts and the BOS looks as if they cut the school's budget when they really give them what they expected in the first place and raise our taxes. Dr Hatrick has this down to a science and the BOS pleases both parent and concerned taxpayer. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Posted by sydnorg (anonymous) on March 28, 2008 at 5:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Loudoun Moderate...okay, forgive me. If you scan these articles , you'll see a couple of commentors who start out with the same point of view, and then go down hill from there. I was overpreparing for you, friend.
York was on the right side of the vote. I'm dissappointed with the others. They had the first real chance at being remembered as the Board that set Hatrick back on his heels. But they failed by one vote to do that.
mjc8075... friend, we already did that. It took the elections to get a reasonable Board where development (overdevelopment)was concerned. Unfortunately, you are correct. This year was easier than those to come. As the market corrects itself, and as building seems feasible to the builders again, the last board left us with 18,000+ homes that have already been approved and cannot be put back in the bottle. If we imagine that each of those homes comes with 2.2 children, the minimum of children that can hit our school system over the years and by the last completed build is a staggering 40,000 new students. By comparison, this year we have to contend with a mere 3290.
All along, some of us were telling the former Board that the buildout was a mistake. In their arrogance, they told us they knew better and ignored our input for the most part. The citizens replaced them for that reason. The real test is staying informed and knowing that at the end of this four year cycle, we don't need to put yet another builder board in place to compound the problem that we aren't even out from under yet. The underlying problem, as reported on several blogs is that there are transient parents who come into Loudoun for several years, vote for all kinds of referendums to put the County into debt for their needs, and then they leave before they have to pay for the things that they wanted, and those of us who stay are saddled with that debt. I have no doubt that if you track those who are screaming the loudest for school increases, they won't be here to help pay that load after their children graduate and they move along.

Posted by honchonumberone (anonymous) on March 28, 2008 at 8:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)