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 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Agreed. The county needs to learn to tighten their belts. Tax revenue is not a bottomless piggy bank from which to dip into.

Posted by norbert1234 (anonymous) on March 28, 2008 at 9:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The party is over BOS! The citizens of Loudoun have been in a coma for many years when there was a housing boom, but the crash has woken them up. You can't get blood from a turnip. Everyone please contact the BOS, Hatrick and his cronies on the School Board - time to tighten your belt like the rest of us.

Posted by cmac (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The bill for the housing boom of the past 7 years is coming due now. The proffers given by developers are never enough to cover the true cost of citizen services (including the quality schools which we all moved here for). Now we have to pay the piper for the sins of the past.

Thanks Dale Myers. :(

Posted by dannews (anonymous) on March 31, 2008 at 12:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

For the 12% of you who want to pay even more taxes, please just write a check, made payable to "County of Loudoun" for as much as possible and send it in right away. Call it the "I don't pay enough in taxes so here's more" fund. :-)

Posted by obviously (anonymous) on March 31, 2008 at 4:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That's funny Obviously. The State of Virginia has had one of those for awhile. Last year, somebody thought they'd contribute $16.00.

Posted by honchonumberone (anonymous) on March 31, 2008 at 9:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Now teachers who have a contract for a certain number of hours a day who consistantly go above and beyond for the benefit of our children will not get a raise or even a cost of living increase. I can't believe that one of the board members said that all the teachers are dual income so they don't need a raise.

Posted by jdjohn5 (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm all for giving teachers a raise. But guess what, there will be a lot of us taxpayers that bust our tails at our jobs that will not be getting a raise this year either. What I would like to see happen (which I don't think ever will) is for Richmond to wake up and start giving us our fair share of the taxes that we send down to them. What goes on in Richmond is criminal, the taxpayers of Northern Virginia need to wake-up and make our politicians accountable.

Posted by gsaffel (anonymous) on April 1, 2008 at 11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Someone tell me if I missed something here. I thought elected officials were supposed to work for the the "will of the people".

Why is it that every new BOS seems to make me (us) feel like we are working for them??

The current poll says the majority of people say NO to the increase in taxes. What part of "NO" don't they understand?? The "N" or the "O"??

Maybe we should hold a vote of "NO CONFIDENCE" in the current BOS and throw them all out and start again. They seem to have forgotten who works for whom.

Posted by redleg1 (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 1:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

We need to go on the streets and demonstrate against these tyrants.
Maybe then they'll understand the meaning of NO.

We are the people!

Posted by no.trash.please (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 1:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Whether you get a ridiculous "assessment" of your property (last year's was a hoot), or they give a more even assessment, only to follow it with a double-digit tax hike, you are going to get reamed one way or another.

Posted by OhTheHumanity (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The BOS are a bunch of idiots. I'm sorry, but what are they thinking? With Loudoun county already having high foreclosure rates, what in their little heads made them think that raising the rates by 17% was a good thing?

This reminds me of Herndon's day labor site, and how the entire county was saying "no" but the board still approved the day labor site.

Well, I know at the next election I'll make sure I vote for someone else besides these idiots. If I can do anything to help a vote of no confidence, I'll do it.

Great job the BOS is doing... ugh.

Posted by pillera_joseph (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 9:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Typical Dimocrats - raise taxes while homes are being foreclosed and auctioned off. Just brilliant - - NOT!

And what is with that fool Hatrick and his 'champagne' budget? Senior citizens are considering cat food for their dinners and he is pouring the taxpayer-funded bubbly?

Posted by Justthefacts (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 1:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I am very distraught about the new rate. Eastern Loudoun County has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the area and this will make mattters dismally worse for many. I myself may not be able to afford the increase. If property assessments are lowered where the net increase would be about 5% - I would be okay with that. Not everyone in Loudoun county earns as much as some of the richer homesteaders. Eugene Delgaudio is the one of the few board members who continually serves as the advocate of reality. I commend his efforts. The many of us who live paycheck to paycheck would like the rate to be lowered - we can't handle much more - higher gasoline and energy costs, inflated food costs, there seems to be no end in sight. It's almost unethical to ask for more money given the current economy. Everyone needs to tighten up more. My tax rebate won't help anyone other than those who are profiteering from the increased costs. This is very sad for Loudoun County.

Posted by daydream_dks (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

What is this new Democrat controlled Board of Supervisors thinking?

Did they promise to raise taxes when elected? Of course not----TAX AND SPENDERS NEVER DO TELL YOU WHAT THEY WILL DO.

This is not the time to be raising taxes on homes and residents of Loudoun County or any other place in Virginia given the financial crisis that exists and will exist for some time.

I find this extremely anti-the American family that is working to reduce expenses to see them through this financial crisis.

There is still time for this Loudoun County Board to amend this egregious increase in Real Estate Taxes.

Under parliamentary procedure, the Loudoun County Board can rescind their original vote on the tax increase and request a new review of the Loudoun County Budget by the Loudoun County Executive directing that the budget be reduced.

After a new budget is returned to the Board of Supervisors they can review and consider what the next step should be to reduce the financial burden this increase will place on homeowners.

The dollar has declined on the International markets by about 30 to 50%Any reduction in the Loudoun County budget should reflect this decline.

With a new, reduced budget, the board can come back to the drawing board and be realistic in setting the Real Estate Tax Rate.

In lieu of any favorable move by this tax and spend board, I would recommend that the Loudoun County Citizens recall those who voted to increase their taxes.

This increase in the tax rate not only affects homeowners, it affects the contractors who need work to continue in business----small business owners who provide services to homeowners of this beautiful county.

"The bottom line is rescind the vote, send the budget back to the County Executive for a new review, reconsider and vote to reduce the tax rate."

mj

Posted by mj007 (anonymous) on April 2, 2008 at 6:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"Resolve to harass them with novel taxes. They will probably complain to your Parliament that they are taxed by a body in which they have no representative, and that this is contrary to common right... Let the Parliament flout their claims... and treat the petitioners with utmost contempt."

Benjamin Franklin - (propaganda pieces he wrote for the English papers in September 1773).

Some things never change. The BOS may be elected but they certainly do not represent the citizens of Loudoun County and boy do they ever treat those of us who protest with contempt.
Math question? If there are 3000 new students next year then there must be close to 1500 new families (or more if you take into account those who have graduated HS this year). So where, in the overall calculations for this new budget, is the new tax revenue from these new residents? Add this amount into the total increase in spending, (ahem! taxes), and you will see that the BOS has just about completely lost their collective minds.

Posted by salm624 (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 12:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This is what happens when only 20% to 30% of eligible voters bother to vote, such as last November. Regardless of your political persuasion, it would be easier to accept the decisions of the BOS if we knew they represented more than 30% of the people in this county.

Posted by obviously (anonymous) on April 16, 2008 at 1:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)