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Board raises taxes, adopts budget
It's official: Taxes for most homeowners in Loudoun this year will be going up.
While not at the jaw-dropping increase of $640 a year as predicted earlier in 2008, property tax bills in Loudoun will jump by an average of $308, as the Board of Supervisors April 1 adopted in a 5-4 vote a new real estate tax rate of $1.14 for every $100 of a home's assessed value. This is the county's highest rate since 1981. The previous rate was 96 cents per $100.
The board on Tuesday also adopted the budget for fiscal year 2009 and the next five-year capital improvement program.
Slumping revenues from lower home values made this spring an especially difficult budget season for the board, as supervisors were inundated with pleas from residents not to increase taxes, while knowing that additional money was needed to fund a still-growing school system.
At $1.14, money for the county's public school system will fall more than $50 million short of what the School Board said it needed from county tax dollars.
To make up the gap, school officials last month told supervisors that cuts would most likely come from salaries and programs. The school system expects to add 3,200 students next school year.
Schools is not the only department that will have to curtail spending under this fiscal plan. The Sheriff's Office will forgo hiring 35 additional deputies it said it needed, while Fire and Rescue Services will have to put off staffing a future Brambleton Public Safety Center.
Most requests by department heads to significantly increase spending and staffing over last year were denied.
Discussions to set the tax rate were divided mostly along party lines, with four of the board's five Democrats voting for the $1.14 rate. Supervisor Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge) also supported the rate.
The only Democrat not to vote for $1.14 was Supervisor Susan Klimek Buckley (D-Sugarland Run), who asked for a rate of $1.152, so more money would be available for schools. Her suggestion, though, died when it was not seconded by another board member.
Citing concerns of residents dealing with soaring fuel and food costs, Chairman Scott York (I-at large) recommended a rate of $1.10. However, to balance the budget at this number, he said the county would have to take $32 million out of its reserve funds.
“These are taxpayers' dollars,” he said. “And they are people in a world of hurt.”
Only supervisors Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) and Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) backed York's request.
Other board members said tapping into the county's $108 million stockpile of reserve cash would harm Loudoun's credit rating. They also said using this money would only be a short-term fix, as tax revenues for next year also are projected to be flat.
“This is a one-time solution to a problem that is not a one-time problem,” said Supervisor Kelly Burk (D-Leesburg).
At $1.07, Delgaudio suggested the lowest rate. To support that, he recommended that tax breaks for hybrid-car owners and certain corporations be eliminated and that the government and school system make more severe cuts in spending. His plan also included using some reserve money.
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com
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