n LOUDOUN
Pg. 4 | n LEESBURG
VOL. 7, NO. 20
Pg. 8 | n EDUCATION
Pg. 10 | n OBITUARIES
Pg. 17 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
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County Board Finalizes $3.5B Budget BY RENSS GREENE
rgreene@loudounnow.com
County supervisors have approved their next annual budget, setting up real estate owners for higher tax bills fueled by skyrocketing property assessments. The new $0.89 per $100 real estate tax rate is a historic nine-cent reduction—but will still leave the average homeowner paying higher tax bills as values climb. For the homeowner with the average $636,200 residential property, the new tax rate will result in a tax bill about $200 higher. Supervisors on Tuesday also approved a cut to the personal property tax for the first time since it was set at its current $4.20 per $100 of value rate in 1987— starting next year, that tax rate will go down five cents. That is hoped to address an over-reliance on data center revenues, which county budget officers have warned may be more volatile than real estate tax revenues, and the growth in other tax bills such as car tax bills. They also earlier this year approved a proposal by Commissioner of the Revenue Robert S. Wertz to tax vehicles at only 80% of their assessed values as car assessments show historic increases. Supervisors did not take advantage of a newly adopted state law that would have allowed them to set a different, lower tax rate for personal vehicles compared to other personal property—down to cutting out the local car tax entirely. Much of supervisors’ cutting from the county budget came from new priorities introduced by supervisors, rather than from core county services. Those reduc-
Pg. 26
APRIL 7, 2022
Supervisors Seek New Qualifications for Sheriffs BY RENSS GREENE
rgreene@loudounnow.com
Renss Greene/Loudoun Now
Supervisors Caleb E. Kershner (R-Catoctin) and Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) were the only two supervisors to vote against the county’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget, citing rising tax bills.
tions include slowing the program to roll out body-worn cameras for Sheriff’s Office deputies, trimming the dedicated revenue source for affordable housing, and cutting staff support for collective bargaining with county employee unions. Meanwhile, the budget also includes $15 million in base budget growth, 196 new positions, and a $19.1 million increase for government employee compensation including a 5% merit increase, a step increase for public safety employees, and salary scale and pay compression adjustments. On top of that, the budget increases Loudoun County Public Schools funding by $53.7 million, partially funding a request from the school district that came as
a surprise late in the county’s budget development work. The school division had requested $1.08 billion in funding from the county, a $75 million increase over last year. That also was a larger request than the school system had advised county staff to expect, and resulted in some county departments’ requests getting cut to make room for more school funding. The growing school budget was the sticking point that led to a divided vote on the budget April 5. Supervisors voted to approve the spending plan on a 7-2 vote, with supervisors Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) and Caleb E. Kershner
Following a study into the potential costs, risks and benefits of starting up a countywide police department, Loudoun supervisors voted near-unanimously to instead look into what the minimum qualifications to run for sheriff should be in Virginia. Supervisors on both sides of the debate around law enforcement in Loudoun agreed on concerns that the qualifications to run for sheriff are the same as any other Virginia elected office: that the person running have been a resident for at least a year and qualified to vote—or in other words, 18 years old, a citizen, and not a felon. County Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large), who previously championed the renewed push to look into a county police department, moved to have county staff work with the firm that conducted the police department study, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, to propose develop minimum qualifications to run for sheriff in Virginia. That is with an eye
BUDGET continues on page 39
QUALIFICATIONS continues on page 38
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