n LOUDOUN
VOL. 7, NO. 35
Pg. 4 | n LEESBURG
Pg. 8 | n EDUCATION
Pg. 10 | n OBITUARIES
Pg. 15 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
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JULY 21, 2022
Supervisors Warned of Tight Budget, Flattening Revenues BY RENSS GREENE
rgreene@loudounnow.com
County supervisors will face slimmer revenues and slowed growth while homeowners may see higher real estate tax bills in the next county budget, county staff members have warned. Twelve days into Fiscal Year 2023, on July 12 the Board of Supervisors’ finance committee heard the first public report on preparations for the Fiscal Year 2024 budget. County Administrator Tim Hemstreet said, while revenue projections this far in advance are very broad, the county budget staff can already tell the next annual budget is going to be much more difficult. “This far out, our numbers, I can tell you right now, are off by $30 or $40 million. So the numbers are going to get better as we get into October, December, but they’re not going to get better enough that we would be looking at being able to accomplish the things this board has become accustomed to at the equalized rate or something close to the equalized rate,” he said. Hemstreet said supervisors will face budget challenges “that really boards have not seen for seven, eight, nine years.” That will have implications for real estate tax bills. That tax rate is the main tool the board uses to adjust its revenues as home values, business revenues and other sources of local tax revenue fluctuate. Residential property is not expected to continue growing in value at the rate it has been, meaning less growth in that tax base. Loudoun’s economic recovery from the pandemic is strong, albeit uneven as industries like hospitality and travel are recovering more slowly. Meanwhile, the taxpayer’s dollar may not go as far amid continuing high inflation. Parks and recreation and Loudoun Transit will be updating supervisors as their revenues stabilize from pandemic disruptions. Supervisors are also discussing whether to fund schools differently in the future, such as by giving the school system a set percentage of local tax funding. And especially impactful for Loudoun, the General Assembly TIGHT BUDGET continues on page 34
Alexis Gustin/Loudoun Now
Jeff Boogaard walks through the field of hemp plants at his business Cannabreeze near Lovettsville.
County Grapples with Marijuana Legalization
BY RENSS GREENE AND NORMAN K. STYER greene@loudounnow.com nstyer@loudounnow.com
As the General Assembly moves toward legalizing marijuana, Loudoun County government and business leaders are grappling with the legal, health and even zoning implications. For a year now, Virginians 21 and over have been legally permitted to possess up to an ounce of marijuana, and to use
it in their own homes. They can grow up to four plants in their homes, and they can share up to an ounce with a friend. By contrast, a new law this year, inserted into the state’s budget bill by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, makes public possession of more than 4 ounces a criminal misdemeanor. And yet the state is still moving toward legalizing retail sales—while the Republican-held House of Delegates blocked legislation that would
have allowed some retail sales this year, that market is expected to open by 2024. The General Assembly could vote to make that happen sooner. Even as this is happening, people working at the local level are trying to figure out what, if anything, that will mean in the day-to-day worlds of business, law enforcement and substance abuse. And a literature review LEGAL MARIJUANA continues on page 34
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