Middleburg’s Community Community Newspaper Middleburg’s Volume 15 Issue 1
B E L O CA L BUY LOCAL
Printed using recycled fiber
New Stables on the Mall for Park Police Horses Page 8
Y OP LOCALL ITY AND SH R COMMUN SUPPORT OU
mbecc.com
April 26, 2018 ~ May 24, 2018
Middleburg Election Day May 1
st
Middleburg Town Council Report
R
Dan Morrow
Continued On Page 25 Request in homes by Thursday 4/26/18
facebook.com/MiddleburgEccentric
PRST STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID DULLES, VA PERMIT NO 723
Celebrate “The Year of the Hound” with the Museum of Hounds and Hunting North America’s 2018 Art Exhibition and Sale showcasing all 25 recognized Virginia Hunts Candidates Full Story on Page statements Page23 50
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Piedmont foxhounds by Rev. Michael Tang
egistered voters who are residents of the Town of Middleburg will cast ballots on May 1, 2018, at Town Hall, 10 West Marshall Street, in what has become the most highly contested Town election in living memory. Where once it was difficult to find anyone willing to sacrifice the time and energy to run and serve, on May 1 voters will choose from three candidates for Mayor: Vincent Bataoel Bridge Littleton Mark Snyder Seven candidates for four open seats on Town Council: Kevin Hazard Cindy Pearson Peter Leonard-Morgan Darlene Kirk Mimi Stein Kristin Noggle Chris Bernard Campaigning ahead of the May 1 vote has been active, highly visible, and, in the words of one resident, “commendably civil.” For the first time in living memory intense local advertising, websites and social media pages, yard signs, door-to-door campaigning, and candidates openly banding together and promoting each other in “slates” have appeared. All three candidates for Mayor and all seven candidates for Town Council also participated, for the first time, in an open-to-the-public “candidates forum” held before a standing-room-only crowd on April 11 at the Middleburg Community Center. The proceedings were streamed live on the web and recorded. Voters interested in seeing the candidates and hearing what they had to say about key issues facing the town may watch the forum on-
line at MBECC.COM. Click on the link marked: UPDATED MEET THE CANDIDATES NIGHTS VIDEO The new Mayor and Council will also be the first to have their regular meetings videoed and streamed, making proceedings instantaneously available to every citizen and Middleburg stakeholder with access to the web. Town Budget At Town Council’s regular monthly meeting on April 12, Town Administrator Martha Semmes and Town Treasurer Ashley Bott, in response to ongoing Council debate and discussions, formally submitted their 4th revision of Middleburg’s 2019 General Fund and Health Center Budget and the 3rd variant of the budget for the town’s Utility Fund. The Town’s General Fund budget is, according to the report “in good shape” in spite of a few remaining “unknowns,” among them the costs of a sidewalk improvement project on Marshall Street and a formal study of space needs for an expanded administrative building for Town Government. Projected revenues and expenses total $3.2 million, a projected increase of a tiny fraction of 1% Local taxes are expected to raise $2.3 million; nearly $799,000 will be derived from local property taxes. The four largest expense categories are: Police: $868,000 Administration: $795,000 Maintenance Costs: $449,000 Economic Development: $455,000 Projected Revenues and Expenses for the Town’s Utility Fund also show little change, with revenues and costs projected to increase from $5.2 to less than $5.3 million