HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2013-08-15 VML award
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Leesburg Receives 3rd VML Achievement Award in Five Years
This year’s award recognizes the Town’s Long-Term Financial
Sustainability Plan
Leesburg, VA (August 15, 2013) – For the third time in five years, the Town of Leesburg has
been recognized by the Virginia Municipal League with an Achievement Award. The 2013
Achievement Award honors the Town’s long-term financial sustainability plan.
In 2006 – two years prior to the 2008 recession – new housing construction in Leesburg came to
a near standstill, not due to the economy, but because the Town was approaching build-out of
developable land. Town management realized that Leesburg could no longer rely upon growth
to generate new revenue. As a result, as part of the FY 2008 Budget, the Town Council created
a $1.4 million Revenue Stabilization Reserve to provide additional financial resources in the face
of build-out and moderating real estate revenues. This reserve was created just in the nick of
time, as the housing bubble collapsed in the fall of 2008 and the “Great Recession” began.
As it became clear that recovery would be slower than anticipated, the Town Council proposed
the development of a long-term sustainable budget plan in its strategic goals. Over the next
several years, Town management implemented a series of actions, including staff reductions
and restructuring of the Town’s debt, to achieve cost savings with minimal impact to service
delivery. However, those efforts were aimed at the short-term budget crisis, and the Council
wanted a long-term plan to balance the Town’s finances with a stable tax rate.
In March 2012, Town management recommended, and the Town Council adopted, a plan for
long-term financial sustainability that consisted of these five elements:
• Two-Year Budget Cycle
• Six-Year Capital Improvements Program
• Long Range Pro Forma
• Capital Asset Replacement Reserve
• Debt Service Reserve
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TOL PR 2013-08-15 VML Award
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Taken as a whole, the long-term financial sustainability plan requires the Council and staff to
focus on the effects that budget decisions made in the current year have on future years,
making it easier to prioritize current demands on the Town budget and to exercise financial
discipline. In addition, the Council and staff keep the plan an active part of on-going decision
making throughout the year, not just during budget deliberations.
“Of all the awards the Town has won, I am most proud of this one,” commented John Wells,
Leesburg’s Town Manager. “Budget and financial management are not easy topics to explain,
and the fact that we have successfully incorporated our financial sustainability plan into the
day-to-day fabric of how we do business here at the Town of Leesburg is a tremendous
accomplishment.”
“The Town Council and our Town Manager and staff have worked hard together for the last few
years to incorporate long-term fiscal planning and taxpayer impact into every spending decision
we’ve made,” said Kristen Umstattd, Leesburg’s Mayor. “This is a major change in the way
we’ve prepared for the future and I believe it’s allowed us to better protect our taxpayers for
years to come. I am deeply grateful that VML has recognized the Town’s strong efforts in this
area.”
Leesburg’s entry was judged as the best entry in the category for local governments with
populations between 35,001 and 90,000. The entries in the five population categories were
evaluated on criteria that emphasized innovation, efficiency and entrepreneurship. The
complete nomination packet is available for view on the Town website at
www.leesburgva.gov/index.aspx?page=19&parent=951. Leesburg also won VML Achievement
Awards in 2011 and 2009.
The Virginia Municipal League is a statewide, non-profit, non-partisan association of city, town
and county governments established in 1905 to improve and assist local governments through
legislative advocacy, research, education and other services. The membership includes all 39
cities in the Commonwealth, 159 towns and ten counties.
Contact:
Betsy Fields
Research & Communications Manager
bfields@leesburgva.gov
703-771-2734
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