HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL NR 2022-02-08 Leesburg Town Manager Presents Proposed Fiscal Year 2023 Budget and Six-Year Capital Improvements Program
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Media Contact:
Betsy Arnett, Public Information Officer
pio@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2734
Leesburg Town Manager Presents Proposed Fiscal Year 2023
Budget and Six-Year Capital Improvements Program
Budget is built on a reduced tax rate of 17.6 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Leesburg, VA (February 8, 2022) – This evening, Leesburg Town Manager Kaj Dentler presented
his proposed Fiscal Year 2023 Budget and Six-Year Capital Improvements Program to the Town
Council. The proposed General Fund budget totals $72.5 million, up 11% from the Fiscal Year
2022 budget. The entire proposed budget, including the General Fund, the Capital Projects
Fund, and the Utilities Fund, is $153 million, an increase of $18 million over the current fiscal
year budget.
The proposed budget is built on a reduced real property tax rate of 17.6 cents per $100 of
assessed value, down from the current rate of 18.4 cents. With 2022 assessments on existing
residential properties in Leesburg up almost 13% from 2021, the average homeowner’s real
property tax bill will increase $68 annually. The equalized rate, or the rate at which the Town
would receive the same amount as last year’s real property tax revenue from existing
properties, is 16.6 cents.
“At the proposed 17.6 cent tax rate, we are able to fund normal increases of the base budget
due to inflation and address a number of the Town Council’s strategic initiatives,” explained Kaj
Dentler, Leesburg’s Town Manager. “In addition, we are using $1.4 million from the Fiscal Year
2021 Unassigned Fund Balance to pay for a variety of one-time expenditures, while maintaining
20% of General Fund expenditures in the fund balance per the Council’s fiscal policy.”
All of the enhancements proposed by Dentler address the Council’s identified strategic
initiatives in the areas of Economic Development, Town Plan Next Steps, Information
Technology, and Emergency Management. The enhancements to the General Fund budget
include four new full-time positions:
• Small Business Development Coordinator in the Department of Economic Development
• Senior Management Analyst for Community Development in the Town Manager’s Office
• Systems Analyst in the Information Technology Department
• Customer Service Technician in the Information Technology D epartment
The other enhancement Dentler proposed is to increase the Town’s annual emergency and
inclement weather response budget by $500,000. This increase fully funds the snow removal
operation at $1.1 million, reflecting recent average annual expenditures.
The proposed Capital Improvements Program (CIP) for Fiscal Years 2023-2028 totals $229
million and includes 81 projects, including 14 new projects. In his presentation, Dentler
highlighted a number of notable project budget increases, due to rising construction costs,
including the expansion of Police Headquarters on Plaza Street and the expansion of the Town
Shop on Russell Branch Parkway. CIP funding for Fiscal Year 2023 totals $52.9 million for 46
projects.
The proposed Utilities Fund budget for fiscal year 2023 totals $52.8 million, including $21.1
million in capital projects. This proposed budget represents the fourth year of the adopted five-
year rate plan.
Also at this evening’s meeting, the Town Council held a public hearing and adopted the 2022
personal property tax rates, which remain unchanged from the current year.
The Town Council will hold three work sessions to review and discuss the proposed budget and
capital improvements program, as well as a public hearing to receive resident and taxpayer
feedback. In addition, the Council will hold a separate public hearing on the 2022 real property
tax rate.
The budget review and adoption schedule is:
• Tuesday, February 22, 6 p.m. Budget Work Session
• Monday, March 7, 7 p.m. Budget Work Session
• Tuesday, March 8, 7 p.m. Budget Public Hearing
• Monday, March 21, 7 p.m. Budget Work Session
• Tuesday, March 22, 7 p.m. Real Property Tax Rate Public Hearing and
Budget and Tax Rate Adoption
All work sessions and public hearings will be held in the Council Chamber at Town Hall (25 West
Market Street). The public is welcome to attend the work sessions and public hearings, which
will be broadcast on the Town’s local government access channel (Xfinity Channel 67 and FiOS
Channel 35) and streamed live on the Town website (www.leesburgva.gov/webcasts). Copies of
the proposed budget document and Dentler’s presentation are available on the Town website
at www.leesburgva.gov/budget.
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