HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2017-03-01 proposed FY 2018-19 budget
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
March 1, 2017
Media Contact:
Betsy Arnett, Public Information Officer
barnett@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2734
Town Manager Kaj Dentler Presents Proposed Fiscal Year
2018-2019 Budget to Leesburg Town Council
Leesburg, VA (March 1, 2017) – At the Leesburg Town Council meeting on Tuesday, February
28, 2017, Leesburg Town Manager Kaj Dentler presented his proposed Fiscal Year 2018-2019
Budget and FY 2018-2023 Capital Improvement Program. In this first year of the two-year
budget cycle, Council will adopt the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget and provisionally approve the
Fiscal Year 2019 Budget.
The proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Budget is built upon the current tax rate of 18.6¢ per $100 of
assessed value. Overall, assessments for residential properties in the Town of Leesburg
increased 3.57% from 2016. At the proposed tax rate, the average single family homeowner’s
annual tax bill will increase less than $11.
The major headline for the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Budget is the request for five additional
staff positions: three Public Works Maintenance positions, one Parks Maintenance position,
and one Zoning Inspector. These positions are necessary to maintain service levels to residents
in the areas of brush and leaf collection, snow removal, sidewalk and street repairs, parks and
open space maintenance, responding to nuisance complaints, and occupancy permits for new
construction.
Dentler reminded the Council that when he presented his first proposed budget as Town
Manager three years ago, he told them that he would do everything he could to improve staff
efficiencies and productivity before he would ask for new positions.
“If we do not add these positions,” Dentler said, “We will fail in providing the level of service
our residents expect.”
In addition to the five new positions, Town Manager Dentler is proposing enhancements for a
strategic plan for the Town’s information technology infrastructure, quarterly resident
newsletters, closed captioning of public meetings on the Town’s local government access
channel, a new “Taste of Leesburg” special event and funding for a downtown revitalization
TOL PR 2017-03-01 proposed FY 2018-19 budget
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effort. Dentler concluded his budget presentation by assuring the Council that the Town
remains in a very strong financial position, largely the result of “looking ahead” and planning for
future needs.
The Town Council will hold a series of public work sessions to discuss the budget over the next
month, with adoption of the budget scheduled for April 4, 2017. A list of meeting dates and
times and a copy of the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 Budget, as well as a copy of last night’s
budget presentation, is available on the Town’s website at www.leesburgva.gov/budget.
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