HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2018-02-28 proposed FY 2019 budget
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
February 28, 2018
Media Contact:
Betsy Arnett, Public Information Officer
barnett@leesburgva.gov 703-771-2734
Town Manager Kaj Dentler Presents Proposed Fiscal Year 2019
Budget to Leesburg Town Council
Leesburg, VA (February 28, 2018) – At the Leesburg Town Council meeting on Tuesday,
February 27, 2018, Leesburg Town Manager Kaj Dentler presented his Proposed Fiscal Year
2019 Budget and FY 2018-2023 Capital Improvements Program (CIP).
The major headline for the Proposed Fiscal Year 2019 Budget is that the Town is in a very strong
financial position due to the Council’s adherence to their long-term financial sustainability plan.
The second headline is the need to shift from a position of managing the effects of the
recession to managing the Town’s growth.
During his presentation, Dentler emphasized the need to look to the future and plan for the
new development currently in the pipeline, while also being mindful that the economy can
change.
The Proposed Fiscal Year 2019 Budget is built upon the current tax rate of 18.4¢ per $100 of
assessed value. Overall, assessments for residential properties in the Town of Leesburg
increased 4.39% from 2017. At the proposed tax rate, the average single family homeowner’s
annual town real estate tax bill will increase approximately $39.
The Proposed Fiscal Year 2019 General Fund Budget, including debt service, totals
approximately $59 million which is a 3.3% increase over Fiscal Year 2018. The proposed budget
includes four new full-time positions in the General Fund to address issues of timely
development plan approvals, timely inspections of new construction, more efficient use of
existing technology, and cybersecurity.
The entire budget across all funds (General, Utilities, Capital Projects, and Northern Virginia
Transportation Authority) is $125.7 million, an increase of $18.1 million over the previous year.
Two-thirds of that increase ($12.5 million) is Northern Virginia Transportation Authority funding
for the interchange at Route 7 and Battlefield Parkway.
For Fiscal Year 2019, the proposed Capital Projects Fund is $14.7 million. Notable projects in
the Capital Improvements Program that will begin construction in Fiscal year 2019 are utility
relocation for the Route 7/Battlefield Parkway interchange, the final phase of Sycolin Road
widening from Tolbert Lane to the southern town limits, and the Evergreen Mill Road widening.
Expansions of the Police Department building on Plaza Street and the Town Shop building on
Russell Branch Parkway were added to the six-year CIP in Fiscal Years 2020 and 2023,
respectively.
The Town Council will hold a series of public work sessions to discuss the budget over the next
month. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, 2018, during the
regular Town Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. The tax rate public hearing and adoption of the
budget is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10, 2018. A list of meeting dates and times and a copy of
the Proposed Fiscal Year 2019 Budget, as well as a copy of Dentler’s budget presentation, is
available on the Town’s website at www.leesburgva.gov/budget.
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