The Budgets of Leesburg and Loudoun

Leesburg Today's lead editorial this past week lauded the budget put forth by John Wells and the Town of Leesburg.

A veteran of budgeting during tight economic times, Wells builds a budget framework that seeks a balance between residents' expectations for service and prudent planning for the possibility of tougher times ahead.
...
Each budget decision in the weeks ahead should be made with the circumstances of Loudoun families at the forefront rather than further fueling what heretofore may have been considered the natural pace of government growth.

John Wells and his staff have put the Town of Leesburg a step ahead in that effort. - Leesburg Today

The Town of Leesburg has done a superior job putting itself in a position to weather economic uncertainty thanks to its prudent leadership over the past few years. Under Mayor Umstattd and her partners on Council, the Town is possibly the best managed local government around. And yet, three candidates for Mayor and Council have chosen this year, the year in which the excellent leadership and planning of the past is actually coming to fruition to run against the record of success of the town. David Tevis, Frank Holtz and Tom Dunn believe that the planning and representation which has strengthened the Town up to this point should be tossed aside.

Leesburg voters should remember this:
It is the prudent and insightful decisions made by this Council that put Leesburg in a position to keep taxes stable without cutting services this year.

The Leesburg Today editorial, however, makes the mistake of comparing the Town of Leesburg's budgetary situation, which is the result of years of prudent fiscal management and disciplined leadership from Council, with Loudoun County's budget situation, which is the result of years of fiscal recklessness and arbitrary action by the previous Board of Supervisors.

Speaking of the budget submitted to the Town Council by Leesburg Town Manager John Wells, the paper writes,

Loudoun taxpayers at-large can only hope those wrestling with the county budget and requested school spending increase can pick up on his [John Wells'] theme.
...
Each budget decision in the weeks ahead should be made with the circumstances of Loudoun families at the forefront rather than further fueling what heretofore may have been considered the natural pace of government growth.

John Wells and his staff have put the Town of Leesburg a step ahead in that effort. Let's see if the board of supervisors and school board can catch up. - Leesburg Today

Let us set aside for a moment the utility of comparing a budget which does not include schools, perhaps the most difficult and fractious line item in all public financial discussions, with one that does include schools.

The sentiment expressed in the editorial is commendable: the County should look at how the Town of Leesburg set itself up to weather revenue slowdowns and try to do the same. The timing, however, is unreasonable. The Board of Supervisors is facing a budget crisis attributable to the "serve now, pay later, save nothing" policies of the previous board, while the Town has operated on a "serve now, pay now, save now" philosophy throughout the term of this Council. It comes as no surprise that Loudoun now faces the "pay later" price of the previous Board's policies.

It is quite difficult to "catch up" to the place where Leesburg finds itself while at the same time accommodate "the circumstances of Loudoun families. One principle calls for better revenue security in order to create a solid foundation for the County's future, the other advocates for slicing the County's revenue safety net thinner to help out taxpayers who are watching their home values decline. It is all well and good for Leesburg Today to advocate concern for Loudoun's families, but every Loudoun family also needs schools, police, roads and EMTs (not to mention water and economic development). Every cut in the budget will come from a service vital to one or another part of our County community.

Our Board of Supervisors will deeply and critically scrutinize every aspect of the County budget, from the schools to the Sheriff's office to parks and recreation, but their decisions are much more difficult than those faced by the Town. The budget proposed by the County Administrator, Kirby Bowers, walks a much finer policy tightrope than that of John Wells. There is no doubt that the Board of Supervisors shares the goals of fiscal responsibility and prudence that Leesburg Today advocates, but the actual achievement of those goals is a taller task than most, including Leesburg Today perhaps, realize.