Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Metro to Loudoun - Ashburn and Broadlands Speak Up



The fearsome foursome of Loudoun Supervisors is joining forces with other familiar icons to push for Big Government - Big Spending induced "Metro Hope and Metro Change." Yes we can baby!

It is now or never they sing in chorus as they push to  pass this thing

Why hurry? They are nervous because Loudoun Opt Out and our many friends are working hard to inform the public of the very real possibility that we will be awash in new taxes if they succeed. They think that pesky little detail of "Who Pays" is just a minor glitch the team can iron out. 

Will they stick it to the whole county with massive property tax increases? Will they put up a new sign that says, "Open for Business Taxation" with a Countywide Commercial Industrial Tax or will their trusting and ill-informed people in the 2 mile Tax Penalty districts be the ones who pay dearly for this under-funded pork project? People of Loudoun, cast your vote soon because if you don't speak up that will be interpreted as saying 


"Go ahead, tax as much as you need ... whatever it takes"


Matt, Ralph, Shawn, Scott, please contact these people to let them know that all we need to do to pay the $50 to $100 million/year that this WILL eventually cost,
is cut a program or two like the Master Gardeners, and badda beam, badda boom, we have it! Better hurry before the Kool-aide wears off. When you finish with this list we have tons more to share. Way more names of actual Loudoun residents, not astro-turfers that showed up to give your the green shirt mandate.


7 days ago
1 person likes this reason
Yes we need the metro. All of Loudoun will benefit then all of Loudoun should pay, not just the 2 mile corridor.
6 days ago
0 people like this reason
If EVERYBODY will benefit from the metro, why are only a SELECT group designated to pay for this?? I oppose strongly to this!
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
Completely against the special tax district. I thought I was pro-metro but it is clear we need more answers before BOS decides on 7/4. What are the additional costs to our residents, who will pay, how long, potential increases, and how this will affect local traffic & roads, further widening of roads between Rt 7 & 50, & east/west crossroads,and how the increased development around the stations will impact the funding to our schools & class size.
4 days ago
0 people like this reason
An unfair and unreasonable tax. All will benefit and all should pay. No special tax districts to finance the Silver Line!
4 days ago
0 people like this reason
this is ridiculous! Strongly oppose special tax district!
5 days ago
0 people like this reason
T.E.A. - Taxed Enough Already and on a fixed income.
1 day ago
0 people like this reason
While Metro Rail to Dulles Airport would be nice, there is absolutely no - repeat, no - justification for the monumental taxes and fees being proposed to pay for it.
The Silver Line should have been built 10, 20 or 30 years ago. That the powers that were at the time were too short-sighted to see the need for the rail line then is not the fault of the people who live in the area now.
We are getting along fine without the Silver Line and have been for years. If it is so unaffordable that it cannot be paid for without imposing crippling property tax increases (and toll hikes, for that matter), then we don't need it.
In case you haven't noticed, dear Board of Supervisors, this economy is not yet back on its feet. There are still people in Loudoun County who are unemployed or under-employed and struggling to keep their homes as it is. How do you propose they pay for this tax hike?
Until Metro, the State of Virginia and the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors can find a fair, affordable way to pay for the Silver Line, then forget it!
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
Oppose tax completely!!!!
1 day ago
0 people like this reason
I oppose all taxes aimed at funding programs that I do not want. If Metro is funded, it should be funded strictly by those who ride it.
1 day ago
0 people like this reason
It seems unreasonalbe to charge only a few in the county for a service that is for the use of all. Additionally, this has the potential to be a double, or value-added tax. If the property values inside the buffer increase, those residents will enjoy a higher property tax as well as a higher value, and the higher value will be included in the additional 'Special Tax'.
Yes, Special indeed!
2 days ago
0 people like this reason
creation of special metrorail tax district for two miles is unfair. If residents only within two miles are paying for metrorail no one outside this area should use it.
4 days ago
0 people like this reason
This proposed 2-mile tax district is unfair and creates excessive burden on only certain residents, whether they want to use the Metro or not. I strongly oppose this.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
This is a ridiculous tax.
1 day ago
0 people like this reason
Metro in Loudoun is a half baked idea that will taint our beautiful neighborhoods, look at Springfield Mall for example. After they built the metro going through there years back crime spiked, just like it will if it is allowed to come through Loudoun. The Riff Raff will have frequent access to our neighborhoods. Also, why should I be taxed for something I'll never use. If its forced down our throat then it should be paid for solely by the people that ride it. If the board of Directors approve it, then the ones that were for it need to get ousted!
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
I am opposed to creating a special tax district to pay for the Dulles Rail Project.
4 days ago
0 people like this reason
It is patently unfair to impose a tax on only certain residents and business owners of the county if the Metro extension is, in fact, seen as a benefit to the entire county. Metro has been sold to the residents as a draw to businesses that would result in lower property taxes, NOT higher taxes.
4 days ago
0 people like this reason
because any money that the government gets will get mismanaged and mis-applied. The funds should come from the taxes we already pay, no from new taxes
4 days ago
0 people like this reason
Metro doesn't have enough riders now to support itself and has to be subsidized. Metro is a waste, only a few want it or use it. Most do not so why should the minority dictate what we pay for and use??
3 days ago
0 people like this reason
I do not want my taxes to go up. It's too much for a homeowner to absorb especially if your on a fixed income. We pay enough taxes.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
Unfair tax, will move
1 day ago
0 people like this reason
There is no reason why a 2-mile district should pay for a project that they may not even want or use, let alone bear the cost for others in neighboring districts to benefit.
2 days ago
0 people like this reason
I suspect that those who live within the one and two mile zones will not be the only ones to benefit from the Metro. Selecting those living within the one and two mile zone to bare the cost for the Metro does not seem right. What about all those who are driving into our community just to use the Metro? What about the new businesses coming to Loudoun County because of the Metro? What about the new people who will be coming into the county because of the Metro? I'm not sure anyone has really given any thought to this.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
We have the highest property taxes in the region. It's inevitable that the 2 miles of Metro track will put us in a budget deficit for over 30 years or perhaps longer. Not willing to do that to my neighbors nor myself. The rail cannot be built on hopes and dreams and the numbers are crystal clear that this is a money pit, literally.
3 days ago
0 people like this reason
My property values will go up accordingly to how close I live to the metro and therefore so will my taxes. Additional taxes are unreasonable and unfair. I would live more than 2 miles driving distance from the proposed metro station but because of the radius circle I would live inside the special tax district and would pay considerable more taxes than someone who lives just hundreds of yards from me.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
I used to be pro metro too. I refuse to be hijacked into being taxed to death and not only having to pay higher tolls which is going to happen but also an increase in property tax and now a "special tax district" plan. The people that will use the rail most are getting away with a much lighter pocketbook than those that will be paying who really are the minority in riders. Insane. I would rather not support the metro than be taxed to the point of absurdity.
1 day ago
0 people like this reason
Cannot understand why a 2-mile district must be penalized for something others in 10+ square mile radius are just as likely to use and benefit from.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
This is not a fair way to tax us, it is not just benefiting this 2 mile zone.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
All of Loudoun should pay for this if they want to use it not just a select few should carry the burden
4 days ago
0 people like this reason
What group of politicians conceived of this idiotic idea? Why should residents in a 2 mile radius bear the brunt of an asset that will benefit the whole county? One could argue that the increase in traffic for outsiders using the Metro will decrease the value of properties within this zone. Additionally their are many 55+ communities in this are made up of retirees who probably will not utilize the system or will do so only on a limited basis. If property values increase because of this asset the county will reap additional property tax revenue. You guys need to come up with a better idea, one that will have all taxpayers of Loudoun County fund this project. I'm against the tax district concept and I vote!
1 day ago
0 people like this reason
Taxing a few for the benefit of all is wrong.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
The proposed special tax district is completely unreasonable.
6 days ago
0 people like this reason
All Loudoun County residents will benefit and should accordingly share the tax burden.
3 days ago
0 people like this reason
If they want metro, which would be nice, then all of Virginia should pay for it.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
While the metro has a lot of positives, expecting only those living next to it to foot the bill is very unreasonable. It benefits a lot more folks in the county and beyond. I am already being 'taxed' everytime I use the toll road, and I refuse to be double taxed for a facility that I will likely use very very rarely.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
I'm against the 2-mile metro tax district.
7 days ago
0 people like this reason
This measure is outrageous. As the petition states, the proposed Metro stop will be used by a great many more than those within 1-2 miles. Also, any argument for this proposal based upon increased land values is a bit disingenuous. Potential increases in land values will include those who own land well beyond the 2 mile boundary, much deeper into Loudoun County. I note there has been neary a mention of the increased traffic congestion and crime rates that those within 2 miles of the station can expect, which, any fair-minded individual would agree, offsets the increased land value arguments.
This proposal is tantamount to tyranny of the masses...it fails the fairness test, big time.
about 3 hours ago
about 3 hours ago
about 16 hours ago
about 17 hours ago
about 19 hours ago
1 day ago
1 day ago
1 day ago
1 day ago
1 day ago

Examiner Local Editorial: Labor agreement not only problem with Dulles Rail


The other major hurdle is that 75 percent of the cost for this $2.8 million rail extension will be paid by a subset of Northern Virginia commuters who use the Dulles Toll Road. Nowhere else in America do local taxpayers pay such a high percentage for a mass transit project -- especially one linking the nation's capital to a major international airport. But the Federal Transit Administration decided the Silver Line did not meet federal cost effectiveness standards, and eliminating the PLA does not change that -- or the fact that the economic and financial feasibility of the project has never been definitively determined. 
Metro -- which already has a $13.5 billion maintenance and capital replacement backlog -- still refuses to provide even basic ridership, revenue and operating cost projections. According to an April 12 memo to Loudoun County officials from consulting firm Desman Associates obtained by The Washington Examiner, "detailed daily boardings projections -- which are critical to forecasting parking demand -- [were] not available" from either MWAA or WMATA. The only forecasts available were from 2004.


Tax Pig

Public Advocate   
 

No comments:

Post a Comment