Ken Reid's Words...

From Ken's Website June 29, 2012

"It is possible that opposition may be generated and the Board will have opted in and back out of the tax district, only to find that we are funding Dulles Rail at the expense of schools and other needs. This would be very bad."      Ken Reid

Tax surcharge could be instituted as condition of opting into Metro     

Dear Constituents: The Documentation on Dulles Rail shows that extending Metro into Loudoun County will NOT alleviate traffic congestion; will be used by fewer than 10 percent of all Loudoun Commuters when it opens in Loudoun around 2018; AND will NOT yield a positive economic impact until 2035-2040, yet will begin charging Leesburg homeowners about 3 cents on top of their County and Town taxes, only to rise as Metro's costs increase.  Metro will NOT necessarily boost our jobs base, will NOT help; home values (except within 1 mile of the two proposed stations, according to data) and will be competition for funding for schools, public safety and other services. Plus, opting out of rail will save $580 million on the project, and about $1.20 each way for users of the Dulles Toll Road (tolls may go to $4.50 EACH way next year!)

$600 Million Bonus If Loudoun Opts Out of Metro - Pay $0... Risk 0...

---

Loudoun Board of Supervisors: Public Input July 2 (Monday) 6:00pm Board Room, 1 Harrison St, Leesburg Opt Out and Loudoun Gets a $600 Million Bonus When Metro Comes to Dulles Airport $600 Million in new revenue is forecasted from development around the Rt. 28, Rt. 606, and Rt. 772 station areas with rail ending at Dulles Airport. Loudoun can use this revenue for road improvements, schools, buses, and parks Loudoun can expand commuter and local bus service as needed Parking garage and bus dropoffs at the Rt. 28 station provide convenient access from Loudoun If Loudoun Opts Out, less rail is built and that should reduce future toll hikes Without paying for Metro, financing is made available for roads like Rt. 606, Rt. 7 and Rt. 50, and for schools, parks, and things that improve your quality of life Opt In and You Will Get Buried in Debt and Taxes Currently, Loudoun lacks a way to fund Rail. Special Tax Districts are proposed, but may fall through, shifting ALL the $1.5 billion expense to homeowners and businesses Residential development at Rt. 772 terminal means massive needs for costly new roads, schools and other government services Without federal funding, tolls will increase rapidly to fund Phase 2 of Dulles Rail Rail will take much of Loudoun’s transportation funding, including gas taxes, for at least 30 years. Much-needed road improvements may be postponed indefinitely Current  commuter and local bus funding will be shifted to funding the entire Metro system

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,

The Letourneau Plan - NO TAXES - CUT SERVICES

Quote of the Day: "I believe in the power of free markets to create jobs and generate growth." Supervisor Matt Letourneau

Matt, we Need Some Answers NOW..what will you cut?

Supervisor Matt Letourneau's Plan to Fund Metro

" ...the county does not necessarily have to increases taxes to pay for the project.  At the end of the day, five of us have to decide that this is a project worth doing as a county,’’ he said. “And if we believe that, then we can find a way to make it work without really impacting the tax rate.” he said.

Since Matt may not plan to provide specifics on the what-where-when of this cost cutting exercise, we thought we should get the conversation going now.

Question: How do you increase spending by at least $30-$50 million a year in taxpayer  dollars and not raise taxes?


Answer: Matt has the answer. Cut spending... more than the Supervisors have already cut spending, a lot more.

___________________________________________________

Good luck folks.
The battle of the red shirts is coming.

Matt, we've heard a rumor that schools will get whacked first and hardest as you propose to remove forever all non-essential public school programs, like school sports and special education.

Question: Is this true? 

___________________________________________________

Matt, my source said...

Loudoun Metro Tax Advisory Committee Formed

Loudoun  Metro Tax Advisory Committee

Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project

Summary of Proposed Loudoun Taxes and Alternative Scenarios

Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Tax

Board-presented options: $0.10- $0.17 (8%-13.7% increase over $1.235 base rate)

Note: statutory limit of $0.125 until June 30, 2013, then increases to $0.25

Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce Resolution: $0.10/$100 (8% increase over $1.235 base rate)

Problems with this proposed tax:

-Most of the western 2/3 of Loudoun is zoned AR1 or AR2, which has been declared by the Zoning Administrator and County Attorney to be commercial. The county is only allowed to exempt up to 15% of potentially impacted properties, so AR1 and AR2 will be hit by the C&I tax if this option is chosen by BOS.

-This funding proposition amounts to asking all businesses countywide to finance a shift of business development to rail station areas.

-A county-wide C&I property tax will be passed on to consumers, increasing the costs of all goods and services purchased in Loudoun County, and driving business out of Loudoun County.

-You may be told these taxes will go away eventually. The promise was made that the Dulles Toll Road tolls would go away. Instead DTR tolls will be soaring to new highs, as these taxes will in the future.

1-Mile Rail Service District

Board-presented options: $0.09- $0.20 (7.2%-16% increase over $1.235 base rate)

Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce Resolution: $0.20/$100 (16% increase over $1.235 base rate)

Problems with this proposed tax:

-The 1-mile tax district will cause businesses to consider locating just outside the line, reducing the projected revenues from the tax district, while undermining the intent of transit-oriented development to consolidate in high-density cores. Loudoun has not studied this; tax districts were not factored into RCLCO’s Dulles Rail Fiscal Impact analysis.

-You may be told these taxes will go away eventually. The promise was made that the Dulles Toll Road tolls would go away. Instead DTR tolls will be soaring to new highs, as these taxes will in the future.

-Creation of a tax district would likely require approval by the Virginia General Assembly, meaning any districts could not go into effect for some time, probably mid-2013 at the earliest, if ever. (waiting for official verification)

Conclusion

-Loudoun’s Supervisors were...

WARNING: Metro = Never Ending Debt and TAXES

WARNING

Note: The information below represents costs generated by Loudoun which are grossly understated, many costs categories are omitted, and forecast revenue is exaggerated.  


Note: There is no guarantee tax districts will ever be formed or that they could come close to generating enough revenue to protect citizens from being permanent  Metro cash cows.


Note: The fact that NONE of the elaborate and complex preparation to establish tax districts has even begun proves that the offer to do this timed at the last minute, is a cheap attempt to defraud the public.


The ONLY safe course is to first OPT OUT to protect the 99.99% of the people of Loudoun who will see no benefit whatsoever  from Rail. 

________________________________________________________________________

Metro to Loudoun At Any Cost? You Will Pay!

Proposed Metro Taxation Scheme

Cost to bring Metrorail two miles past Dulles Airport = $1.5 billion

A combination of these options is being considered by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors: 

Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Tax

$0.10- $0.17 (8%-13.7% increase over $1.235 base rate)

1-Mile Rail District

$0.09- $0.20 (7.2%-16% increase over $1.235 base rate)

2-Mile Rail District

$0.09- $0.21 (7.2%-17% increase over $1.235 base rate)

Countywide Real Property Tax Increase

$0.035 across-the-board property tax increase

Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce on May 23 passed a resolution endorsing the lower-end C&I tax for the County, and the higher-end 1-mile Rail tax district rates. Partial text of their resolution is: