Loudoun Supervisors Vote to Raise Tax Rate to $1.40

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"I thought Metro was free!"

Sorry if this articles subject line is annoying, but that is what our Supervisors will need to do if they Opt In to Metro because it is not free. I hope that by the time you finish reading this, that annoying feeling is ten times worse.


We have 9 self-proclaimed conservative supervisors currently on the Board. Some understand Metrorail completely, while others are waiting for the final numbers on the most unbelievably expensive scam in the history of Loudoun.


There is no need to wait because the real cost numbers have already been delivered to the last Board of Supervisors on April 15, 2011, in the RCLCO Study that removed any doubt as to how bad  Metrorail is for Loudoun. The study estimates lifecycle costs; that means how much we would pay over time for being Metro's cash cows.

Loudoun Budget Report: Schools To Be Cancelled?

If You Want This...

Expect this...

Bringing Metro into Loudoun County sounds good but do not overlook that you absolutely will give up plenty to pay for it. It is not free, in fact the payments will be huge, and they will never stop, NEVER.

If Loudoun opts in to Rail to Loudoun, each and every year after it is completed, Loudoun County will get a bill from Metro for $100 million or more. Loudoun will also write a $25 million check every year for about 30 years to pay the mortgage on the construction costs for Rail to Loudoun. That is roughly equal to the cost of 4 new schools every year. It is time to do a reality check on this spending because our accounts are already overdrawn.

$175 Million - is the cost per year to service Loudoun's current debt.

$1.4 billion - Loudoun’s current debt plus approved bond issues.

Tim Hemstreet just proposed a $1.27 FY13 Tax Rate. That sounds good. But what happens when the big rail bills start coming in? It’s pretty clear from our supervisors’ recent campaigns that raising taxes is off the table.