Describing Middleburg as a "model community" and a "small burden on taxpayers in the county," Vice-mayor Mark Tate recently took issue with remarks made by Supervisor Mick Staton at the June 1, 2004, meeting of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.

Staton, of Sugarland Run, had noted that the current method of soliciting funds from developers to cover county expenses associated with rezoning might, in effect, charge "a home that's built in South Riding the cost of building a park in Middleburg."

Staton had apparently made a similar references to Middleburg at the county Land Use Committee meeting on May 19, 2004, implying that western Loudoun often benefits unfairly from funding generated by development in the eastern part of the county.

The funds in question are known as "proffers." Technically they are voluntary financial contributions to the county, made by developers to cover part the costs borne by taxpayers whenever and wherever new development occurs. These "proffers" are negotiated prior to rezoning and are generally based on a fairly standard fiscal impact ratio known as the "Capital Intensity Factor" or CIF, a number developed by the county to ensure that the government provides equal service levels (including parks, libraries, and other government services) on a per-capita basis.

The current CIF provides for a "proffer" of some $33, 034 for a single family, detached unit.

Staton expressed concern that the county could use a cash proffer from a developer in eastern Loudoun to finance capital facilities in western Loudoun, where proffers are rare due to a lack of rezoning activity. "Cash is fungible," Staton said.

According to a government official, however, new home buyers and developers in the eastern part of the county have little reason to worry. "Proffers are clearly defined for a geographic sub-area," said Paul Brown, a capital analyst for the Loudoun County Budget Office. "The money [from a proffer] stays in that sub-area."

Thus, proffers in cash form are devoted solely to serving the inhabitants of a new development.

Vice Mayor Tate's reaction to Supervisor Staton's use of Middleburg as an example of proffer inequity was driven in part by his contention that costs associated with Middleburg's Parks and Recreation facilities are a fraction of the average cost of the other Parks and Recreation facilities in the county. The Middleburg Community Center itself, he noted, costs county taxpayers nothing at all. It is funded entirely through private donations.

Indeed, instead of raising prices for home buyers in South Riding, Tate contends, Middleburg Parks and Recreation appears to be giving Loudoun residents a tax break.

When questioned further about his pointed references to Middleburg, Supervisor Staton explained that his statement was intended as a reference to western Loudoun in general. "I'm not picking on [Middleburg]," he said. "I could have easily said Purcellville or Round Hill."

Former Vice Mayor Mark Tate said, "...to use Middleburg as a whipping boy is certainly misguided."