February's meetings of the Middleburg Town Council focused sharply on the disproportionate impact of proposed cuts in the County budget on Loudoun's small towns in general, and Middleburg in particular.

In response to draft departmental budgets calling for the closing of Middleburg Elementary School and the shuttering of its library, Council had already passed resolutions supporting both institution, dispatched its Mayor and members of Council to appear before the School Board and County Supervisors and, in January, issued invitations to Blue Ridge District Supervisor, Jim Burton, and Board Chairman, Scott York, to clarify the Board's intent before Council.

Burton spent well over an hour at Council's February 9 work session. A last-minute family emergency prevented York from appearing at the Thursday, February 12, regular meeting of Council.

Burton on Appraisals, Revenues, and Budget Cuts

On February 9 Supervisor Jim Burton reiterated the position on real-estate appraisals and property tax rates he's held consistently throughout the recent County budget crisis. Unfortunately, County property tax rates must be raised to make up for the precipitous decline in property values across most of Loudoun. The rates cannot be raised enough, however to avoid serious cuts in the County's budget. To do so, Burton insists, would invite "disaster" for both businesses and individual property owners whose real-estate holdings retained most if not all of their assessed value.

Burton is not in favor, however, of closing any existing libraries or public schools. Repeating views since published in his on-line newsletter, Burton calls for cuts that are "... felt equitably across the County and across users."

"Thus, he notes, "I would oppose the singling out of individual facilities for closure, including the small, community libraries and schools."

"System-wide furloughs and salary freezes," he continued, "are a far fairer approach.

Burton also reminded the Council that the Supervisors would hold Public Hearings on February 25-26 and, in a special joint session with the County School Board, on Saturday, February 28. "This last is important given the division of authority between the two Boards over financial matters," he emphasized. "Under State law, the Board of Supervisors (BOS) only determines the total amount of funding for the school system. The allocation of those funds is at the sole discretion of the School Board. While the BOS could allocate sufficient funding to retain particular programs, there is no guarantee that the School Board would allocate the funding in such a manner. Thus, it is important that the School Board hear directly from you about your priorities throughout the process."

The same is true for the Library Board of Trustees, on which Burton serves as the Board of Supervisors representative. The Library Board, while opposed to any decrease in library funding, has decided in principle to adopt Burton's system-wide approach to cost reduction.