The county government asked all our schools and libraries, and our police and fire departments, among others, to submit a three-tier plans for cutting people and services.

Why? Less revenue.

Our local tax structures are still based on the notion that real property produces real income.

That might have been true in 1945, when most land in Loudoun belonged to farmers, and well over 80% of jobs depended on agriculture. Not now.

Today, with the exception of businesses and the few remaining family farms, land and houses are expenses.

Unless they're rented out, or serve as collateral for loans (oops), or do double duty of some kind, houses and land rarely, if ever, "generate" cash.

A local government overly dependent on real property taxes is hamstrung . . . and despite our relative prosperity in this time of national recession we are no exception.

Here in Loudoun, our Schools and Libraries and Fire and Police services are already operating at bare-bones levels.

Residents have literally wept at Library Board meetings when it was feared that their community library and information center might be closed, teachers lost, and fire and police services curtailed.

Our unemployment rate stands at around 5%: half the national average. It's only a quarter of the rate for some southside and far western Virginia communities.

We can afford to support our schools and libraries, our teachers, and our police and fire departments at last year's levels.

Please . . . urge your supervisor to do so. It's the safest, fairest, and best thing you can do for your family, your friends, and our future.