Loudoun Forms New Tax District To Pay for Fire, Rescue Services

Fast-Growing County Still Depends Heavily on Volunteers

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has established a countywide tax district to pay for fire and rescue protection at a time when the cost of those services is rising rapidly to meet the demand brought on by new residents, homes and businesses.

Starting this year, Loudoun property tax bills will display two numbers: the general taxes owed and the taxes owed for fire and rescue services. Those charges had been combined into a single figure.

Supervisors voted 5 to 4 Wednesday to establish the district. Those who supported the measure said it would not cause taxes to increase, and they promised to stick with their goal of allowing no more than a 5 percent increase in property owners' total tax bills, including the fire and rescue levy.

Still, Supervisor James G. Burton (I-Blue Ridge), who had pushed for the tax district, acknowledged that one purpose of the new district was to let taxpayers know that the cost of fire protection has been a factor in the dramatic increase in Loudoun County tax bills in recent years.

"I wanted to send a message to the public that a transition is occurring," Burton said. "They should not take the service they are getting for granted."

To some supervisors who opposed the district, that argument sounded like a justification to increase county taxes, if not this year, then in the future. In other communities that have fire districts, political leaders have been able to take credit for cutting the general tax rate, or keeping it even, while the tax for fire and rescue has risen.

"It's another excuse to raise taxes without the type of diligence that board members are supposed to have," said Supervisor Eugene A. Delgaudio (R-Sterling).

The demand for fire protection is clearly increasing in Virginia's fastest-growing county. Since 2003, Loudoun County's professional staff has grown from 254 to 445. Fire and rescue's share of the county's $1.1 billion operating budget has ballooned from $22 million to $70 million -- about 5.4 cents of the county's tax rate, which is 89 cents per $100 of assessed value.

In addition, Loudoun spends about $3 million on new firetrucks each year. Its building plan calls for six new fire stations over the next five years.

Yet the semirural county still depends heavily on volunteer emergency squads, not only in rural western communities such as Hamilton and Purcellville but even in Sterling, the denser suburb along the Fairfax County border where fire protection is provided by the Sterling Volunteer Fire Company.

As Loudoun has grown more suburban and its households have become occupied with such commitments as two careers and longer commutes, some of its volunteer squads have struggled to raise money and recruit members. As a result, the county has had to supplement volunteer companies, particularly in rural areas, with career crews. The county has also established career-only fire crews in newer communities, such as South Riding.

In fact, on Wednesday, the day that supervisors established the tax district, they also agreed to spend an extra $500,000 this year to establish a 24-hour-a-day career fire crew in Round Hill, where a volunteer company has provided only overnight coverage.

The combination of career and volunteer fire crews in Loudoun has created tension. Burton said another goal in establishing the tax district was to send a message to Loudoun's volunteer squads that the county is serious about its commitment to funding fire protection.

But not all volunteers see the district's creation as a good move. Randy Breton, who heads the Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department, said the countywide tax district would discourage residents from donating time or money to the volunteers. Why would residents want to help further, Breton asked, when they see on their tax bills how much they pay for fire service?

"My concern is that it will further the degradation of the will and spirit of the volunteer companies," Breton said. "One of the reasons that people move to bucolic Loudoun County is for small-town, old-school, family community values. And yet, if we're going to be nursed on the milk of Loudoun's tax money, there will be no incentive for us to go out to provide the services."