New administrator takes over in Loudoun County

Tim Hemstreet has finished his first week as Loudoun County administrator, and the days were filled with serious conversations about how to deal with a frightening budget picture.

Hemstreet, 41, has arrived as county leaders must begin making uncomfortable decisions about cutting services and raising taxes in one of the most challenging fiscal climates in memory. A shortfall of more than $150 million has been projected.

"We have a difficult time ahead of us," Hemstreet said Friday.

Over the next three weeks, he will continue sitting down with each of about three dozen department heads. The meetings will shape the approach he takes in preparing his first budget, which is due in February.

"They're obviously concerned," he said. "There's been a lot of concern about what's going to happen."

During this honeymoon period, Hemstreet, who studied public administration in college, speaks cautiously and seems deferential to the board that just hired him. In a wide-ranging hour-long conversation with reporters Friday afternoon, he avoided specifics and sidestepped questions about tough choices ahead by citing his lack of expertise on county-specific problems.

"I've been here about 4 1/2 seconds," he said.

Is he ready to lay off some employees?

"Well," he said, taking a deep breath and pausing. "I'm a little more philosophical about that. If that's a decision the board makes, then that's my obligation. . . . As a professional administrator, I'm prepared to make those kinds of recommendations to the board."

What's his vision for the county's future?

"My goals are the same as the Board of Supervisors'," he said. "I work directly for them."

Hemstreet comes from Miami Beach, where since 2005 he had held the dual titles of assistant city manager and assistant executive director of the city's redevelopment agency. The city has about 2,000 employees and an annual operating budget of about $425 million.