This public hearing, held on February 28, 2026, was the final session for community input on the proposed FY2027 budget and tax rates. The Board of Supervisors heard from over 25 speakers on a range of topics, including traffic safety on Evergreen Mills Road, the expansion of School Resource Officers (SROs) into elementary schools, homelessness services, mental health investments, arts funding, and immigration enforcement cooperation.
Well, good morning, supervisors, good morning, staff, and good morning, Loudoun. I'd like to call to order the February twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty-six, Loudoan County Borders Supervisors budget public hearing. This room has a hearing loop. If you need hearing assistance, please please switch your hearing aid to the telecom mode. If you need a headset, we have those available as well. Please see the clerk to um sit uh request one. Would everyone please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. One, our colleague, uh, Caleb Kirsner, the little uh district supervisor has a slight family emergency going on, so he will not be here this morning. He did ask me to let everybody know that he will absolutely uh watch the video um and everyone speaking and take all of your comments into account around the butt any item that we're talking about, thank you. Any item that we're talking about on the budget. Uh, if we are still on the day is if we're still here if we're not finished by ten thirty, I will have to leave. I have to be in Lorton, Virginia at eleven forty-five. I don't know how long the drive to Lorton Virginia takes, but until it takes an hour. And so I have to leave at ten thirty and if if if there are still speakers at that time, Mr. Um Vice Chair Turner will take over at that time. Um, the public hearing is to allow members of the public to address the board on the proposed budget for fiscal year beginning July one, two thousand twenty-six and ending June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-seven. The FY twenty twenty-seven proposed budget and the proposed tax rate on real and personal property taxes for the year twenty twenty-six, beginning July, January one, twenty twenty-six and ending December thirty-first, twenty twenty-six. This is the final public hearing session for comment on the proposed budget. Any member of the public may address the board, but only at one session. Please sign up to speak at this public hearing. If you have not signed up, please do so now. I will ask that by the board's rules of order when you speak, um, you address your comments to the dais, so you address your comments to the board to me. Um if you'd like, um, and and please stay facing the board. Don't turn around and dress your comments to the audience. That is a um something that the board has asked for in our rules of order. Um if you are if you signed up to speak, you'll be allowed at two minutes to speak. If you're in the boardroom when your name is called, please come to the podium, state your name for the record. If you'd like to state the district that you are from, you may do that as well. The timer on the podium, we indicate your remaining time. When your time is expired, please yield the floor to the next speaker. Um when a member of the public is providing comment in the language other than English, we do provide time for the for the speaker and the interpreter. And so um each person will have two minutes. Um, the speaker and the interpreter if you're addressing us in a link in the language other than English. If you're providing your comments by phone and you cannot see the timer because you're at home, please set your own timer because if I stop you when you're at one minute and thirty seconds, it throws off your your flow, and I don't want to do that. But when you get to two minutes, I will stop you. So just have your own timer and time yourself if you do not mind. When taking public input okay, when taking public input, I will ask if there's anyone in the board membership to speak, then I will go to the moderator and ask that there are any speakers online. I think right now I do not think we have speaker. We don't have any remote speakers as of right now, is uh if I'm looking just correctly. But if we do, I will go to Emma and um and ask. Can you hear me? Wonderful. Um I think that might be everything. You should know that that during public hearing, the the board, the board does not normally respond to speakers. Um so you may ask questions and things like that. We'll write them down, we'll get back to you if we uh but normally there's not a back and forth um unless there's something said that is so egregiously wrong that I feel like I need to do to fix that in the moment. But otherwise, we'll just call your names. And so I will call your name three names in advance so that you know that you're next up to come. The first, and if I mispronounce your name, I do apologize in advance. Please um come up, pronounce your name correctly, and accept my apologies in advance.