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Loudoun County Proposed FY2010 budget and Real Estate tax rate

Loudoun County’s proposed FY2010 budget is made available online at “Loudoun County Proposed Budget 2010″ . Please click here to get an understanding of the budget process and also to get more information on public hearings concerning the budget as well as the real estate tax rate. The proposed tax rate is 1.29% ($1.29 per every $100 of assessed value), which is about 13% higher than last year, whereas the assessment values have dropped by about 14%. Overall, on an average, there could be a slight decrease in the taxes paid this year compared to last year. Please note that these are averages and individual situations could differ.

Loudoun County Adopts FY 2009 Budget, with a 1.14% real estate tax rate

After long discussions and many public hearings, yesterday, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors agreed on a 1.14% real property tax rate, which basically is $1.14 per every $100 of the real property’s assessment value.

This rate represents a 19% increase in the real estate tax rate, but the overall average tax bill for homeowners could be about 6.5% ($308) higher than last year. This is because of the drop in assessment values (which leads to lower taxes, but the increase in rate more than makes up for it). Last year’s tax rate (for Fiscal year 2008) was $0.96 per $100.

The reasons given for such an increase in the tax rate is the drop in assessment values of real property (because of the slower market) as well as the continued growth of the county school system, which is expected to add around 3000 more students this coming Fall. During the public hearings about the county budget and tax rate, there were a lot of residents concerned about higher tax bills but there was also another set of county residents who supported the increased budget of the school system.

Click here to view the County Press Release.

April is ‘National Fair Housing’ month

I participated in a conference on ‘Fair Housing’ yesterday, conducted in commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the ‘Fair Housing Act’ and it is amazing that we get to learn something new everytime we attend an event like this (even though I’ve been to several Fair Housing classes and seminars before). The Keynote address was delivered by Kim Kendrick, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), who said that Fair Housing is not an option, but the law and the Fair Housing Act is only as strong as we make it. More than the law, I think it has to be the Spirit. This spirit of Fair Housing needs to be fostered among one and all.

Another speaker, James Karantonis, founder and Director of Human Relations and Communications Inc., used humor and entertainment to present and help people understand biases, perceptions, stereotypes, diversity, prejudice, and more. I really loved his presentation as well as the style and format. The first thing he started with was a question to a participant on how many kids she has and the reply was ‘two’. He then asked her if both are the same (looks and behavior). When she replied in the negative, he asked her ‘Why? What went wrong? Why are they not the same? What did you do wrong or different?”. I think this sums up the whole issue of no two being alike. They are what they are and that’s it. We just have to work around the differences.

I think I should stop here before getting deep into any kind of discussion. I felt like writing this post to highlight the Fair Housing month as well as to appreciate the speakers and the conference conducted by Fairfax County Human Rights Commission. Click here to go to the “Fair Housing Act“.

Earth Hour – Saturday March 29, 2008 8:00PM-9:00PM Local Time

On March 29, 2008 at 8 p.m., join millions of people around the world in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund.

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation. More than 100 cities across North America will participate, including theUS flagships – Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco, and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Earth Hour invites everyone throughout North America and around the world to turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8 p.m. (your own local time)–whether at home or at work, with friends and family or solo, in a big city or a small town.

A drink of water from a Fire Hose

Have you ever tried to get a drink of water from a fire hose??

I read these words today in a magazine and they immediately reminded me of two of my clients who talked to me yesterday.

I was talking to some of my clients yesterday and atleast two of them asked me about the current market situation. They then referenced a front page report in the Washington Post the previous day which said “February existing home sales went up”. All I said was that it cannot be trended as it is only for one month. And today, I’m waiting for their call to ask me about the CNN report which said “New Home Sales hit the lowest in February”.

Here we are, flooded with too much information, like water gushing out of a fire hose. The information that is available today might be correct and reliable but just a bit too much to digest on a daily basis. I am sure we would long for someone holding a cup of water that we needed, when we are unsuccessfully trying to drink off the fire hose.