Brady PieperLoudoun County, Virginia’s third-most populous county, is answering the call for public schools and capital projects under a new budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 26).
The new budget, considered by the county’s Board of Supervisors, would spend $4.7 billion in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The proposal would invest nearly $2 billion in Loudoun County Public Schools and amend the county’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to include $3.8 billion in funding for county and school projects over the CIP’s six-year planning period.
While the budget proposal does increase total spending, Loudoun County officials anticipate it can accommodate new investments without raising residents’ taxes. If approved, eligible residents would be taxed at a rate of $0.805 per $100 of assessed property value, slightly decreasing the average homeowner tax bill to $6,280 in tax year 2025.
“While this budget’s rate of growth is higher than the county’s average, it is affordable even within a budget that proposes the most significant tax rate decrease in at least the past decade,” County Administrator Tim Hemstreet said. “We can accommodate this largely because of increased revenues associated with the data center industry, which now generates 38% of all general fund revenues.”
Under the new budget, the county’s existing CIP would be amended and expanded with several new projects, including pedestrian, bridge, major transportation corridors, space strategy, facility renovations and bicycle facilities and infrastructure. The FY 2025-2030
The amended CIP would earmark $1.5 billion for transportation projects, $1.3 billion for county projects and $1 billion for school projects.
While the new CIP update is limited, the county will carry important topics into the development of the FY 27 budget process, including a full analysis and recommendations based on future funding increases.
As one of the county’s largest priorities, the budget proposal seeks to fully fund Loudoun County Public Schools. The budget would include a year-over-year increase in the local tax funding transfer of $123.4 million for the district.
School funding would, primarily, support personnel costs, including compensation and benefits for existing staff and funding for new positions. The budget seeks to also expand investments for behavioral support, athletic trainers, the Recovery School, the ACCESS Academy with George Mason University, inflation reduction and school safety initiatives.
Other inclusions highlighted in the budget proposal are:
- $24.7 million in total competitive employee compensation adjustments. This effort would include a 4% merit increase for the general workforce, a 5.5% average pay increase for Fire and Rescue services and an 8% average pay increase for Sheriff’s deputies.
- $22 million in base budget adjustments for current county services.
- $17.3 million for affordable housing.
- The creation of 240 jobs within 30 county departments, including new positions in facilities set to open within the next two years.
The budget proposal’s development was guided by several factors that influence the county’s financial position, such as an estimated 2% rise in the job base for FY 26, economic and population growth, a 20% increase in the value of taxable real property during 2024 and adhering to Board of Supervisors’ guidance for the county’s Revenue Stabilization Fund.
The Revenue Stabilization Fund, established in 2023, is designed to address risks associated with data center tax revenue. Under this FY 26 budget proposal, the fund would be considered fully funded with an additional $47.7 million contribution to the data center initiative.
The Board of Supervisors will consider public, stakeholder and school board input before finalizing the FY 26 budget, which is expected to be adopted on April 1.
More information about the budget proposal is available on Loudoun County’s Management & Budget webpage.
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