Until three years ago, the Loudoun Fire and Rescue departments in Ashburn and Sterling could rely on annual proffers for operating expenses and equipment purchases.
When a developer built a community, he was asked to pay a continuous stipend to support the emergency services. Supervisor Jim Clem (R-Leesburg) recalled the threat of a lawsuit brought an end to that practice. "A lot of these fire and rescue (companies) relied on the proffers for their acquisitions," he said. "They could have gone bankrupt."
Home owners associations provide annual funding, and the Board of Supervisors agreed to use county funds to replace the proffers. The latter move raised questions about whether it would be a temporary fix. Fire and rescue companies in the west also want county funding, but their portion would be smaller. The western portion of the county is less populated and has less development.
Developers offer proffers, such as money, roads and schools, when they negotiate property rezoning.
Jim Burton, a member of the Public Safety Committee, said Monday that Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Commission needs to find a permanent funding method to replace about $2.5 million in lost proffers.
Bruce Tulloch, another committee member and vice-chairman of the supervisors, agreed. "I think we need to put a period behind the sentence to find a lasting and final funding source," he said.
Burton said the commission had recommended a separate fire tax to finance the emergency services.
Clem said he and Burton would discuss the matter further with John Sandy, assistant to the county administrator, and then meet with the commission.
The Fiscal Impact Technical Review Committee also is studying the issue of how much developers could pay in initial proffers for emergency services.
Meanwhile, Acting Chief Howard Dawley presented a report on the number of calls that the various fire and rescue companies responded to during October. He said the heaviest calls continue to be from Sterling across Route 28 to Ashburn and north of Route 7 between Leesburg and Ashburn. Increases have been in Brambleton, South Riding and Lansdowne.
<1b>Ñ Andrea Zentz