Three nonprofits made presentations at the Board of Supervisors' public hearing Tuesday night asking for tax relief.
The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, named for its Redskins-owning philanthropist founder, provides scholarship for bright but underpriveledged children across the country. In Loudoun, it has $200,000 worth of scholarship invested in five current scholars. The foundation plans to increase that amount to $700,000. The estimated value of the foundation's land plus future facility in Lansdowne is $12.6 million, adding up to estimated real estate property tax of $139,710 by the time construction is completed in 2006. At the last board meeting, Treasurer Roger Zurn warned the supervisors against granting the exemption; he said the amount of scholarship the foundation provided to Loudoun County would not outweigh the detrimental financial aspect of losing the tax dollars.
Friends of the Animal Shelter and Guardians of Homeless Animals Inc. began operations in Loudoun County in 1974 and provides no-kill shelter services for cats and dogs. The shelter paid $8,965.22 in real estate property tax in 2004.
The Robert and Dee Leggett Foundation has requested tax exemption for 894 acres of land near Purcellville, which it leases out to the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship for one dollar a year. More than 12 miles of trails are open to the public. The foundation purchased the land in 1999 for $2.3 million. In 2004, it paid $4,548.68 in taxes.
Supervisors voted to forward all three applications to the March 1 business meeting in order to allow county staff time to evaluate the fiscal impact of granting the exemptions.