Council Supports R.O.C.K. Going into Budget Vote

The Leesburg Town Council will likely fund R.O.C.K. and additional hours at Ida Lee Recreation Center in fiscal 2012, if council members don’t change their minds before tonight.

At its work session on Monday, members expressed support for the R.O.C.K. Program, a community outreach program that several residents had expressed concern might not be funded in the coming fiscal year, and extra hours at Ida Lee as they discussed the budget vote, scheduled for tonight.

 The R.OC.K. Program will cost the town $119,000 in fiscal 2012, and adding the additional hour to Ida Lee Recreation Center would cost $13,000.

Support for ROCK was virtually unanimous, with Council Member Thomas S. Dunn, II, saying he still had unanswered questions about the program. “It looks like the straw vote is strong support for R.O.C.K.,” Mayor Kristen C. Umstattd said.

All members supported adding the extra hour to Ida Lee Recreation Center.

Town Manager John Wells said the county approved additional $166,000 for school resource officer funding, and state 599 revenues of nearly $60,000, leaving $226,000 in additional revenues available to the town.

 Wells said staff was still trying to bring closure to health insurance renewal for town staff as of Monday. He said they could count on savings of $163,000 in the budget.

 However, an unanticipated cost to the town is fuel for town vehicles. Gas prices “virtually change on the signs as you drive by,” which will effect the fuel costs for town vehicles, adding $140,000 in costs, Wells said.

He said overall, the town had about $200,000 left to spend in the proposed $83.8 million budget, with a property tax rate of 19.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.

 The budgeting season began with a projected $2.8 million deficit, but staff had cut spending in some areas, and sought new taxes and other sources of revenue to balance it out.

 The final vote is scheduled to take place at the Town Council meeting tonight at , beginning at 7:30 p.m.