Leesburg council finalizes FY2026 budget markup; delays cybersecurity hire, trims recurring stormwater funding

The Leesburg Town Council completed its final markup of the fiscal year 2026 proposed budget during a session that narrowed a $647,023 shortfall through a mix of staffing and program reductions and a short delay to one planned hire.

The council’s proposed general fund budget had increased by $5.5 million over FY2025; about $2 million of that increase is new revenue tied to a recent annexation and most of that annexation revenue is being transferred to the utilities fund to offset in‑town rates for newly annexed customers. Another roughly $2 million of the increase came from Compass Creek real estate receipts. Council members said those two items are new, one‑time revenue sources and distinct from growth in the town’s existing tax base.

Council members and staff had previously identified revenue losses from policy changes — notably eliminating the $25 vehicle license fee and reducing a motor‑vehicle tax exemption — that left a remaining gap of about $647,023. The town manager presented recommended reductions to fill most of that gap, including removing a vacant senior engineer position in community development, dropping one of two proposed police lieutenant positions, reducing some marketing and training allocations, deferring town‑hall window replacement, and trimming consultant funding for sustainability work.

After line‑by‑line straw votes, the council approved removing one police lieutenant from the FY2026 staffing plan and approved a set of smaller program reductions, including cuts to marketing for two events, a customer‑service training line, a lean Six Sigma study, consultant funding in the sustainability program, and a small operating reduction at Veterans Park. A proposed reduction of the cost‑of‑living adjustment from 2% to 1.5% failed to get the votes to pass.

Council members debated a proposed new cybersecurity officer funded at a total compensation package of about $215,000. Councilmember Cummings argued the town should require a recognized cybersecurity certification such as CISSP or a Global Information Assurance Certification if it is committing the full funding level. Town staff and the HR director said the job description lists those certifications as preferred rather than required to avoid narrowing the candidate pool and that staff would pursue certified candidates as part of recruitment. An attempt to remove the cybersecurity position from the budget failed, and instead the council voted to delay hiring the cybersecurity officer for five months, with a caveat that staff may hire earlier if an appropriately qualified candidate is identified and funds (vacancy savings or other under‑burn) are available.

On stormwater, staff reminded the council that inspections and related work are a regulatory obligation under the town’s MS4 permit. The council voted to reduce recurring stormwater management funding by approximately $120,000 for FY2026 with the intent to replenish that amount when anticipated computer‑equipment tax revenue from local data centers becomes available after July 1. Several council members, including the Vice Mayor, expressed concern about using not‑yet‑realized revenue to fund required stormwater work and warned the item must be re‑funded when the data‑center receipts are realized.

Town staff said with the package of reductions and the five‑month delay to the cybersecurity hire the FY2026 budget will balance and that the council can adopt the budget and set the real‑property tax rate at the public hearing scheduled the next day. The town manager and staff said they will prepare the final materials for the public hearing and adoption.

Votes and next steps The council used straw votes during the markup to confirm changes and asked staff to update the budget calculator in real time so members could see how each decision affected the remaining gap and the projected tax rate. Staff told the council that, assuming the council adopts the 17.74 real‑property tax rate at the public hearing and approves the reductions as marked up, the town will present a balanced FY2026 budget and capital improvement program for adoption the following evening.

(For context: staff reported the original FY2026 proposed general fund increase was $5.5 million, including about $2 million from annexation transfers to utilities and about $2 million from Compass Creek real estate; the remaining year‑over‑year revenue and expenditure specifics are recorded in the town’s budget materials.)