Treasurer outlines expanded payment options, satellite offices and plan to resume local court collections

Treasurer Henry Eichelberg briefed the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors on March 10 about two FY2026 resource items: adding staff for collections and customer service coverage and implementing a new countywide payment portal. He also detailed plans to resume in‑house collection of fines and forfeitures currently handled externally.

Eichelberg said the treasurer’s office manages nearly $1.5–$2 billion annually and roughly 96% collections on billed amounts, a metric reviewers and bond rating agencies track. The office opened a satellite payment site in Dulles South last year for vehicle tax payments and plans to expand satellite services to cover additional locations including Levittsville to reduce travel burdens for residents in geographically large parts of the county. He said satellite sites will accept checks and credit cards (not cash at all satellite sites for security reasons) and that towns contracting with the county for billing services will not charge separate vehicle license fees in the upcoming cycle.

The treasurer said the office will roll out a new payment portal that will show a resident all county charges (from different departments) in one place and allow one‑stop payments. He said the portal will also enable monthly vehicle tax payment plans for residents who prefer to spread payments across the year; transactions paid by bank debit may carry nominal fees for processing. He said credit‑card fees are passed through and noted earlier board action removed the $25 vehicle license fee going forward; outstanding liability for prior years remains.

Eichelberg described a plan to bring court fines and forfeitures collection back in‑house after the county had used private vendors and the state for collection since about 2019–2020. He said the Commonwealth previously collected those fines and that vendors charged up to 18% to collect; the treasurer’s office intends to build system capability and staffing to handle those collections locally at lower cost, though he said material fiscal gains would likely be modest.

He also requested personnel: a flexible “floater” position to assist across cashiering and collections and a level‑2 collections staffer to support increasing workload amid uncertain economic conditions. Eichelberg said the office has a diverse staff and is identifying bilingual candidates to improve customer service for non‑English speakers.

What’s next: No motion was taken immediately at the March 10 work session; supervisors asked clarifying questions about the portal and satellite sites. Eichelberg said the office would proceed with implementation planning and that staffing requests will be considered as part of the wrap‑up budget process.