Leesburg staff presents proposed fiscal 2026 budget with infrastructure and staffing requests

Town Manager Kevin Dettler presented the town’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget to the Leesburg Town Council during a work session, saying the town remains in “good strong financial shape” and that new revenues from the annexation of Compass Creek improve near-term flexibility.

Dettler said the general fund is proposed to rise from about $82.5 million to $88 million, and the total budget—including the general fund, utilities fund and the capital improvement program (CIP)—is proposed at roughly $158 million. He said changes in the CIP from project timing account for much of the year-to-year variance.

The proposal includes a mix of recurring and one-time items. Dettler recommended holding the real property tax rate at 17.74 cents per $100 of assessed value. He said residential assessments (new and existing) are projected to increase about 8% overall, with existing-home assessments rising about 6.7% on average; commercial assessment growth has been driven largely by data centers.

Why it matters: the presentation grouped near-term operations, capital planning and service demands. Dettler emphasized that growth has increased demand for police, public works and development-review capacity and warned the council that some requests will require “hard decisions.”

Key cost drivers and proposals - Personnel: the proposed budget includes an average 3% merit pool and a 2% cost-of-living adjustment. Health insurance costs are projected to rise about 9%; staff and the town would split the increase 50/50, as in the prior year. Dettler proposed new positions including a dedicated cybersecurity/security officer and a higher-level IT manager for the police department, and requested two additional lieutenants to expand police command coverage.

- Public works and transportation: Dettler said the town’s transportation-review staff is a bottleneck and proposed an additional engineering position to support Neeraja and the public works team. He also proposed a manager dedicated to the pavement and bridge program to oversee an accelerated resurfacing plan.

- Pavement program: the current annual resurfacing funding of about $775,000 leaves a typical repaving cycle near 30 years. Dettler proposed an initial $1 million increase in FY26 and a ramp toward $2.5 million later (transcript reference: “’31”), describing the need to phase increases rather than “throw a bunch of money at it” and stressing staffing to manage higher volumes.

- CIP and major projects: the CIP contains 79 projects. Large ongoing projects include the new police station (expected to fully transition staff in spring–summer with old-building work to follow) and the town shop expansion. The Lawson Road project is in final federal environmental review and includes $900,000 in federal funds secured through Senator Wexton but cannot proceed with land acquisition until federal review is complete.

- Utilities: the utilities fund is consistent with the council’s previously adopted five-year rate plan; the average residential bill increase in the proposal is 4.1%, the second year of a five-year plan.

Budget risks and one-time funding Dettler identified key risks that affect the town’s revenue assumptions: the future of the vehicle license fee (see separate article) and pending state legislation affecting speed-camera revenue. The proposed budget assumes recognition of about $900,000 in vehicle-license-fee revenue; if the fee is eliminated, that reduction must be addressed in the FY26 budget unless offset by outside one-time funds. The speed-camera program had been expected to generate about $500,000 in revenue in prior assumptions; pending legislation could redirect net revenue to the state, affecting town projections.

Staff also proposed using reserves strategically, including a debt-service reserve and roughly $1 million in one-time unassigned fund balance to address select items. Dettler noted a list of unfunded enhancements and said the budget books list items that did not make the cut.

Council process and next steps Dettler said the budget books would be posted and made available to council and the public that night and that staff will meet individually with council members. He asked council members to review the materials and said formal actions are scheduled under the traditional timetable unless the council directs a different process. The presentation closed with staff saying they are ready to answer questions and move the budget process forward.

Ending: The manager emphasized infrastructure and service maintenance as priorities and asked council to weigh staffing and capital choices in the months ahead. No formal vote on the budget occurred at the work session; the council will consider the manager’s recommendations through the advertised budget process and future scheduled meetings.