LTE: Metro Tax District Hurts Some Small Businesses

Chairman York and Loudoun Board of Supervisors,

I am one of the leasers in the Ashburn Technology Park, a property on Waxpool Road that you have recently proposed to move into the Metro Tax District. I cannot express how disappointed I am that you decided to bring this property into the discussion.

For some of you that may not know it, most leasers are responsible for their prorated portion of the property taxes for the building or property they occupy. While I am unsure that double dipping Raging Wire, (selling them the adjacent property and now charging them additional taxes), will hurt their bottom line, this could be the final straw for many of us, the small businesses just hanging on.

My company will not get any direct benefit from Metro, as I am sure no one will be packing up their HVAC units and bringing them to my shop by Metro. My employees live close by or in WV and won't ride Metro to get here. I don't think Metro will let me wrestle a 20-ton Air Conditioning Unit on one of their cars to take somewhere to install, do you?

That leaves me paying fees on the toll road to get to some of my customers and I see that the MWAA Board just passed toll hikes on that road for the next 2 years. I am sure hikes on the Greenway are coming too. When does it stop? If included in the Tax District my business will be subsidizing Metro in at least 2 ways while seeing ZERO benefit. Taxes and Tolls!!!!

There are quite a few other small businesses in the Ashburn Technology Park that won't directly benefit from Metro either. Without taking too much time to ponder it, I am not sure any of them will. We are not really within walking distance of any Metro Station and provide no services that most folks would take Metro and then walk to. We are the smalI guys, the 3,000-square-foot flex/warehouse lease folks, contractors, care givers, dog groomers, swimming class school, gym, etc., that provide the basic services that our county residents rely on. 

On another note, if Raging Wire had gone elsewhere would I even be writing this email? My gut tells me that answer is NO! We were not included earlier and should not be now. I ask that you and the rest of the Board reconsider this and look out for those of us who work hard and would like to continue to do business in Loudoun County.

John Murphy, President
Murphy's Mechanical Services, Inc.