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Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large) became chair of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in January. She previously had a 26-year career as a mental health therapist, mostly in Prince William County, where she provided substance abuse services for offenders.
The Washington Post recently met with Randall, 51, to discuss her first five months in office and her goals for the rest of her term. The following are edited excerpts from that conversation.
Torn between the competing goals of fully funding the school board’s budget request and avoiding a tax increase, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors settled on a compromise spending plan Tuesday for fiscal 2017.
Three Republican supervisors joined three Democrats to approve a $2.46 billion budget that slightly raises the real property tax rate but falls about $16.9 million short of the school board’s request. The school board is now considering options for closing the gap.
Washington Post, April 10, 2016
In a meeting with the Board of Supervisors on Monday, the Loudoun County School Board presented its case for full funding of a $1.07 billion budget it is seeking for fiscal 2017.
Schools Superintendent Eric Williams outlined a plan that would add hundreds of teachers and other school-based staff members to keep pace with enrollment growth, give employees a pay increase and more than double the number of students in full-day kindergarten.
Washington Post, February 28, 2016
Loudoun County Administrator Tim Hemstreet followed the Board of Supervisors’ instructions and delivered a budget plan for the county government and school system for fiscal 2017 that would hold the property tax rate steady at $1.135 per $100 of assessed value.
But Hemstreet stopped short of recommending the $2.5 billion spending plan, which he presented Feb. 10, saying that it was “not adequate to protect the current level of service in many areas.”
Washington Post, February 21, 2016
Loudoun County has recently been ranked among the wealthiest, happiest and best places to live in the country. But there is one list it is unlikely to make: places with the best nightlife. And that makes local business leaders unhappy.
The perception that there is little to do in Loudoun when the workday ends is making it hard for businesses to attract and keep qualified young workers, said Tony Howard, chief executive of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce.
Washington Post, January 31, 2016
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has approved a code of ethics that holds the supervisors to high standards of personal conduct.
The 14-point policy declares that the supervisors should avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, and that they will treat one another, the public and staff members with professionalism, courtesy and respect. It also promises transparency in conducting public business and states that the board will support the rights and recognize the needs of all residents.
Washington Post, January 24, 2016
Northern Virginia officials are uniting again this year in an effort to help the growing numbers of those who have fled war-torn Syria and taken refuge in Turkey.
For the past two years, local officials and volunteers have organized drives that collected more than 43,000 blankets for delivery to refugees in Turkey. This year, as the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey has swelled to more than 2 million, the drive is being expanded to include new and “gently used” winter coats, as well as blankets and cash donations.
Washington Post, November 22, 2015
For the third time this year, the ongoing $41.4 million upgrade of Loudoun County’s aging financial management systems — which handle core computer functions such as accounting, procurement, assessments, taxation and human resources for the county government — missed a scheduled completion date.
The Board of Supervisors allocated $25 million in its fiscal 2010 budget to replace the system, but the cost of the upgrade has exceeded that amount by more than 65 percent.
Washington Post, October 18, 2015
Candidates for chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors squared off in a debate Tuesday, trading blows and staking out differing positions on such issues as all-day kindergarten, the rural economy and the need for a police department.
Four-term incumbent Chairman Scott K. York spent much of the evening on the defensive, responding to attacks from Democrat Phyllis J. Randall and Republican Charlie King, while independent challenger Thomas E. Bellanca mostly stayed out of the heated discussion. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Loudoun County, the debate was held at the Sterling campus of Northern Virginia Community College.
More…
Washington Post, October 11, 2015
Dulles area residents want more roads to ease traffic and connect neighborhoods; biking and walking trails; access to government services; and options for shopping, entertainment and recreation — all while trees, streams and open space are protected.
Those were residents’ central messages in input gathered through Loudoun County’s Dulles Community Outreach Project. The final report, which the county’s planning staff presented to the Board of Supervisors Wednesday, included a list of 28 “consensus recommendations,” many of which involved transportation improvements and community amenities.
Washington Post, September 20, 2015