Former resident thinks Orleans should look at consolidated government to reduce costs

Posted 30 April 2020 at 10:46 am

Editor:

As a former Albion resident (Albion HS class of 1960) I have wondered for a number of years why Orleans County has 10 town and a number of village governments and a county government, while my current county of Loudoun in Virginia has only one.

I wondered if the 400,000 residents of my county had been ill served by our single board of supervisors and if our services such as water, sewer, health, welfare etc. had been neglected by our comparatively streamlined governmental structure. The answer is no.

We live in Ashburn, a community of 40,000. We have no Ashburn Village government, no Town of Ashburn government, only the Loudoun County government. If we want to talk with our elected county supervisor, he/she is a phone call away or we can meet with him/her at a convenient time.

Exactly the same way you interact with your leaders, only we do not have to go through a village and then a town government to be heard by the county government. And we pay lower taxes than Orleans residents. Of the approximate 3,000 counties in the U.S., many are consolidated.

Would turning over village and town functions to the Orleans County Government reduce costs and improve efficiency?  Is it time to discuss consolidation in Orleans County?

Jack Capurso

Ashburn, Virginia