Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Fails Loudoun Supervisor Vote

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — A guaranteed income program failed to get enough votes for approval by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

The vote against the program came after the board's Finance/Government Operations and Economic Development Committee voted 3-2 to recommend the program with Supervisor Kristen Umstattd (D-Leesburg) and Supervisor Matt Letourneau (R-Dulles) opposed. The full board on Tuesday voted 3-5 with one abstention.

Supervisor Koran Saines (D-Sterling) had introduced the motion to approve the program. The proposal called for 60 families to receive $500 monthly payments for 18 months. The county estimates about 10.7 percent of households have income less than $49,999 based on the 2022 American Community Survey.

"This is another tool in our toolbox that would help and augment our social services and aid programs that exist today in our county," said Saines at Tuesday's meeting. "We just heard a few moments ago, for example, that our pantries are bare...So say, if somebody's participating in this program, that's extra money in their pocket to go and buy the necessary food for their families."

Supervisor Laura TeKrony (D-Little River) questioned why the program cost was $2 million when it would cost $540,000 for 60 households to receive $500 monthly for 18 months. County staff said that was based on an example of the county recruiting an organization to administer the program.

Several supervisors expressed skepticism about giving funds not restricted to a specific need.

Letourneau said he doesn't support the program although it comes "from a place of a sincere desire to help." The supervisor noted the county can't require program participants to respond to questions to gain feedback, according to Virginia code.

"At the end of the day, we're using a couple million dollars of taxpayer money, and we're giving out checks to folks with absolutely no strings attached for any possible purpose," said Letourneau. "And that, to me, is not a good use of taxpayer dollars, and it's not the most effective way, I don't believe, to help those who are in need.

Umstattd agreed, expressing support for boosting funding instead for critical areas of need like food, shelter and medical care.

"Rather than putting more funds into our food pantries, and we heard tonight that they have a desperate need for more food, that they are running out of food for the population they serve, rather than putting more money into either the Loudoun Free Clinic or Health Works of Northern Virginia...and rather than putting more money into affordable housing, all of which ventures have already in place infrastructure, we are creating a whole new infrastructure to give money, as Supervisor Letourneau says, to folks whose need is well demonstrated, but without guardrails at this point for any use," said Umstattd.

Chair Phyllis Randall drew a comparison to her opposition to school vouchers, which use taxpayer funds that would go toward a public school for the family's school of choice.

"It's not even about totally about the amount, to me, because if we are saying we're going to put an amount of money to aside for people to get tuition reimbursement, okay, I'll do that," said Randall. "Childcare reimbursement, I'll do that. But to just say we're going to hand cash to people randomly with no guardrails at all, is the same thing as a school voucher program that I have never, ever supported."

The vote comes after the board in May directed staff to develop a plan for a guaranteed income program similar to neighboring localities in Virginia. The City of Alexandria has a guaranteed income program that is providing 170 participants with $500 monthly payments for 24 months using American Rescue Plan Act and philanthropic funds. Fairfax County's pilot program is providing $750 monthly payments to 180 participants for 15 months using American Rescue Plan Act and Fairfax County Human Services Council funds. Arlington County's privately-funded program gives $500 monthly for 18 months to 200 participants.

Supervisors previously decided to use American Rescue Plan Act funds for another project and instead use a fund balance for the guaranteed income program. County staff said there would be a tight timeline for using American Rescue Plan Act funds, as they have a deadline for use by Dec. 31, 2024.

Supervisor Juli Briskman (D-Algonkian) said the supervisors seemed more likely to support the program when American Rescue Plan Act funds were being considered rather than a fund balance. In supporting the program, she cited outcomes from other programs, such as better housing stability and improved health.

Briskman quoted support for guaranteed income in a Forbes article, saying, "I remain convinced that cash benefits are superior to in-kind assistance for mitigating poverty and improving people’s lives. In-kind assistance invites too much meddling from government officials, with different political factions arguing for or against different bans, such as a “junk food” ban in SNAP or the smoking ban in public housing. Cash empowers individuals to make decisions about what they need."

Saines said he was open to discussing guardrails for the program if a supervisor would bring a proposal forward.

"In the study that was mentioned earlier from Forbes, it states that people go for health checkups, get health procedures, go to the dental office and get dental assistance," said Saines. "They use it to for child care. They actually are stopped working overtime so they can be at home and be with their loved ones and their children and their elderly family members because of this, this income that supplementing them, supplementing their overtime that they normally would work. So again, I think this is a good idea. It's a pilot program. Let's test it out."

The county was looking into whether the program could be open to eligible residents regardless of immigration status, but the county attorney's office was still working on an opinion at Tuesday's meeting.