Garrett T. Baker

I prefer to speak in person when communicating with individuals. In short, I would explain the pros and cons to the residents of the Lee District to see what "their desires are." I will be setting up a communication line between the residents of Lee District and myself. I will also be holding town hall meetings as well, just as I did with over 3,000 residents at the various military bases where I serve. I do know this, from speaking to farmers, they do not want the data centers in Fauquier County. Loudon County is the capital of data centers and speaking about taxes the homeowners still hold the majority of the tax burden. You will get new homeowners because of the data centers, i.e., data center employees which will increase some new tax revenue. I do believe the tax burden for homeowners will be applied hereto if we allow it to happen. I truly think Fauquier County should not be so rash about the data centers. I understand these are huge projects and it looks exciting however, there are greater costs if you want to increase the population in Fauquier County (like Bealeton). The more people who arrive, the higher the crime rate. Fauquier County is not prepared for that type of population explosion. When will Bealeton be getting a substation for the police department? The people of Bealeton want to grow smartly and they want, more shopping facilities. We need more than just Food Lion. I'm not sure how the Remington data center came about, but I don't think the farmers are happy about it. I could be wrong, however, I'm getting a different message from the community when it comes to data centers. I believe that before any major decision is made, the taxpayers should be heard and no backroom decision made prior to any public hearing.

FYI: Virginia offers retail sales and uses tax data center exemptions for data center developments that meet certain investment and employment thresholds. The exemption rate varies by county but is generally pegged around the 5-7 percent mark. The amount of abated taxes for the fiscal year 2022 was $135.9M. Virginia granted data centers $135.9M in tax breaks last year.