County Executive Revises Budget Recommendations

On April 22, the County Executive advised us of more changes in his proposed operating budget after writing down over $168 million in income tax revenue in FY10 and FY11. (See my April 14 “More Cuts in the Works” post for more information.) The plan includes some additional cuts in spending and some increases in taxes in order to close this newest gap.

Mr. Leggett recommends merging the Montgomery County Police and the M-NCPPC Park Police, eliminating “phantom COLAs,” and terminating $35 million in existing contracts to save money.

To raise money, he recommends doubling the energy tax for an additional $20 million in FY10 and $100 million in FY11. He also recommends increasing the wireless portion of the County’s telephone tax from $2 to $3 per line per month.

The Council’s committees already have begun their budget work sessions, and now they will consider these recommended changes as well. As I have said before, we are looking at an extremely difficult budget situation, the likes of which we have never seen before. As we move forward, I’m keeping four goals in mind--fairness to taxpayers; equitable treatment of all employees; maintenance of a 6% reserve; and adherence to a balanced fiscal plan.

To follow along, go to the Council’s Web page and click on “budget update.” We will pass a final budget on May 27.