At yesterday morning’s scheduled overview of the FY11 Operating Budget, we received some daunting news. According to a memo from the County Executive, our first-quarter income tax distributions (that we get in May) will be significantly lower than we expected. This actual reduction in revenue, combined with projected decreases, means we have to cut an additional $168 million between the current FY10 budget and the FY11 budget that begins on July 1.
The County Executive will send specific measures to the Council early next week to address these unanticipated losses in revenue.
As I’ve said many times before, we’re facing some extremely difficult decisions. We are aware of the real and personal impacts our decisions have on residents and employees. Everyone must work together share the pain throughout the County.
One option for sharing the pain, according to the Council’s staff director, may be to institute 1.5 days of furloughs for employees in all County agencies, including public safety and MCPS, instead of the proposed 10 days of furloughs recommended for only one segment of the County workforce. This idea has not been proposed formally, but under the circumstances, we have to look at all options.
I thank the County Executive for his proactive and collaborative approach to this newest problem. I am especially grateful to the heads of County agencies, including M-NCPPC, MCPS and Montgomery College, along with representatives from our employee unions, for attending the briefing. Having the stakeholders together at the briefing ensures we all are working from the most up-to-date information.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
More Cuts in the Works
Posted by
Councilmember Nancy Floreen
Labels:
budget
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Council Member Floreen: Please support your constituents in North Four Corners.
I am writing to ask the PHED Committee to reopen the North Four Corners Park recreation building. I am concerned about the recent "temporary" closing of the park’s recreation building and urge this committee to work with residents to find alternatives that will not deprive the community of this resource. While I understand the difficult financial position that Montgomery County is in, I respectfully request that each of you consider the following points:
1. Selection of Rec Centers for Closing was Based on Flawed Data. The closing of this rec center was part of a package of cuts approved by the Montgomery County Council to address a budget shortfall. Thirteen rec centers were selected for closing on the basis of usage data collected from MNCPP's reservation system, a web-based system that is difficult to use and almost certainly provides a misleading and perhaps erroneous record of the actual demand for facilities. For example, when a facility is reserved and that reservation is subsequently cancelled, the facility does not become available to be rented through the web-based system for the previously-reserved time slot. Anecdotal data from our neighborhood listserv and association meetings indicate that there are times when residents have a need for the facility but have not been able to reserve it without personally tracking down the original reservation holder to ask that individual work with county personnel to release the date to the new party.
2. Closing Rec Centers at the Same Time Other Youth Programs are Being Cut Will Disproportionately Affect Youth. At a time when the county must make difficult decisions to cut programs and services to balance the budget, it is short-sighted to close these walkable facilities that will house alternatives to county programs. For example, as school-sponsored after-school activities are reduced, it is essential that there be other safe and supportive organized activities for our youth, and rec centers such as North Four Corners rec center, located within the neighborhood and walking distance from several schools, house scout troops, dance and gymnastic classes, and other activities that may fill the programming gap. Now is not the time to deprive residents and especially our youth of this resource.
3. Closing North Four Corners Rec Center Will Add to Traffic Congestion. County transportation infrastructure is strained, and some of the county's most congested roads are right around the North Four Corners neighborhood (Colesville Road, University Blvd., and the northern part of the Capital Beltway). Closing a rec center that is walkable or accessible through neighborhood roads will send more residents onto congested roads if activities that could have been housed in the North Four Corners rec center are forced to relocate outside the neighborhood.
4. Closing Rec Centers is a short-sighted answer to balancing the budget, one that will only shift costs to other areas of the budget in the long run. For example, if youth programs are reduced so that teens have nothing to occupy them after school, there may be an increase in activities requiring police involvement, ranging from nuisance loitering to more serious problems. If traffic congestion increases, so may the number of accidents, again straining law enforcement and emergency response resources that are already facing budget cuts. Additional traffic also means additional wear and tear on roads. Finally, Rec Centers are a source of at least some revenue to offset the costs associated with maintaining them, and through a well-managed reservation system could potentially produce more revenue than in the past; while none of the areas to which costs would shift would be a source of revenue.
For these and many other reasons, I urge you to consider alternatives to closing North Four Corners Rec Center.
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