MontCo shortfall could mount to $500M, councilwoman says
By Kathleen Miller
Examiner Staff Writer 11/20/08
The county may face a budget gap of $400 million to $500 million for the fiscal year that begins in July 2009, Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg said, as opposed to the $251 million projected shortfall mentioned in preliminary estimates from County Executive Ike Leggett.
Trachtenberg, who chairs the council’s Management and Fiscal Policy Committee, said she had received a “preview of sorts” on the latest revenue information, which she described as “quite devastating.”
Finance officials said they will release updated data Monday, which will include estimated income tax returns from late filers, who had until Oct. 15 to submit taxes.
“I think we all feel it’s going to get worse but we don’t have a number yet to release,” said Tim Firestine, Montgomery’s chief administrative officer, who communicates regularly with Trachtenberg about financial matters.
According to Firestine, a gap of $500 million seemed high at this point, but hitting $400 million was “within the realm of the possible, sure.” Fairfax County has a projected shortfall of $500 million for the next fiscal year.
Leggett, the county’s top elected official, recommended nearly $50 million in immediate budget cuts last week. Council members are evaluating his suggestions now.
On Thursday, the council’s education committee recommended the school sytem cut $3 million in spending, rather than the $19.3 million sought by Leggett. A different panel of council members, including Trachtenberg, endorsed roughly $3 million in cuts to Montgomery’s Health and Human Services budget.
Trachtenberg and Councilman Roger Berliner balked, however, at chopping $175,000 in supplemental payments for people who work with the developmentally disabled, saying they would find savings elsewhere.
“This is a community where staffers are routinely underpaid and there is a great deal of responsibility handled by caretakers, parents in particular, and to reduce resources further would be problematic,” Trachtenberg said.
She said she hopes to roll out some of her own savings recommendations Monday.
“Obviously when you’re staring at a deficit of $400 [million] or $500 million, it is hard,” Trachtenberg said. “I just think in this kind of environment, you can’t worry about new buildings, bricks and mortar, and bells and whistles — you have to invest in certain areas like families in the community and delivering services to them, especially families in need.”
13 Comments
Reader Comments:
POSTED Nov 21, 2008
Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty: "I think what the council is saying is that we are getting a great big property tax increase next year. They have no interest in cutting the budget. The DOW is at l997 levels. Then the county budget was less than $2 billion. Now the budget is $4.3 billion. They are spending like the DOW is still at 14,000. Homeowners are not represented in the county government."POSTED Nov 21, 2008
Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty: "I think what the council is saying is that we are getting a great big property tax increase next year. They have no interest in cutting the budget. The DOW is at l997 levels. Then the county budget was less than $2 billion. Now the budget is $4.3 billion. They are spending like the DOW is still at 14,000. Homeowners are not represented in the county government."POSTED Nov 21, 2008
Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty: "This site does not accept comments."POSTED Nov 21, 2008
Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty: "This site does not accept comments."POSTED Nov 22, 2008
Mark D. Fennel: "Test"POSTED Nov 22, 2008
Mark D. Fennel: "Test"POSTED Nov 23, 2008
Mark D. Fennel: "Duchy said, "you have to invest in certain areas like familes." Why is it that every government expenditure is an "investment," and you can only invest in families by spending MORE. What about Joe the Plumber who feels investing in his family, is taxing him less so he can solve his own problems, which means spending LESS. Clearly, the People's Republic of Montgomery County is filled with "Sally the Moochers." Mark D. Fennel was the Republican Nominee for County Council in the recent May 13 Special Election"POSTED Nov 23, 2008
Mark D. Fennel: "Let's put the facts on the table. At a Town Hall meeting, Duchy boasted her Granfather was an illegal alien. No wonder she doens't mind $1.5 million a pop "Wellness" Centers so the children of illegal immigrants can get free inoculations on the backs of taxpayes. Or the fact per pupil spending has skyrocketed from $8,000 per pupil to $14,000 per pupil over 10 years, largely to make up for negligent parents who send their kids to school without English, the gateway skill to be successful in all the other academic disciplines in this competitive global economy. Duchy, if my family tree started with criminal activity, I wouldn't tell anyone about it! Mark D. Fennel was the Republican Nominee in the May 13 Special Election for County Council"POSTED Nov 23, 2008
Mark D. Fennel: "Turning to other spending issues. Divesting out of Sudan cost Montgomery County taxpayers $2.4 million, at the same time Montgomery County residents are being driven out of their own homes due to foreclosures. And how about the MASSIVE cost to taxpayers, to implement legislation requiring contracts to be entered between household workers (mostly illegal immigrants) and their employers. Gotta love Monkey County. Mark D. Fennel was the Republican Nominess in the recent May 13 Special Election for County Council"POSTED Nov 23, 2008
Mark D. Fennel: "Has anyone calculated the cost to taxpayers due to legislation enabling transgender MEN to enter ladies restrooms? How much staff time will be billed if a trangender man makes an appeal to the Human Rights Commission. And why do we have a Human Rights Commission at all, last I looked Maryland is not on the tipping point of genocide and Human Rights are procted via the U.S. Constitution & our judicial system. A fundamental Human Right is not being driven out of your home due to foreclosure in part due to excessive property taxes to pay for all these riduculous extreme left wing social experiments. Gotta love the People's Republic of Monkey County Mark D. Fennel was the Republican Nominee in the Recent May 13 Special Election for County Council"POSTED Nov 23, 2008
Thomas Hardman: "You'd think that the County could cut a lot of costs by ceasing to fund the CASA de Maryland day-laborer center. In case nobody noticed, the construction industry is about dead in its tracks, and nobody needs to hire day-laborers. MoCo government should start thinking about its out-of-work legal-citizen and legal-immigrant construction workers, and stop funding CASA de Maryland. That would save a few million dollars right there."POSTED Nov 23, 2008
Harry: "If they are saying now $500 million, it will probably be close to a billion. I will bet that Mont Co will like Detroit be applying for a bail-out by the Federal Government. I bet they will get them because Mont Co has people smart enough to fill out the paperwork correctly to get it."POSTED Nov 23, 2008
Harry: "If they are saying now $500 million, it will probably be close to a billion. I will bet that Mont Co will like Detroit be applying for a bail-out by the Federal Government. I bet they will get them because Mont Co has people smart enough to fill out the paperwork correctly to get it."