Montgomery County Council shoots down spending cuts

Montgomery council members unanimously shot down spending cuts Tuesday that might have hurt fire and rescue response times and programs for the needy, but in doing so eliminated millions in savings proposed by County Executive Ike Leggett.

In December, Leggett recommended $23.6 million in immediate cuts to help head off a $401 million projected budget gap for the fiscal year that begins in July. Council members voted to remove about $4.5 million, or nearly 20 percent, of what Leggett wanted to cut from the current budget.