Montgomery County would take a bigger hit in state funding under legislation approved by the Maryland Senate’s budget committee, likely meaning furloughs for county employees and deeper cuts to a wide range of county services.
The Senate’s version of the bill, which the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee has approved, would cut $56 million in state aid to the county, including $24 million for highway funding and a $15 million cut for county schools, according to county staff.
The budget approved by the House last week reduces state aid by about $41 million, with $3 million being cut from the county’s public schools.
Both the state and the county are trying to figure how to bridge budget gaps of more than $500 million. The state’s solution has been big cuts in local aid, which would make the county’s attempt to balance its budget even harder.
“More [state] cuts means more impact on us,” said Montgomery County Council President Phil Andrews.
County Executive Ike Leggett’s proposed budget already calls for extensive cuts to county services and the reduction of 400 jobs.
With less state money than originally projected, Andrews said there is a “strong possibility” the County Council will vote to furlough county employees. Additional cuts in services also may be necessary.
Though it makes larger cuts than the House’s does, the Senate’s budget does include one bright spot for county officials: It doesn’t include a plan to take $12 million in income tax revenues away from the county, but instead would increase the cut in highway funding by the same amount.
County officials denounced what they called the “local tax grab” in the House’s budget, saying it would create uncertainty in the county’s budget that would hurt its coveted, long-standing AAA bond rating. A strong bond rating allows the county to borrow money at lower interest rates.
The Senate expects to vote on its version of the budget Wednesday, and it could be in a conference committee by the end of the week — where lawmakers in both chambers will work out the differences between their budgets.
The county’s director of intergovernmental relations, Melanie Wenger, told council members Monday that it’s likely the final amount of cuts to the county likely will be closer to the Senate’s version than the House’s.
“I would just hope that [the cuts don’t] go any higher,” she said. “Who knows?”
