Gov. Martin O?Malley promised county officials “we will pass a major transportation funding bill this session,” but again gave no specifics on exactly how he would raise revenues for roads and transit projects. A hike in the gasoline tax has been mentioned most often.
“Our state has been more likely to borrow from the transportation trust fund than invest in it,” O?Malley said. “Our roads and bridges will not wait until the right political timing, the ideal gas price, or the best fiscal environment.”
In the speech that traditionally closes the annual Maryland Association of Counties (MACO) meeting in this beach resort, O?Malley continued to offer few specifics on how he would handle the expected 2009 deficit of $1.5 billion.
“This upcoming year, we will submit a budget that is balanced in reality and not just on paper,” O?Malley said. “The hard truth is that we can only balance the budget by raising revenue and reducing our rate of spending. These are never popular choices. But our goal is not passing a popularity contest, our goal is a stronger Maryland for the working people of Maryland, a stronger, healthier, safer Maryland for the next generation.”
As he has since June, the governor continue to promise the county leaders that he would try to protect from the severe cuts in local aid they had experienced during the state deficits of in 2003, 2004 and the early 1990s. “We cannot solve the problem by passing it on to county governments to solve it themselves,” O?Malley said.
Democratic county officials praised the governor.
“He?s been the biggest friends to the counties in the discussion” about the deficit, said Howard County Executive Ken Ulman. The doomsday budget scenario by legislative analysts asked to balance the budget with no new taxes would involve “real pain” to the counties, “real cuts” to education and public safety, Ulman said.
Ulman has a long list of transportation projects awaiting funding, including widening Routes 29 and I-70 and major improvements on Route 40. The Maryland Transportation Department estimates there is a backlog of $40 billion in highway and transit projects throughout the state.
As former mayor of Baltimore, “Governor O?Malley understands our realities” at the local level, said MACO President Jan Gardner, a Frederick County commissioner.
“He gave false hope to the counties that they wouldn?t be hurt,” said Senate Republican Whip Allan Kittleman, a former Howard County Council member at the conference. “All of us know that?s not true.”
Based on a presentation he had heard Saturday morning, Kittleman noted that historically in deficit situations, counties experience some cuts in their state aid.
