Montgomery faces $350 million budget gap

Montgomery County is facing a $350 million shortfall over the next year and a half, officials announced Thursday, just the latest in a series of deepening budget woes afflicting jurisdictions across the Washington region. Months after closing a $1 billion gap, County Executive Ike Leggett estimated another $100 million deficit this fiscal year ?– and predicted a $250 million shortfall next fiscal year.

“Given all the cuts we already have made over the past four years, these reductions will be very painful,” Leggett said. “There is no more ‘low-hanging fruit.’ There will be things county government will do differently. And, yes, there may be things we do not do at all.”