Montgomery County lawmakers, faced with a $135 million budget hole, are weighing tax increases to cover expenses like employee pay raises and public safety funding.
Some council members have pointed to the county’s energy tax, while others suggest property taxes may be a potential revenue source.
The demands on county taxpayer’s dollars are becoming more urgent, according to some officials.
| Fiscal 2013 Budget Forums | |
| Date | Place |
| Jan. 9 | Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, 4805 Edgemoor Lane |
| Jan. 12 | Silver Spring Civic Building, One Veterans Place |
| Jan. 17 | Mid-County Community Recreation Center, 2004 Queensguard Road, Silver Spring |
| Jan. 23 | BlackRock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown |
| Jan. 31 | Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center, 3300 Briggs Chaney Road, Silver Spring |
| All forums begin at 7 p.m. | |
In the budget proposal presented at the beginning of last month, Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr asked for pay raises for all employees. Montgomery College President DeRionne Pollard has agreed to 2 percent bonuses for all college employees. County employee unions are still negotiating their contracts, but several lawmakers have emphasized a need to end a three-year pay freeze on their salaries.
But every 1 percent cost of living adjustment for county government employees costs $23.6 million, according to a fiscal plan presented to the county council last month.
County Executive Ike Leggett said he doesn’t know whether he will recommend pay raises because the county doesn’t have money to spare.
“Do we get there by cutting other programs?” he asked. “Or do we get there by raising additional taxes and revenues and so forth? That’s the question that needs to be addressed.”
Leggett, in turn, said he wants to bolster the police department, adding 250 additional officers.
Councilman Craig Rice, D-Germantown, agreed. “We need to put more of our troops on the ground,” he said, pointing to rising crime rates in Montgomery Village, Clarksburg and Germantown.
The county has also fallen behind on its development efforts, said Councilman Hans Riemer, D-at large. Putting money toward zoning and similar areas could help bolster the county’s economy, he said.
And Councilwoman Nancy Navarro, D-Eastern County, wants to give some of the dollars back to library budgets that have been cut in recent years.
But these goals require money the county doesn’t have.
Riemer suggested property taxes and extending the county’s energy tax, which was increased by 150 percent in the fiscal 2011 and 2012 budgets, as possible ways to raise the necessary revenue. The energy tax increase, which is set to expire June 30, has brought in an extra $110 million each year it was in effect.
Leggett has also asked all county departments to prepare cuts of 1 to 2 percent, which will help fill the budget hole.
Beginning Monday, residents will also have a chance to weigh in on the decisions. Leggett is holding five public forums where residents can voice their opinion on his budget proposal, which he will give to the council in March. The first forum will be Monday at 9 at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.
