A senior Montgomery official warned council members Tuesday that they could be heading for a “train wreck” if they continue to add projects to the county’s capital improvements budget, saying their actions had already lumped $268 million onto the budget recommended by the county’s top elected official.
Council members are currently evaluating the capital improvements budget submitted by County Executive Ike Leggett in January, and many have expressed frustration with Leggett’s decision to fund some projects for planning and design during the six-year capital budget plan, but not for actual construction.
While releasing his budget, Leggett touted the fact that in tough economic times, he sought to increase spending on capital improvements by only 1.1 percent to $3.2 billion over the next six years. The modest increase compares with a 24.3 percent increase in 2006 and a 26.2 percent increase in 2004.
His proposals, however, left $2 billion in department requests unfilled and at least some constituents feeling he had gone back on his word to fund certain projects, such as the renovation of recreation centers in historically black neighborhoods, which council members restored last week for $30 million.
Deputy Council Staff Director Glenn Orlin told council members Tuesday that typically the council is faced with reconciling less than $100 million in differences in funding for capital projects, but he said Tuesday afternoon that council members were currently about $285 million over what the county executive had put forward.
“If the Council continues its CIP review without significantly reducing this overage, theproblem will not be fixable at CIP reconciliation,” Orlin said in a written report.
Council President Mike Knapp said he had asked Orlin to make the presentation to council members, and that he believes the gap reflects competing philosophies.
“Do you put in all the costs that come with a project at the outset, or is it OK to fund just the planning and design of something?” Knapp asked. “That’s something the council is going to have to resolve.”
