Some Montgomery County Council members are looking to create a new budget office within the legislative branch after repeatedly questioning the reliability of cost projections submitted by County Executive Ike Leggett.
Under a bill submitted by Councilman Mike Knapp, D-Germantown, a budget department would be formed within the County Council to provide independent analysis about the cost of legislation.
The arrangement would be atypical for a local government, as most traditionally turn to executive officials for financial analysis.
“We don’t want to rely completely on what other folks say to be true,” Knapp said, referring to Leggett’s office. “Budgets are very political documents, and we don’t have a lot of money right now.”
The council recently sparred with Leggett when he submitted a plan to give employees extra time off — and argued it had no economic effect. In response, council staff concluded the lost productivity would cost taxpayers $7 million a year.
Some council members also said they were shocked to learn the Fillmore, a rock club slated for downtown Silver Spring, would cost $3.3 million more than expected ?– a development Leggett revealed after the taxpayer-subsidized project had already been approved.
And saying it would cost millions of dollars, the council last year balked over an early-retirement plan proposed by Leggett.
“There have been issues with the reliability or even the creditability of some of the fiscal impact statements sent over by the executive,” said Councilman Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville.
However, council members are still weighing whether it would make more sense to simply reassign current staff to do the budget analysis. Some argue they couldn’t justify spending more public dollars for positions designed to help save money.
“At a time when we’re talking about shrinking everything in county government, I don’t see how I justify creating another office,” said Councilman Marc Elrich, D-at large.
And Leggett spokesman Patrick Lacefield added, “It seems like a duplication of county resources at a time we shouldn’t be duplicating jobs.”
However, a recent report reviewed by the council found that financial details submitted by the executive branch were often lacking in detail. As a result, the council approved legislation calling for in-depth fiscal impact statements.
