Leaders in cash-strapped Montgomery County are considering renewing an energy tax that is set to expire at the end of the fiscal year. The two-year increase in the county’s energy tax — 150 percent for residents and 60 percent for businesses — brought in $110 million in fiscal 2011 and is expected to bring in the same amount in fiscal 2012.
Renewing the tax would help the county come close to bridging an anticipated $140 million budget gap in fiscal 2013.
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| • A majority of the County Council expressed support for exploring the feasibility of a public power utility. County Attorney Marc Hansen sent the council an analysis describing the legal hurdles the county would face if it decided to take over for Pepco and provide residents with electric service. |
| • The council held a public hearing on a grant to support an anti-gang initiative shared by Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. The grant would split about $1.3 million among the Police Department, State’s Attorney, Department of Correction and Rehabilitation and the Department of Health and Human Services. |
| • Montgomery County’s redistricting commission voted along party lines to recommend the county redraw the County Council districts in the way proposed by Democrat Don Spence. Spence’s proposed map extends the district containing Bethesda and Potomac north to incorporate Poolesville and encloses Burtonsville into the district currently containing Silver Spring and Takoma Park. District 4 — the east county district — is shifted north to include Laytonsville, Brookeville and Olney and south to include Wheaton. |
County Executive Ike Leggett said Tuesday that extending the tax increase might help the county fund construction projects like much-needed school renovations and expansions or allow the County Council to give county employees their first raise in several years.
When Leggett proposed the bill during fiscal 2011 budget negotiations, it did not have an expiration date, he told The Washington Examiner, but the County Council wouldn’t pass it without a sunset provision.
“What I need to do is put the budget together, and once I do that, we’ll see where the sunset stands,” he said. “If you sunset it, it will have a tremendous impact on our ability to do a lot of the things we talked about this morning.”
Leggett said whether the tax increase expires amounts to a choice between more budget cutbacks or more revenue.
Though some County Council members were not eager to reduce the county’s construction budget, they were also reluctant to extend the energy tax increase.
Council President Valerie Ervin said Leggett would have a tough time getting an extension of the tax increase past the council.
But just last week, schools Superintendent Joshua Starr told Leggett that the $34 million he asked Starr to cut from the construction budget would prevent the system from addressing overcrowded schools and making overdue renovations.
Councilman Marc Elrich, D-at large, said the council could reallocate some funding to the construction budget from other areas.
But Councilwoman Nancy Floreen, D-at large, said that would have drawbacks as well.
“The more we take out of the operating budget to fund the capital budget is less that we have available to pay our employees a decent wage,” she said.
