The 2008 operating budget Montgomery County Council members unveiled Thursday provides close to $7 million more for schoolsthan the county executive’s budget does yet strays much less on funding for county departments.
Altogether, the total budget council members unanimously supported comes to a record-breaking $4.1 billion, or a 7 percent increase over last year.
As County Executive Ike Leggett did in his plan announced two months ago, the focus remains on providing basic services as well as expanding programs in areas such as gang deterrence, environmental reform and affordable housing.
“It’s a lot of money. But it comes to $4,000 a person to build roads, educate our children, maintain safety and security, care for our elderly … protect our open space,” Council Member Nancy Floreen said. “When you look at it that way, it’s a tremendous success.”
Paramount to the budget, council members said, is a $613 tax credit being given to county homeowners across the board. They will be able to deduct the credit from their tax bill.
Also included are initiatives to add 30 police officers and 36 fire and rescue workers.
Council Member Phil Andrews noted that on top of these increases — which were in the county executive’s budget — the council opted to spend $630,000 more to bring these officers online quicker.
Though the overall crime rate in Montgomery County has decreased over the last few years, he pointed out, robberies remain a major concern.
“In 2004 we were averaging two robberies a day versus now we have three a day,” Andrews said. “That’s a substantial increase.”
Following two months of heated public meetings about what to give Montgomery County Public Schools, the council upped Leggett’s recommended sum to more than $1.98 billion.
The agreed-upon amount means that 99.6 percent of the school system’s request is being honored versus 99 percent under the county executive’s suggestion amount.
