On Thursday, the County Council unanimously approved a $7.6 billion dollar budget for the next fiscal year. In the days leading up to this vote, the Council rejected two proposals by County Executive Marc Elrich to raise taxes. After his initial push to raise property taxes was nixed, he suggested raising the county income tax to cover monies requested by Montgomery County Public Schools. This effort was also voted down.
While the Council touted the lack of tax increases, Montgomery County Republican Party (MCGOP) had their own ideas about the fiscal future for the county.
Stacy Sauter, former MCGOP county chair, expressed her party’s thoughts about this year’s budget to MCM:
While the County Council might praise themselves for unanimously passing the budget without a single tax increase, neither did they decrease a single tax! This is like riding a rough bull at a rodeo and getting tossed before the full eight seconds. You don’t get points for trying. And given the state’s economic woes, next year that budget bull will be even bigger and meaner. In my opinion, voters would be smart to start tossing the council members first.
In other nearby counties the budget news is mixed. Howard County faces a budget shortfall and is currently a work in progress. Anne Arundel county hopes to lower property taxes while schools get $52 million dollars more than the previous year. And over in Virginia, Fairfax County reduced property taxes while introducing a 4% meal tax to generate revenue.
