By Adam Pagnucco.
From the day that County Executive Marc Elrich sent his recommended ten cent property tax hike to the county council, not a single source of mine in the council building predicted that he would get all of it. That’s despite the fact that all six county employee unions have supported it and the most powerful union – the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) – has made it a top priority for passage. The final nail in its coffin has been hammered home by perhaps the most progressive member of the council, none other than former MCPS teacher and current MCPS parent Kristin Mink.
Tonight, Mink put out the following statement on Twitter.
Update: Over the last few weeks, @MoCoCouncilMD used public input to make cuts and adjustments to the list of operating budget line items recommended by County Executive Elrich, designating those left as “High Priority” or “Priority.” We also considered his proposal of a 10-cent increase to the property tax rate. This week, we’ll vote on the property tax and exactly what items will be funded in the op. budget. I support a 6-cent property tax rate increase, the minimum to fund all items the Council has identified as High Priority. I believe ensuring @MCPS can fund staff contracts without making cuts that will hurt classrooms requires more funding than they are currently allotted on the High Priority list, so I support either shifting additional funds to MCPS or passing a 6.5-cent tax rate increase.
Mink is no enemy of tax hikes. Indeed, her first bill was a recordation tax hike which was amended and passed by the county council and is intended to benefit school construction and rental assistance. But she knows her constituents will revolt if they are charged a full 10 cents. Her support for a 6 to 6.5 cent tax hike is in line with my calculations of a week ago.
Consider also that Council Member Will Jawando, the council’s other super-progressive, said flatly last week, “There’s no 10% tax increase on the table… It’s not happening.” He said that despite the fact that he would love to have labor support for his run for U.S. Senate.
Look folks, this is just a plain fact – if you have a progressive priority and you don’t have Mink or Jawando, there is nowhere else to go on the county council.
Don’t get me wrong, there will absolutely be a property tax hike despite the fact that no other jurisdictions in the region besides Anne Arundel County are even considering one. This council is unwilling to cut enough spending in Elrich’s budget to avoid it.
But it won’t be ten cents. Jawando has said no. Mink has said no. We shall find out the final number later this week.