By Adam Pagnucco. A new poll by Gonzales Research finds that a majority of Maryland voters not only favor proceeding with new transportation projects – they are also willing to…
Budget and Taxes
Madaleno Warns Council on Budget
By Adam Pagnucco. In a new memo to the county council, Chief Administrative Officer Rich Madaleno describes a number of budgetary pressures including declining revenue growth, expenditures (both total and…
Elrich Wants Us to Be Like Virginia. Really?
By Adam Pagnucco. It won’t be a surprise to Montgomery Perspective readers that County Executive Marc Elrich wants to raise taxes. After all, he has tried to do so before…
By Adam Pagnucco. Few county debates are more consequential than those concerning the charter, which is equivalent to the county’s constitution. And of such debates, the most weighty often pertain…
By Adam Pagnucco. Part One recounted the history of Montgomery County voters placing limits on the county’s ability to raise property taxes. Under current law passed by voters in 2020,…
By Adam Pagnucco. MoCo voters do not love property tax hikes and they have voted several times to limit them. Under a ballot measure passed by the 2020 general electorate,…
What Were They Thinking?
By Adam Pagnucco. In the wake of MCPS’s layoff-free budget adjustments, I keep hearing the same question asked about MCPS leadership over and over: What were they thinking? First, let’s…
MCPS Confirms No Teacher Layoffs
By Adam Pagnucco. In a message just sent to MCPS employees, MCPS has confirmed my analysis of its budget package as not containing layoffs. The school system now states that…
By Adam Pagnucco. After getting $31 million less from the county council than it requested, MCPS management raised the possibility of reductions in force (terminations) affecting “all employee groups” and…
Is the Party Over?
By Adam Pagnucco. Regular gains in revenues. Surging reserves. Easy money. There may be chaos in MCPS and acrimony between the county executive and the county council (what’s new?), but…