By Adam Pagnucco. Back in July, I wrote a post about the county budget titled “Crash!” The post discussed the county’s revenue writedown of $522 million for Fiscal Years 20-22,…
Budget and Taxes
New Ad Supports Question A
By Adam Pagnucco. Montgomery Countians for Question A & Against Question B, a ballot issue committee headed by David Blair, has announced its first ad. The ad and accompanying press…
By Adam Pagnucco. The state’s Office of Legislative Audits (OLA), which is part of the General Assembly’s Department of Legislative Services, is one of the most useful offices in all…
By Adam Pagnucco. Former County Executive Ike Leggett sent us the following statement about this morning’s post on Question B and school funding. ***** Thanks to Seventh State for providing…
Would Question B Harm Schools?
By Adam Pagnucco. One of the key claims made by some opponents of Question B (Robin Ficker’s latest charter amendment on taxes) is that it will harm schools by limiting…
How Will We Pay for This?
By Adam Pagnucco. Confronting one of the worst recessions in its history, the MoCo government is projecting a loss of $190 million in revenue this fiscal year and over $1…
By Adam Pagnucco. Part Two examined the case made by supporters of Bill 29-20, which offers 15-year property tax breaks on Metro development projects, and found that they have a…
JOF, Progressives Take on Ficker
By Adam Pagnucco. Former school board member Jill Ortman-Fouse is co-chairing a new group opposing Question B, Robin Ficker’s charter amendment on property taxes, along with former Jamie Raskin staffer…
Smart Growth or Corporate Welfare? Part Two
By Adam Pagnucco. In making the case for Bill 29-20, which would grant developers at Metro stations 15-year property tax breaks, supporters claim that Metro high-rise development is not currently…
Smart Growth or Corporate Welfare? Part One
By Adam Pagnucco. For many years, MoCo has focused its land use and economic development policies on transit-oriented development. Since 2006, the county has adopted eight master plans centered on…