By Adam Pagnucco. The tax hike is the part of the budget that is getting the most attention, but the County Council took another unusual step: it refused to fund…
Budget and Taxes
MoCo’s Giant Tax Hike, Part Three
By Adam Pagnucco. The need to fund MCPS was one reason given by county officials for their recent hike in property taxes. Another reason was the effects of the U.S….
MoCo’s Giant Tax Hike, Part Two
By Adam Pagnucco. The County Council is calling its recently passed budget an “Education First” budget since it included an increase above the state-required minimum level for Montgomery County Public…
MoCo’s Giant Tax Hike, Part One
By Adam Pagnucco. As part of the Fiscal Year 2017 budget, the Montgomery County Council has voted to increase property taxes by 8.7 percent. This is a landmark event that…
Montgomery County’s TRIM Amendment, 1978
Prince George’s County is well-known for its TRIM amendment, a cap on property tax increases passed by referendum in 1978. Some blame TRIM for preventing the county from adequately funding…
County Employee Pain Goes On
One year ago today, we wrote a post about the sudden halt in pay increases and the sudden rise of furloughs facing Maryland county employees in FY 2010. In the…
Leggett: Deficit “Close to $200 Million”
Following is a memo from County Executive Ike Leggett to Council President Nancy Floreen on Montgomery County’s growing budget deficit. In the memo, Leggett estimates that the voters’ repeal of…
Now Comes the Hard Part
Today, Maryland Democrats are celebrating the reelection of Governor Martin O’Malley, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski and their holding onto both chambers of the General Assembly. But the reality of governance…
Phil Andrews: Ambulance Fees Can Cost Lives
Council Member Phil Andrews sent out this mailer under his own authority line.
Bob Ehrlich depicts himself as a tax cutter. Isn’t that good for Montgomery County? It depends on which taxes you’re talking about.Taxes Ehrlich has made criticism of Governor O’Malley’s 2007…