By Adam Pagnucco. Last month, I reported on MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s first recommended budget. It was a historically huge ask for a $296 million (9%) increase, with $285 million…
Budget and Taxes
Shift and Shaft
By Adam Pagnucco. It’s one of the oldest stories in government. Suppose a government gets into financial trouble and can no longer pay its bills. What’s it going to do? …
Impact Tax Collapse Damages Capital Budget
By Adam Pagnucco. In a budget message sent yesterday, County Executive Marc Elrich is blaming a collapse in impact tax collections for his recommended cut to the Capital Improvements Program…
Taylor Takes on the Central Office
By Adam Pagnucco. In making a generationally colossal budget ask last month, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor had a lot to say in an hour-plus presentation to stakeholders. (The video is…
By Adam Pagnucco. The State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT), which assesses real property values in all Maryland counties, has released its new assessments for 2025. And in the…
By Adam Pagnucco. The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), which represents MCPS teachers, has issued a statement of support for Superintendent Thomas Taylor’s recommended FY26 operating budget. Taylor’s budget, requesting…
Taylor’s Huge Ask
By Adam Pagnucco. Last night, Superintendent Thomas Taylor announced the broad terms of his recommended budget. As I am writing this column (on Wednesday night), I don’t have a copy…
By Adam Pagnucco. In a brand new six-year fiscal plan, the county government’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reports that the county is projecting an unexpected windfall of more…
How Exposed is MoCo to Trump?
By Adam Pagnucco. As Donald Trump resumes his occupancy of the Oval Office, state and county leaders are scrambling to assess his potential impact. Governor Wes Moore even hired a…
Council Members Vent Over Grants Debacle
By Adam Pagnucco. Last Thursday, the county council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee took up the county’s beleaguered grants program, a subject of mounting unhappiness among the local nonprofit…