In Part One, we covered the prevailing opinion of many about our county’s state legislators: they need to improve their effectiveness in protecting Montgomery’s interests in Annapolis. Step one in…
Budget and Taxes
661 Articles
661
4 Min Read
The Gazette and Free State Politics have both covered the state’s continuing budget problems. Now the Gazette informs us that Montgomery County is facing at least a $240 million deficit…
2 Min Read
For those who doubt that the County Council mandated actual cuts in its recently passed budget, the Montgomery County Planning Department is providing a sobering rebuttal. In a recent press…
G
Governor, Leave it Alone (Updated)
2 Min Read
2 Min Read
One month ago, I criticized Governor O’Malley for allocating $46.3 million for school construction in Montgomery County instead of the $55 million he promised our state delegation in the special…
I
It’s Over – For Now
3 Min Read
3 Min Read
After a torturous few months, the Montgomery County Council finally reached a unanimous budget agreement today. But while the bleary-eyed Council Members are no doubt working their way through their…
4 Min Read
The County Council gathered today to pass its budget for next year. Because that budget calls for a property tax hike in excess of the rate of inflation, the county’s…
4 Min Read
Last Friday, Council Members Duchy Trachtenberg and Phil Andrews voted in the council’s Management and Fiscal Policy (MFP) Committee to recommend $40 million in “labor savings” or “employee participation,” alternative…
T
The Limits of Labor
4 Min Read
4 Min Read
Ann Marimow is a good reporter and I respect her work. But in her Sunday Post article, “Union Influence Sways Montgomery Budget Talks,” I believe she overstates her case. Montgomery…
3 Min Read
In a moment that defined their political careers, Montgomery County Council Members Duchy Trachtenberg, Phil Andrews and Valerie Ervin put the fate of the public employees’ cost of living adjustments…
L
Labor Between the Hammer and the Anvil
2 Min Read
2 Min Read
As Montgomery County’s budget battle draws to a clamorous climax, a new bomb has been dropped.Yesterday, Council Member Trachtenberg sent the following letter calling for a 2 percent cost of…