Reply to Montgomery County Budget $99.8 Million Shortfall

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Here's the original article from what I can tell:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/government/montgomery-county-faces-possible-budget-shortfall/

[quote]“Council staff have reiterated — which maybe wasn’t crystal clear in the previous discussion — that t[b]he projected FY ’21 revenue growth is zero,” Council Member Hans Riemer said after the briefing. “That is really bad. Council staff said there has never been a budget with such poor revenue growth before when we weren’t also in a recession.”[/b]

.....

But the state’s income tax revenues for February — distributed back to counties through a disposition formula — don’t always change things for the better. Last year, revenues went down by 32%, forcing the county to cover a roughly $41 million shortfall.

If this year’s projections are borne out, county agencies would need to reduce their spending by $130.1 million, according to council analysts. Riemer said it would force both the county executive and council to make tough budgetary decisions, especially given an expected rise in compensation costs.

Council members also tied the projections to what they’ve described as an increasingly urgent need to boost economic development in the county.

“This is a clear indication that we have a real problem in the economy,” said Council Member Andrew Friedson. “We’re not attracting enough new workers to Montgomery County. We’re not attracting enough people who want to live here. We need to go into overdrive to figure this out.”[/quote]

There it is.  A complete admission by the County Council itself at what an utter failure economically MoCo has become.  The council is right on the point that this is *extremely* worrisome given that the economy is BOOMING right now, yet the county is returning tax receipts and economic numbers like it is a 2008 recession.  Just imagine how bad MoCo will be once the economy slows, which will be inevitable at some point.  The county's budget deficit will balloon, austerity measures will be needed which means school spending cuts, school quality continues to erode, and home values start to plummet.  MoCo is on the way down.  Democrats have completely ruined the county.[/quote]

Moco shortfall of 99.8m for 2021?  Fairfax is way above that shortfall at 150.4 before it adds another for affordable housing of 26.3 and the pre school for ALL below 300% poverty!  First 2 are shortfall of 176.7 and the latter is a range up to over 200m.  These nincompoops haven't yet figured out that the massive all day from birth daycare will create movement from MOCO, Arl, the entire DMV!

[/quote]

I am actually supporting the [b]new Pre-K initiative in FFX[/b]. I think t is needed and am [b]willing to forgo other services for it[/b].[/quote]

does Fairfax County exist in a vacuum?  An urban/suburban county surrounded by mega square miles of farmland, 2 major airports?  No.  There are population concentrations in other jurisdictions that could migrate less than 1 mile.  What services are people willing to forgo?  Police, fire, EMT, road, stormwater, libraries?  Fairfax County has uneven taxation now with special tax districts...

FCPS is so large it can do statistically valid studies in house.  Diminishing returns on cohort groups first in full day K and then in preK.  The point is Fairfax should not offer a major benefit that is completely out of sync with it's immediate neighbors effectively moving that population subset from other jurisdictions.

MOCO https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/departments/dtecps/earlychildhood/prek/2019-2020_PreK_HeadStart_Handbook_ENG.pdf
p 15 of 20  "Pre-K Pilot Program (Pre-K+) This is a full-day Pre-K program [b]grant-funded by the Maryland State Department of Education[/b] (MSDE). The program serves 160 four-year-old students in seven select elementary schools: Bel Pre, Clopper Mill, JoAnn Leleck at Broad Acres, Rolling Terrace, Summit Hall, Washington Grove, and Weller Road. Transportation and lunch are provided. Family income must be at or below 300 percent of poverty level. Families receive the same support services and opportunities for participation as Head Start."

Fairfax's goal is 300% poverty and intends to fund it with local taxes from birth to age 5 for all not funded by headstart /VPI.  All day all year is beyond the scope of any other jurisdiction. [/quote]

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