Budget proposals now being considered by the General Assembly bring dire consequences, undermining recent County efforts to structure a sustainable budget. Of greatest concern are proposals to redefine the County’s public education obligations and to shift teacher pension burdens from the State to the County.
The redefinition of the County’s public education obligation would cost $4.5 million with the pension shift costing $1.9 million, making the immediate new County burden $6.4 million. And, projections show the pension shift burden growing significantly each year due to past State neglect. The County cannot accommodate this new burden.
When the five newly elected County Commissioners took office in 2010, they inherited a budget in disarray. There was a projected $19.2 million deficit, which was 17% of the baseline budget. This deficit arose from using reserves to fund operations; continuing substantial reductions in what had been longstanding State distributions, primarily for County roads; funding the school board at an unsustainable level; and the recession.
The Commission took difficult yet decisive actions to fix the budget mess, with a goal to create a sustainable budget. Expenditures were cut almost $11 million, with County employees taking the biggest hit. Now, the County workforce is approaching 20% less than what it was when the Commissioners took office. The remaining employees are truly being asked to do more with less. And, they have been furloughed and are paying twice what they had been paying for health insurance.
With three County Commissioners having kids in the public schools and a fourth having a grandchild attending public school, it is not suprising that reductions to school funding was a last resort. After the County cuts were implemented and to avoid the $10 million School Board cut recommended by a budget sustainability task force, taxes were increased.
Even with the tax hike, while the school board had to take a $4.5 million hit, on a percentage basis the County took twice the hit. And, to the School Board’s credit, consistent with the Superintendent’s assurance, classroom instuction was not compromised.
The budget mess has not been fully fixed as there remains a deficit attributable to the slow economic recovery and the need to fund reserves. But, the County now has the sustainable budget the Commissioners sought through their decisive action. This sustainable budget is completely undermined if the State budget proposals now on the table are implemented.
With the County’s income tax now at the maximum rate, the only revenue recourse would be another property tax hike. To fund these new County burdens the State is considering, that property tax hike would approach nine cents.
With further School Board cuts likely to be precluded, the alternative to the property tax hike would be further cuts to the County. With the County workforce down to the bone, these cuts would certainly decimate already strained County services, such as those for road maintenance, EMS services, and deputy sheriff response.
If you agree that either alternative is unacceptable, please let you sentiments be known. And, if you have any questions or ideas about further promoting county budget sustainability, please contact the Commissioners. All five of us appreciate your input.
Steven Atentz is the President of the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners