County Effects of “Doomsday” Yield Mixed Views

May 4, 2012

Today’s gazette covers more on the state’s current “doomsday” budget, including varying views on the severity of cuts (including cuts on county governments and local public safety agencies) and on their effects relative to the fiscal plan that appeared near adoption before unraveling in the session’s final hours.

From the Gazette coverage:

In all, 19 grant programs totaling $20.8 million from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, or GOCCP, would be eliminated as part of the $512 million in funding reductions included in the state’s default budget. That spending plan will go into effect July 1 unless the legislature finishes work on the budget.

Talk in Annapolis this week suggests legislative leaders are increasingly likely to convene a special session of the General Assembly the week of May 14, but the threat of the doomsday budget still has many worried about its consequences. Others, including Republican legislators, say the doomsday budget might be good for a state that they say spends too much generally.

House Republicans argued last month that at $35.4 billion, the plan is about $700 million larger than the fiscal 2012 budget.

The full Gazette article includes obersvations from several Maryland counties, reflecting on the difficulty of the options ahead.

Leave a Comment » | County Budgets, Education, State Budget, Teacher Pension Shift | Permalink
Posted by Michael Sanderson

May 14 Special Session Seems Likely

May 3, 2012

According to multiple news sources, a near consensus is emerging that a special session of the Maryland General Assembly will be scheduled to begin on Monday, May 14. Most observers agree that the likely schedule will be to consider only the major fiscal legislation sought to resolve budget issues, and will last no more than a few days.

From coverage in the Annapolis Capital:

Maryland’s top politicians say May 14 is the likely date of a special session for the General Assembly to resolve tax and budget issues.

“We’re going to have an agreement done,” state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert, said at a bill-signing ceremony at the State House Wednesday. He mentioned May 14, 15 and 16 as probable dates for a special session.

House of Delegates Speaker Michael E. Busch, D-Annapolis, has told members of his chamber to keep that week open.

From the Washington Post:

Lawmakers concluded their annual 90-day session without adopting an agreed-upon revenue package that included an increase in income taxes for those making $100,000 or more.

As a result, more than $500 million in cuts to education and other planned spending will take effect July 1, if lawmakers do not reconvene and reach an agreement.

Busch said Wednesday that “everyone agrees we need to take up where we left off. . . . I think the dialogue and discussions have gone well.”

O’Malley has said he is open to a second special session this summer on gambling, an issue that became intertwined with budget negotiations in the closing hours of the 90-day session.

Leave a Comment » | County Budgets, Education, State Budget, Teacher Pension Shift | Permalink
Posted by Michael Sanderson

State Board Rules Anne Arundel Missed MOE

April 27, 2012

Responding to an Anne Arundel County appeal of a previous administrative decision that the county’s FY 2012 budget failed to meet the state’s “maintenance of effort” funding target, the State Board of Education this week released its decision, affirming the previous decision. AT issue was the use of debt service in the school budget, a practice speficially addressed in a recent letter from the state Attorney General. From coverage in the Edgewater-Davidson Patch website:

Leopold stood by his claim that the Maryland Attorney General told him the use of debt service was permissible for fiscal year 2012, but told Patch that the state board of education’s decision will force him to fund the $12 million.

“I intend to have a collaborative conversation with the County Council on how to best handle this decision,” Leopold said. “We will have to find a way to provide the money. There’s no question.”

The county executive said the decision not only takes money out of the county budget, but also inhibits upon he and his colleagues’ ability to lead.

“In my tenure over the last six years, the Board of Education budget has increased 17 percent while all other government agencies have decreased by 7 percent,” Leopold said. “The mandates from the state are crowding our ability to fund other essential services.”

The State Board of Education has made some documents relevant to this decision available online here, though the final Board communication has yet to be posted as of this writing.

Leave a Comment » | County Budgets, Education | Permalink
Posted by Michael Sanderson

Garrett School Closures Imminent, Despite County Funding and Plea

April 25, 2012

The Garrett County Board of Education yesterday voted to close two grade schools, citing fiscal issues. This despite a detailed letter from the County Commissioners committing funding support to help stave off the decision to do so.

From coverage in the Cumberland Times News:

The Garrett County Board of Education voted to close Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools at a special meeting Tuesday.

The decision was made despite receiving $500,000 from the Board of Garrett County Commissioners earlier in the day for fiscal year 2013 and their suggestion to keep the schools open.

The actual letter from the County Commissioners, spekking out a range of fiscal issues, illuminates not only the vexing issues facing county finances in general, but also the limits to county government authority to exercise judgment in fiscal or management policy within the school administration. In the letter, the county makes recommendations and suggestions to the Board of Education, but clearly is unable to bind any decisions, even as they provide funding sought to remedy the school closures.

From the county’s letter:

Additional conditions of this additional appropriation and provisions of approval are as follows:

1. The Board of Education is encouraged to continue to review ways to reduce numbers without eliminating the jobs of new employees including not filling vacant positions.
2. The Board of Commissioners encourages the Board of Education to collaborate with the County in order to identify areas where overlapping services and practices may be consolidated and or reduced in order to mitigate costs related to the maintenance of effort including our recent offer to allow the use of County Government vehicles by Board of Education staff.
3. The Board of Commissioners encourages the Board of Education to continue to engage the public, central office staff, instructional staff, and administrative personnel for input in ways to enhance and maximize operations as well as consider all options and proposals that can generate savings.

Read the County’s full letter here.

Leave a Comment » | County Budgets, Education | Permalink
Posted by Michael Sanderson

Lillian Lowery to be Named New Superintendent of Schools

April 23, 2012

Lillian Lowery, Delaware’s Secretary of Education, is slated to become Maryland’s new Superintendent of Schools effective July 1, 2012.  As reported by the Annapolis Capital:

The State Board of Education will act on the appointment at its meeting Tuesday. Before taking the position, Lowery plans to meet with education, parent, civic and legislative groups.

Lowery has been secretary of education in Delaware since 2009 and is credited with leading the state to be the first to get a federal Race to the Top grant.

Before that, she served three years as the superintendent of a Delaware county school district and was an assistant superintendent in Fairfax County, Va. She also has held teaching and other administrative positions in schools.

Additional coverage can be found in the Baltimore Sun (limited free views available).

Leave a Comment » | Education | Permalink
Posted by Andrea Mansfield

Talbot Considers Breaking Tax Cap to Fully Fund Schools

April 18, 2012

The Talbot County Council proposed its FY 2013 operating budget on Tuesday, announcing that the county’s property tax cap may have to be broken in order to comply with maintenance of effort.  The proposed budget also calls for an increase in personal income tax from 2.25 percent to 2.4 percent. Talbot County currently has the lowest property tax rate and the second lowest income tax rate in Maryland. The Star Democrat reports:

The budget proposes to override the tax cap by $1,928,545, the amount above last year’s Board of Education funding to meet the MOE level.

Under the proposal, the county’s property tax rate would increase from 44.8 cents to 49.1 cents per $100 of assessed value, which includes a 26-cent “Education Supplement” on properties outside the towns of Easton, Oxford, Queen Anne, St. Michaels and Trappe.

The proposed budget also increases personal income tax from 2.25 percent to 2.4 percent.

The total proposed budget is $69,471,600 compared to $65,945,000 during the current fiscal year.

Leave a Comment » | County Budgets, Education, Taxes and Revenues | Permalink
Posted by Emily Hollis

Democrats and Republicans Offer Differing Views on Holding a Special Session

April 18, 2012

While the House Republican Caucus held a press conference yesterday to express opposition to the calling a of special session, Governor O’Malley met with Senate leaders to discuss convening a special session to finalize the budget and revenue plan that did not pass on the last day of the session.  As reported by MarylandReporter.com:

House Republican Leader Anthony O’Donnell noted that despite cuts to the budget for fiscal year 2013, total spending still increases by nearly $700 million from fiscal 2012.

“We can survive until next year,” added O’Donnell, stating that the doomsday budget was a “lie foisted on the citizens of Maryland by those who want to come back in here and raise taxes.

However, others believe the special session is needed to stop budget reductions from occurring. As  reported by the Baltimore Sun:

But Gov. Martin O’Malley said legislators need to come back to pass a tax increase to “protect the priorities of our state,” including its highly rated school systems, affordable college education and health and public safety programs.

Asked when he would call lawmakers back to Annapolis, the governor replied, “The second we have consensus, we’ll have a session.”

1 Comment | County Budgets, Education, State Budget, Taxes and Revenues | Permalink
Posted by Andrea Mansfield

2012 Session “90 Day Report” Available Online

April 17, 2012

The “90 Day Report” is now available online on the Maryland General Assembly website.  The Department of Legislative Services produces this report each year, which summarizes major issues discussed and/or enacted during the General Assembly session.

Sections of particular interest to local governments are listed below.

Leave a Comment » | County Budgets, Education, State Budget, Taxes and Revenues, Teacher Pension Shift | Permalink
Posted by Andrea Mansfield

County Budget Deadlines Upended By State Stalemate

April 13, 2012

Today’s Daily Record covers some of the county effects of the state’s apparent budget stalemate, where both the proposed shift of teacher pensions and a variety of other provisions directly affecting county governments and county-funded agencies (school boards, libraries, etc.) were not enacted as the state fiscal plan unraveled in the final stages of the session.

From the Daily Record coverage:

At issue is a tax bill that, as drafted during the regular session, would raise the income tax on individuals making more than $100,000 annually and another bill that would shift the cost of teacher pensions to local jurisdictions. Also in the mix is a gambling expansion bill that was tied to the fate of the revenue legislation in the final days of the session.

Some counties would be happy if the state’s fiscal house stayed in its current order — with steep cuts for some counties, yes, but without the permanent shift of teacher pension costs.

If the assembly isn’t reconvened soon, lawmakers may have little interest in returning to Annapolis if all there is to do is agree on a multifaceted plan House of Delegates and Senate leaders appeared to hammer out late Monday evening. After some time at home, delegations could seek more sweeteners.

Further complicating matters, most Maryland counties have early June deadlines to adopt their own operating budgets. Only Allegany County, Caroline County and Baltimore City can wait until the end of the fiscal year to adopt their budgets.

Leave a Comment » | County Budgets, Education, State Budget, Teacher Pension Shift | Permalink
Posted by Michael Sanderson

MOE Waiver Requests Due April 16

April 11, 2012

In a letter dated April 11, the State Board of Education’s Executive Director Anthony South has indicated the following partial timetable for maintenance of effort waiver applications:

April 16 – County waiver requests due

April 23 – Schools and others respond

May 2 – State Superintendent makes initial recommendation

(TBD) – State Board conducts public hearing

May 22 – State Board final approval decision

 

Click here to see the complete letter. The letter also details the multiple waiver processes established under SB 848, the state’s newly enacted maintenance of effort law.

In the past, even counties not yet into details of a proposed county budget have complied with the State Board’s process by submitting a waiver request, sometimes necessitating later follow-up and added detail. Counties facing such timing considerations are advised to contact the State Board directly via email to tsouth@msde.state.md.us.

Leave a Comment » | County Budgets, Education | Permalink
Posted by Michael Sanderson

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