MACo recently reported that the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act includes provisions for a one-time transfer of funds from local Program Open Space balances to the State’s General Fund. While true, this fails to provide full context for the proposal, which includes a three-year replacement of these funds via state bonding.

MACo is currently working with the Department of Natural resources and other interested parties to sort out the proposal and its net effects (likely to include some short-term difficulties in fund availability), but the proposal is not as simple as a “raid” on local balances.  DNR published a document outlining the  effects of the proposed Administration’s FY 2011 budget on local side POS.