Budget hearings focus on tax hike

Arkoosh: $455M budget bears the costs of dealing with COVID

“This proposed budget represents months of planning to identify cost savings and important programs and services to prioritize with our constrained resources.”

— Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Val Arkoosh

NORRISTOWN » More than 100 tuned in to public hearings broadcast on social media Thursday for the Montgomery County Commissioners 2021 budget, with a mix of public comment posted in reaction to the $455 million budget and 5% tax increase.

Speaking in the hearing’s two sessions, Commissioners’ Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh underscored the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the local government’s finances.

“This proposed budget represents months of planning to identify cost savings and important programs and services to prioritize with our constrained resources,” Arkoosh said in her opening remarks during Thursday’s hearings, which were broadcast via Zoom and streamed live on the county’s Facebook page.

The proposed budget includes $455 million in revenues and $461.6 million in expenditures.

It also has a $17,827,899 expenditure line item for a “public health emergency,” according to a Nov. 19 presentation.

“In order to balance the budget, which is required by law for county governments, we are recommending a planned $6.7 million drawdown of our fund balance paired with a 5 percent real

estate tax increase,” Arkoosh said.

That increase equates to $29 more per year for the average homeowner, according to Arkoosh.

Roughly 132 people tuned in to watch the hearing on social media, and nearly 20 people reacted to the post that was shared nine times.

Of the two people who showed up to speak in the commissioners’ boardroom in Norristown was Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny.

“We view our relationship with the county commissioners as a partnership,” Kilkenny said. “As everybody knows, I’m an independently elected row officer, but you as commissioners’ control the purse strings, so we have to work together.”

He conveyed his gratitude to the trio of elected officials for their support of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

More than 30 others expressed their own opinions on the matter in comments under the online post.

“Typical Montgomery county tax tax tax and spend spend spend. Time to cut out some of the significant fat in this budget instead of raising taxes again,” said Facebook user Ed Kramer.

“Literally like 30 bucks a year on average relax. To stabilize the budget? To help with the pandemic? Seems worth it,” said Facebook user Brandi Hemler.

Arkoosh said Thursday that the last time officials raised real estate taxes was in 2017.

Proceeds from the increase are expected to amount to $10.5 million of real estate tax revenue, according to Arkoosh, who added that the fund balance would be kept at $88.9 million, which represents 19.6 percent of the 2021 budget’s “projected revenue.”

“This will give us much needed flexibility to meet

this pandemic head-on in a time of uncertain assistance from either the state or federal government,” she said.

When the budget was first presented last month, Montgomery County’s Chief Financial Officer Dean Dortone addressed the commissioners, staff and members of the public to give a breakdown of the numbers.

According to the budget breakdown, several big ticket items were showcased as part of the revenue makeup including 49 percent in real estate taxes taxes, 38 percent in federal and state grants and 13 percent in departmental earnings.

The proposed 2021 budget revenues are “8.4 percent higher than the 2020 budget,” according to a county spokesperson. As for expenditures, they are “7.7 percent higher than the 2020 budget.”

This year’s budget showcases the larger portions of the expenditure breakdown as 40.4 percent in health and human services, 17.5 percent going to judicial and 15.4 percent to corrections, according to the budget presentation.

Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr. supported the budget’s opportunity to fund projects in a variety of areas including infrastructure and a pretrial services program.

“I know there is a lot of community interest in this program, and while this is a courts program, the county funds it, and there needs to be some community outreach and community education about that program specifically since it is one of the larger items in the budget, and of course because there’s so much community interest in it,” Lawrence said Thursday.

Last month, Commissioner Joe Gale expressed reservations about the proposed budget, and the costly expenses surrounding capital projects.

“I do not plan to support the budget as proposed, and I look forward to hearing from the public,” he said during last month’s Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting. “I assume the public, which is very frustrated with the financial circumstances they face ... won’t be pleased with a tax increase either.”

During Thursday’s public comment portion, Ambler resident David Morgan also expressed similar concerns and suggested instead reallocating resources to allow for a “tax cut.”

Arkoosh proposed a real estate tax deferral program, which aimed to assist eligible property owners during these difficult times.

It would apply to homeowners 65 years of age or older who have an “annual household income of $35,000 or less, including 50 percent of social security income,” according to a county spokesperson.

“All taxes deferred under this program are secured by a real estate tax lien, annually and deferred for collection until the property is sold, the owners are no longer

the sole residents, or the property is transferred through will or intestacy,” a county spokesperson said.

A vote for the program is expected to take place on Dec. 17 along with the budget vote.

“If approved with the 2021 budget, the real estate tax deferral program would provide peace of mind for our most vulnerable residents living on a fixed income,” Arkoosh said.

As for the 2021 proposed capital improvement plan, some big ticket items included $51,025,812, or 30.8 percent, accounted for the county campus plan, $57,925,646, or 35 percent, for the county’s assets and infrastructure department and $35,863,640, or 21.7 percent for the Montgomery

County Planning Commission, according to the budget presentation.

Gale has been critical of the expenses associated with the One Montgomery Plaza and Montgomery County Justice Center projects.

“It’s not too late to redirect the growing costs of the capital projects, and I encourage my colleagues to reexamine that,” Gale said last month.

The proposed budget and capital improvement plan, and associated presentations, are available for public review online and in person. For more information, visit montcopa.org.

A vote on the budget and capital improvement plan will take place during the commissioners meeting at 10 a.m. on Dec. 17.

“It’s not too late to redirect the growing costs of the capital projects, and I encourage my colleagues to reexamine that.”

— Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale