No tax increase in 2020 budget
The last commissioners’ meeting of 2019 included the adoption of a $428.4 million budget with no tax increase for 2020.
Montgomery County’s Chief Financial Officer Dean Dortone highlighted in the General Fund Operating budget that there is a projected $1.6 million of revenue over expense and that, due to decreases in some revenue sources and moderate expenditure growth, there is a planned $8.9 million deficit in the budget.
The county will use the general fund reserve to meet those costs while maintaining $79.8 million, or 19 percent of the overall revenue budget. The general fund reserve provides a safeguard against revenue shortfalls or unanticipated expenditures, contributing to a stable tax rate.
The plan also uses county dollars to leverage state and federal grant funding to continue the implementation of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan.
The six Non-General Fund Budgets approved Thursday in
cluded the Health Choices Fund in the amount of $176,334,365; Motor Vehicle Registration Fund in the amount of $2,617,640; Montgomery County Community College Fund in the amount of $23,162,000; Self Insurance Fund in the amount of $900,000; Emergency Dispatch Services Fund in the amount of$17,795,337; and Liquid Fuel Tax Fund in the amount of $1,986,789.
Lastly, commissioners heard from Dortone about the 2020 Capital Fund Budget. Dortone highlighted the major uses of funds, noting that 32 percent, a majority of the funding is for Assets and Infrastructure, amounting to $38,387,250. Twenty-six percent of the proposed 2020 capital improvement program consists of the county campus plan, amounting to $32,060,000.
Commissioners took a roll call vote individually for each portion of the budget. While Commissioners Val Arkoosh and Ken Lawrence voted in favor of the budget, Commissioner Joe Gale opposed it.
“I went into great detail at the last board meeting as to why I’m opposed to this budget that’s being adopted today. It predominantly had to do with the capital side of the budget and the reflection of the excessive expense related to county campus construction. I’ve been a critic of this since I became a commissioner. Year after year the cost continues to rise. I’m doing everything I can when cost increases occur to curb that spending but it’s my belief that spending over $400 million on tax exempt county government property is totally outrageous, entirely too expensive and is going to lead to future tax increases,” Gale said.
“I am enthusiastic about this budget. I made a pretty lengthy statement at our last meeting. I just wanted to highlight that this budget is fiscally responsible, it is transparent, and it invests in the things that I think are most important for our county’s government. One is our infrastructure, our roads and bridges, our other buildings and assets. It invests in our work force here at the county and across our entire community.
It invests in public safety, one of the most fundamental duties of our county, and finally it invests in service delivery to our constituents. It does this while maintaining an appropriate fund balance,” said Arkoosh.
Dortone and RJ Griffin, capital projects manager with the finance department unveiled a new enhancement to the county’s budget transparency tool. The new site allows residents to get a full, in-depth look at different aspects of the budget.
“The ultimate goal is that we will have the full capital improvement plan published on the county’s website that will provide detail by every project, not only the numbers but project descriptions and so forth,” said Dortone.
The sites include interactive maps that allow a user to click on a specific bridge to find out where it is, when it was built, its current condition and construction schedules.
The 2020 Montgomery County operating and capital budgets are available on the County’s finance page www.montcopa.org/93/Finance.