Ike Leggett and the Young Democrats

From Marc Korman: Recently, County Executive Ike Leggett visited with the Montgomery County Young Democrats. The event took place one day prior to toiletgate, so we were unable to ask the County Executive about the important issue of his bathroom habits. I also did not have the opportunity to share my idea. I believe we should rig the County Executive, and maybe all of our other elected officials, to catheters. That way we can ensure they are working hard for us at all times and we are really getting our tax dollars worth. But since we could not discuss his bathroom, we had to settle for a discussion about Ike Leggett’s career and the budget.

The County Executive began by playing to his audience a bit, thanking us all for being Democrats and working for the Party. He also talked about his dislike of the term “tax and spend,” as he believes that Democrats have been both fiscally responsible and supportive of the people. For example, he discussed his early advocacy for the County Charter Limit. The County Charter Limit caps the increase in County property taxes each year to the rate of inflation plus new construction. The Charter Limit can only be breached if a supermajority of the County Council votes to do so.

The County Executive next talked about his budget proposal. His command of the budget was quite impressive. He was not just speaking in talking points, but really dug deep into the details of the proposal. He spent most of his time talking about the County’s structural deficit, really focusing on the rate of spending over the past few years. In fiscal year 2006, the County’s spending including government operations, the capital budget, debt service, and grants grew by 9%. In fiscal year 2007, it grew by 11.6%. Leggett takes credit for slowing the pace last year with a growth rate of 6.6% and a proposed rate in 2009 of 3.8%.

In the abstract, Leggett’s numbers sound good. He wants to bring us to sustainable growth so that the long term budget is balanced. To get there he is proposing some sensible moves, like a hiring freeze and phasing out 225 government positions. But he is also proposing to breach the Charter Limit he was so proud of helping to implement. He has also made some policy recommendations, like an ambulance fee, which seem problematic.

Five questions were asked of the County Executive. Surprisingly, three questions involved job opportunities in County government, which will be plentiful in future years despite planned job cuts. Leggett spoke about the coming county government workforce shortage due to the baby boomer retirements. That will create an unusual situation for the County, which typically has high retention and little need to recruit. Another question was by a young realtor, who asked about the increases in the recordation rate and its effect on home sales. The recordation rate was just increased at the end of last year by $3.10 per every $1,000 of the sale price over $500,000. The County Executive said he had opposed the hike, but knew of no efforts to freeze or overturn it.

The other question came from yours truly. Back in January I wrote an op-ed in the Gazette regarding the County’s regulation of alcohol. The County’s direct control of liquor sales generated $20.5 million for the general fund in fiscal year 2007 and I believe more money could be raised for government priorities like transit, education, and healthcare if the regulatory structure was reformed. I asked Leggett about the issue and, to my surprise, he was quite immersed in it. First, he updated my numbers for fiscal year 2008, but then said he agreed with me about the need to discuss reform. While vague, he said an effort was underway to look at ways to reform the process.

The County Executive saw three reasons to reform. First, there could be a better fiscal return for the County under a different system. Second, there are some technical issues that make County regulation problematic. For example, according to Leggett, Anheuser-Busch is requiring the installation of new data stamping equipment in County facilities if the County is going to keep distributing their products. Third, he has some serious philosophical concerns with the County directly selling alcohol. He told a personal story about when he was protesting apartheid in South Africa, only to learn that County retail stores sold South African alcohol.

Altering the way the County regulates alcohol cannot be taken lightly. The County needs to study the issue carefully for fiscal, safety, and labor concerns. But I was happy to hear from Ike Leggett on this topic and the other budgetary issues the County is wrestling with.