Today’s question taken from MCEA’s questionnaires for the At-Large County Council candidates is: Describe a political event that shaped your thinking about politics and/or your decision to run for public office.
Marc Elrich
Probably going to a meeting of activists in Minnesota and listening to a discussion about the frustration of electing people who promised to support progressive issues, only to find that once elected they didn’t keep their word. The conclusion they’d reached was that we needed to elect our “own” to office, rather than relying on people with no connection to the issues to be the ones we expect to fight for them. It changed my perspective because I’d been an activist for years, content to get 3 minutes at a mike in front of a typically unsympathetic legislative body. You’d give your speech and leave and more often than not, nothing changed. So it was then I decided I wanted to be on the other side of the dias, in a position to make decisions, rather than simply hoping that I’d influence someone else to make the right decision.
Nancy Floreen
The absence of women leaders.
George Leventhal
There are so many. I have had an interest in politics and public affairs as far back as I can remember. Growing up in the Washington, D.C. area, I was always exposed to politics. I vividly recall the assassinations and funerals of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy. I recall passionate discussions about the Vietnam War and Watergate. In high school I handed out literature for Ted Kennedy’s 1980 presidential campaign. I managed my first political campaigns in college and have continued to work with candidates and elected officials ever since. I have always believed the ballot box is the best way to change society for the better and to meet people’s basic needs.
Jane de Winter
My interest in politics began while I was a pre-teen. Both my parents are Republicans and I grew up with an extended family that loves Rush Limbaugh. I knew very early on that I disagreed with most everything that was said at family meals and that I did believe it was the role of government to fix problems, ensure equal opportunity, and provide assistance to the most vulnerable among us. When I voted in my first primary election at age 19, an election judge called my mother to ask if she knew that her daughter was a Democrat. Some of the issues that I was most passionate about in college were Apartheid, the ERA, and a women’s right to choose. I started at Brown with the intent of majoring in Political Science, but developed an interest in Economics. Most of my studies in this field focused on the public policy arena: monetary policy, public finance, and macroeconomics, all of which help me understand how governments can effectively keep the economy on track and provide the services residents need.
There hasn’t been any one event that precipitated my decision to run for County Council At Large, rather it is the strong belief that the factor that will have the greatest influence on the future of our county—the extreme poverty among our children—isn’t recognized as such.
Robert Dyer
The passage of important legislation during the presidency of George H.W. Bush influenced my belief that government can play a role in advancing the rights of the disabled, fighting pollution and promoting public service. His lifelong commitment to public service, I think, exemplifies the type of mature, responsible and competent leadership we need to deal with the challenges ahead. To witness our County Council violate the public trust with its shameful mismanagement of taxpayer funds for political gain – and the spectacle of its attempt to scapegoat disabled police officers last January 15 (at a hearing at which I testified in support of our county police officers) to cover up their own failure as Council Members – and their plan to permanently reduce MCPS funding led me to run for this office.
Fred Evans
In 1958, my father, Dan Evans, decided to run for a position on the United Steelworkers (USW) Board of Trustees. At that point, he had been an employee of Jones and Laughlin Steel, in Pittsburgh, for 22 years. Because he was concerned about the strained relations between the union and the steel company owners, he wanted to have a voice in the process. As a result, he enlisted me to stand with him at the various entrances to the mill and distribute his cards announcing his candidacy. I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of pride as I watched my father engage his fellow workers and explain why he should be elected. Prior to this event, I perceived my father to be a relatively shy man. This experience changed that perception and also taught me valuable skills about how to approach individuals and talk with them.
This may not be a “typical” political event, but it taught me a great deal about politics as a young boy. Yes, my father won the election and was an active voice in the USW until he retired in 1972.
Hans Riemer
I was raised in Oakland, California, in the Reagan years. I saw a deep divide in my community between people who had opportunity and people who did not. For example, in the school system, it was clear to me at an early age that I attended a high quality public elementary school, and there were schools in the city that were violent, scary, and did not foster learning and opportunity. I heard about a tax revolt and Prop 13, which slowly starved the schools of funding, and while staying home to take classes in support of teachers during numerous strikes, I saw a school system, a community and the California Dream on a steady march of decline.
My parents were politically active and we discussed community and national issues at the dinner table. I learned that our most serious problems require policy solutions and political change, and my experience in Oakland drove me to want to do something about it. I knew that I wanted to help build a progressive majority for change in this country, and I have found ways to do it. My contributions include helping to protect Social Security from privatization by the Bush Administration, elect President Obama, and expand health care for young adults, among many.
Serving on the Montgomery County Council is a new way for me to tackle these same problems. I believe in the power of good economic policy---decisions we make that shape the ability of a parent to provide for a family, of the family to contribute to society. I want to be sure our schools continue an upward march, because our education policy makes Montgomery County more than a great place to live, it makes it a decent place to live. I am deeply concerned about the environment and the impact of decisions we make at the county level about how we grow, and I know that we can do better than we have been doing for the past 60 years. I believe we must manage our government's finances with discipline and prudence, or a door will open for people whose only objective is to destroy government through measures like the Ficker Amendment and California's Prop 13. As the demographics of our county shift and low-income and disadvantaged populations make up more and more of our residents, I know we can and must find a way to stitch together one strong community that creates opportunity for all.
As I raise my own family here --- my son is 2 --- I want to make sure that we rise to meet our challenges.
Brandon Rippeon
Witnessing the poor and incompetent job the current MoCo government has done over the past four years. In addition I am concerned about the internecine relationship which has developed between the incumbent government and MCPS, as well as the Council itself.
Becky Wagner
As a former staff member for Senator Paul Sarbanes I had the privilege to observe and be part of thoughtful and decisive leadership which shaped our vision for our future. I have spent a lifetime stepping forward to make systemic changes in our community.
Why did I finally decide to run for elected office?
Almost 18 months ago, the current County Council held a rancorous debate on the future of the Hillmead property in Bethesda. Would it become a park, or would the house be renovated to serve a large homeless family? The debate, which played itself out in the media and the Council chamber, was vitriolic, self-serving and an embarrassment.
In the end, a comfortable neighborhood with a park ended up with a bigger park, and not one stick of affordable housing resulted from the decision. I decided at that moment that I had more to offer the County, and that would be to serve as a member of the Council.
Friday, June 11, 2010
County Council At-Large Candidates on What Has Shaped Their Thinking on Politics
Thursday, June 10, 2010
County Council At-Large Candidates on the Next Four Years
Today’s question taken from MCEA’s questionnaires for the At-Large County Council candidates is: What are three things you would like to accomplish in the next four years if you are elected to the Council?
Marc Elrich
Unless and until we deal with our inefficiencies and silos, we are going to continue to spend money on things we don’t need at the expense of things we do need. Without measurable outcome goals, we’ll continue to fund projects that are not effective at the expense of those that are. I am working to have the County evaluate the structure of County government using a combination of stakeholders and outside consultants. I want to examine the workflows and processes in government with the goal of substantially reorganizing departments and the workplace in order to achieve a greater level of efficiency and to free up spending from unproductive activities so we can use the resources on our priorities. Resources will be our greatest challenge in the future and we need to make sure that what we spend money on is effective in achieving the results we want. I want us to regain a sounder fiscal footing because if expected growth in revenues is slow while requirements for increasing reserves are tightening, then we have to squeeze as much operating efficiency out of what we already do as possible. Our ability to fund high quality services and meet people’s expectations for quality of life depend on freeing up resources from unnecessary expenditures.
Second, I’d like to see my BRT proposal get off the ground. It has support in the Civic, environmental, business and labor committees. It’s the least expensive way to provide significant Mass Transit which would have a very positive impact on our ability to do more development without negative community and environmental impacts. Most people view transportation, or the lack of it, as the real constraint on growth once the economy recovers and that’s why this coalition of interests have seen my proposal as offering a way out the box. Our inability to move people will stymie our recovery, whereas if we’re successful in implementing a rapid transit network we’d gain a significant advantage over our regional competitors.
Third, I want to complete the PHED committee work on the Zoning Code rewrite and the revision of the Development Review processes. Our codes are arcane and complicated – hard to understand by all parties involved and prone to arbitrariness in their application. The Development Review Process is difficult, can add years to the approval process without qualitatively improving the process and can add substantial expense to a project for no benefit. The Zoning Code has been under discussion for revision for more than a decade and people were talking about reforming the review process before I was elected. It adds enormous expense not just to private projects, but to County projects and school projects as well. I’ve always supported developers paying for infrastructure, but that’s different than having them spend excessively just to navigate the process and adding to their costs for our inefficiency doesn’t benefit anyone. There are too many intra and inter-agency bottlenecks, a lack of coordination, a lack of common understandings so that responding to one reviewers requests can result in having a previous approval rescinded by a different reviewer. I have seen examples of projects built on approved plans . only to be forced to change things already signed off on at the point of inspection. Needless to say it contributes to ill-will and to a sense that “regulation is bad”. I believe regulation is a positive but the process of regulation is broken and needs to be fixed. As it is we are unable to respond to unique circumstances or opportunities because the process is inflexible. This is another piece of what it will take to restore the County’s fiscal health.
I believe strongly that the County’s history of having a strong safety net and high quality public services – schools, libraries, parks, public safety – is something to be proud of and something we want to maintain. But we’ve seen with the collapse of the economy that the funding can dry up very quickly and recover very slowly and that efforts to fund everything now compete with funding for core services.
Without a plan to provide economic stability and given the demands that are going to be placed on us, our ability to find adequate funding for the things we value will require us to reexamine how our government operates. It’s been frustrating to watch us give ground on important social services because of the shortfalls, so building a more stable and sustainable government is essential.
Nancy Floreen
a. improve job growth
b. expand the tax base
c. return to higher funding levels of county services
George Leventhal
a. Attract jobs and investment to restore a healthy economy;
b. Continue advocating for construction of mass transit, attend the Purple Line groundbreaking during the next four years;
c. Maintain access to health care for the uninsured.
Jane de Winter
•Strengthen the county’s long-term fiscal health.
•Support and enhance county programs that support high school students at risk of dropping out and establish stronger career pathway links between MCPS, MC, and the private sector.
•Reduce the amount of time it takes to get a development project from conception to occupancy.
Robert Dyer
1. Solve the structural budget deficit.
2. To have in place a long-term, comprehensive transportation plan, and the funding to pay for it.
3. Pre-kindergarten (all day) for every child in Montgomery County.
Fred Evans
• Continue to support, and to seek improvements for, our strong public education system in Montgomery County. Our system is the foundation of our community and our economy, even in these difficult times.
• Maintain strong police and fire/emergency services to ensure that our communities are safe and livable. Our county cannot reduce services in these areas in order to care for and protect our communities.
• A careful analysis and resulting economic action plan must be completed as soon as possible to improve our current financial crisis. All key stakeholders should be brought into the analysis in order to develop an effective long range plan.
• Health and Human Services, especially for those who do not have access to medical insurance and care, must available to all. This includes mental health services.
Hans Riemer
1. Stabilize our long-term fiscal position in a way that protects our key priorities, particularly education. My goal is to meet the challenge of restructuring our government for a new era of reduced tax revenues, while working diligently to expand our tax base for the long term.
2. Support sustainable economic growth by changing development rules to prioritize walking, biking and transit. We are maxed out on cars but we must continue to add jobs and housing or our tax base will decline. To protect our quality of life, we need to focus future development on transit and build infrastructure to support it.
3. Reshape Montgomery County's politics to bring new and diverse residents into the process and generate outcomes that represent the dynamic and vibrant place this county has become. Nobody has all the answers but when everyone is involved we do have the answers.
Brandon Rippeon
Create jobs; hire, train, retain the best qualified individuals to become MCPS teachers; address the many and growing social problems of MoCo.
Becky Wagner
- Develop a plan for necessary restructuring of our government and implement the strategy in an effective way.
− Implement an aggressive strategy to bring good businesses to the County as part of a comprehensive way to grow our revenue base, with the objective of restoring funding to education, the workforce and needed services.
− Evaluate our stated goals for affordable housing; understand why they have not been achieved and move to incentives to increase that housing stock.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
County Council At-Large Candidates on Their Accomplishments
Today’s question taken from MCEA’s questionnaires for the At-Large County Council candidates is: What would you describe as your most significant accomplishment as a member of the County Council (incumbents) or as an elected official in another office, member of an advocacy or issue group, or other public service role (challengers)?
Marc Elrich
Changing the growth policy to place more realistic tests on transportation capacity, to reduce overcrowding in schools and to get impact fees that, when the economy recovers, will generate significant revenues for infrastructure was one of the key things I wanted to accomplish when I sought this office. So I feel good about that. I thought in the White Flint Master Plan, that getting the BRT as central piece of it and getting the non-auto mode share (the number of people not driving to work) up to 50% was very significant both in terms of creating a real smart growth project and reducing auto use, but also because it allowed us to approve more density without causing the road network to grind to a stop. I worked really hard with the citizens on both sides of whether to support the Master Plan, and with the developers to come up with a package that I think will result in a really landmark project and be an example of Smart Growth that can be replicated. I’m proud of my domestic worker legislation, of my bill that protected the C&O canal from construction at its boundaries.
Nancy Floreen
As Chair of the Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee for the past eight years, I have been the county’s foremost and most ardent advocate for infrastructure construction during that time - probably for the last twenty years. Most recently, I brought the Council together on unanimous votes to approve two controversial master plans and a contested zoning language change. I have recently introduced a bill to create the Montgomery Business Development Corporation to bring in new players to assist in job growth. Historically, I have brought tremendous experience to bear on our land use decisions. About 5 years ago I introduced the “homeowner credit” portion of the property tax calculation, which allows us to reap higher tax revenue from commercial property, non-owner occupied residential property, and the personal property tax. And several years ago I introduced the first “carbon” tax on the utility bill, applied proportionately to the usage of higher carbon emitting sources, which now nets us about 11 million.
George Leventhal
My most significant accomplishment on the Council has been the creation and growth of the Montgomery Cares program, which this year will provide access to health care for more than 23,000 poor, uninsured county residents.
Jane de Winter
I am proud that a number of changes to the budget advocacy process within MCCPTA led to successful advocacy efforts and are being continued today by that organization. One of the first changes was to get the organization to focus on a smaller number of issues. For several years, Marshall Spatz had asked MCCPTA what in the MCCPTA Operating Budget Compact was most important and we did not have an answer because we had not established priorities. For the past five years MCCPTA has passed an Operating Budget Priorities Resolution which sets out the most important issues of the year. Through more focused advocacy, MCCPTA was able to secure an increase in the number of hours that health technicians staff schools and also prevent cuts to those positions for FY11. I believe it was my leadership in budget advocacy that led the Superintendent to invite me and MCCPTA to participate in the MCPS budget development process for FY09. I proposed that MCPS reevaluate the FACT score formula, used to rank buildings for modernization, in CIP testimony in November, 2006. MCPS issued the FACT Review Committee report in April, 2010, as a result of efforts begun that fall and continued by my successors at MCCPTA. A common thread in these accomplishments is the effort to set priorities and strategically plan for the future.
Robert Dyer
My most significant accomplishment has been bringing violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act to light and having them successfully resolved.
As a member of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, I have helped our party reduce monthly expenses by pointing out items in the budget we could do without (or for less). I’ve also increased transparency and oversight in our monthly budget report.
Fred Evans
I am very proud of my accomplishments as a secondary school principal, especially my 4-1/2 years (1989-1993) as principal of Parkland Middle School. I was appointed as principal of Parkland Junior High four months after the tragic death of the former principal, Dr. Mark Mann. I began my tenure at Parkland as the school and community were in the midst of the conversion process from a junior high to a middle school. The staff, students and parents not only had to adjust to a new leader after their tragic loss, but also had to prepare for a new operational model. The short version of this accomplishment is that, with a great deal of help and support from many individuals, we were able to complete the conversion process and begin the “new” school on a very positive note. The most important lesson that I learned from this experience, among many, is that individuals will “step up” in a crisis situation to move forward. This experience gave me new confidence in my abilities as a leader and helped me when I moved to my next assignment.
Hans Riemer
I helped a generation of young people achieve political power in this country.
My work in youth political engagement began when I founded a nonprofit organization at the age of 23 that provided a voice for young people on economic issues and particularly Social Security. I ran that group for nearly five years, eventually leading a national coalition campaign to protect Social Security from the Bush privatization plan.
Over time I moved into youth voter engagement, first as Washington Director for Rock the Vote during the 2004 election cycle, where we registered more than a million young voters and pioneered some of the new web-based engagement techniques. In March 2007, not long after my own unsuccessful race for Council District 5, I went to Chicago to work for Barack Obama, as National Youth Vote Director. The Obama campaign gave me wide latitude to develop an early-state and national program that could get young people out to vote. Our organizing paid off, as President Obama's margin of victory in Iowa was nearly equal to his youth vote. Young voters continued to power his victories through the primaries. I am gratified to see that one of the first health care reform initiatives to be implemented is a provision allowing young people to remain on their family plans until age 26, which I successfully lobbied the campaign policy team to include in our platform. With so many high school and college students graduating into unemployment, that rule will be particularly important in the coming few years.
From my experience on the Obama campaign, I learned that you can only change policy if you change the politics, and that requires getting new and more people involved in the process. I intend to bring this insight and spirit to my work on the Montgomery County Council---and I believe that I will only be successful in moving the County forward if I am able to organize new voices into the political process. Not only younger families but new immigrants, new residents, small business owners---the people who represent the future of our County.
Brandon Rippeon
This is my first time entering a public service role.
Becky Wagner
For the past 11 years I have lead Interfaith Works, a nonprofit business. During that time the organization has grown from an $800K budget to $4.5 million. I make payroll and fund benefits every two weeks for 110 employees. The result of this work is that 35,000 men, women and children are receiving services that will lead them to self-sufficiency.
In the recent past I have had key opportunities by serving the community as:
• Co-chair, Montgomery County Safety Net Coalition (65+ non-profits successfully organized to prevent serious budget cuts to services for our county’s most vulnerable)
• Co-chair, Vote No on A,B,C. (coalition of labor, business, non-profits, elected and community leaders that defeated the “Ficker Amendments” proposing tax caps, term limits and single Council districts)
• Co-chair, No on Slots campaign in Montgomery County (broad coalition of business, faith-based, non-profits and community leaders opposed to slot machine gambling)
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
County Council At-Large Candidates on Government Downsizing
Today’s question taken from MCEA’s questionnaires for the At-Large County Council candidates is: What steps do you believe are necessary to maintain the long-term fiscal health of county government, and if you believe the county government needs to “downsize” what services/programs would you prioritize to protect and which do you believe may need to be consolidated, reduced, or eliminated?
Marc Elrich
I think we’re going to have to a number of things. First, I think the bond rating agencies will set higher targets for reserves and for meeting future obligations and that unfunded liabilities will have to be addressed. We’re going to need to develop a plan and that will be painful because it means that a larger portion of future revenue increases are going to placed into reserves and be unavailable for programming. I do think that the risk to our credit rating is real and that failing to maintain our rating would have a negative impact on the cost of government.
As far as downsizing, I think of it more as right sizing. My colleagues talk about years of saying “yes” to everything because it seemed the supply of money would never end. That proved not be true. When I arrived four years ago and asked if the administrative side could tell me what rec programs they ran, who they targeted, who they reached, how did they measure success and how successful were they; they told me they couldn’t answer those questions. The truth is we inherited a government where many programs lack accountability, where the personnel assigned to evaluate programming was inadequately trained and not effective, and where money was spent without review. That needs to change and it is being changed. People talk of silos and duplicated efforts and plenty of union members talk about inefficiencies in day to day operations.
So in the time I’ve been there, I’ve pushed for coordination and evaluation of all youth programming so that we can better target programs to the youth that need them. I pushed for consolidation of recreation programming, scheduling and promotion – and that is now going to happen. I asked this year that we evaluate merging Park Police into a unit of the County police in order to eliminate duplicative management and support staff – and we’ll have a plan of it in six months, and most recently I asked for a report on all housing related services, scattered across three agencies, to see if there are opportunities for consolidation there.
The first goal should be to save money by making government run better and to use accountability to eliminate programs that don’t work or produce little value. My hope is that by saving everything we can by running better, we can avoid cuts to programs we really don’t want to lose. If we simply try to prioritize to hit a dollar mark in the budget without addressing how we operate, we will lose good programs because we passed up opportunities to free up poorly spent revenues.
As for priorities, I place schools, health and human services, public safety, libraries and recreation (including parks), environmental policies and transportation at the top. Many of these things interact with each other. We spend enormous sums outside of MCPS on youth welfare and that spending is critical to the well-being of children when they’re in school.
Nancy Floreen
As our recent activity has shown, “downsizing” is easier said than done. I really don’t think that Montgomery County residents want to see less service. We have done what we can to encourage efficiencies in service delivery, but with marginal effects. That is primarily a management function. I think we need to expand the tax base and create an environment that is more friendly to job expansion so that we can return to a healthy economy and funding for necessary services.
George Leventhal
Education is and always will be the highest priority in the county’s budget, rising from 55.2% of the budget in FY 2010 to 56.6% in FY 2011. We cannot afford to have this percentage continue to rise at the expense of other vital services such as police, fire, health and human services, parks and libraries. My priority has always been to spend limited government dollars for the benefit of those who need the most assistance. In this budget, we suspended or eliminated many programs that I thought were low priority, including free parking at libraries and the Office of the People’s Counsel. We have already cut so deeply that I do not presently have a list of programs I want to eliminate although I am optimistic that consolidating park police and county police functions will result in savings and I am interested in further consolidation proposals.
I believe that county government must fairly compensate employees in all agencies, but I do not think we can afford to provide increases in compensation and benefits that substantially exceed increases in the Consumer Price Index as we did during the last decade. I also think we must take a close look at salary inflation at the top of the wage scale. There are simply too many county employees making salaries of $150,000 and above.
Jane de Winter
The Fitch Rating report also stated that “The fiscal 2008 budget somewhat reversed unsupportable growth trends [in the county’s budget].” In the long run our spending should only grow at the feasible long run growth rate for economic activity and there are virtually no industrialized nations that grow at a 7, 8, or 9% rate over the long run. That type of growth is usually seen in industrializing nations such as China or India and even there it does not last for decades. When revenues grow faster over the short run we have to have the discipline to apply the revenue to one time expenditures such as additional infrastructure investments, or one time expansions. In my mind, it is also unfeasible to continually rely on tax rate increases or new types of taxes to support ever higher spending growth rates.
I believe there are several steps we need to take. We must increase the tax base by attracting and creating more jobs which will also increase our property tax base with the resultant commercial development. A key to being able to attract and create jobs is to make it easier to get things done in the county. As baby boomers retire which, due to the size of that generation, will reduce the proportion of residents in the workforce, we need to take deliberate steps to attract highly qualified workers to our county, provide opportunities for the underemployed to acquire skills (such as the ability to speak English) and certifications that will increase their earning potential; and ensure that all our youth graduate from high school ready for job training or college. New workers will require housing which will also increase the property tax base. These are longer term strategies, although efforts to improve the earning power of our workforce and increase the graduation rate could start immediately.
In the short run we still have several tough years; the projections for the next four years show we are looking at years where we may have to make further cuts or keep spending virtually flat without new revenue sources. Overall, I think that the right size of our government is smaller than it was three to four years ago but not necessarily smaller than it will be in FY11. If further cuts would threaten public safety, our ability to protect the most vulnerable, or our investments in the future, I am willing to consider an increase in property tax rates with credits at lower levels to protect typically lower income homeowners. I believe there are efficiencies to be found by simultaneously trying to simplify and streamline the development process as well as the process for starting a small business. I am interested in looking further at the park/rec merger but have many questions regarding the ultimate cost savings.
Robert Dyer
First, cut spending. Second, increase revenue as I discussed in #2 above. Third, restructure government. We can’t go on like this!
In “downsizing,” protect:
1. Public safety
2. Police and fire salaries/compensation
3. Ride On routes/drivers
4. Services for those medically incapable of providing/caring for themselves
5. Maintain full MCPS funding under state law
Reduce/eliminate:
Everything else must be on the table, but I would cut the following first:
1. Health and human services
2. Environmental spending that does not directly reduce pollution
3. County cable office
4. Economic development office
5. County Executive’s office
Fred Evans
The first step is that the county council members, in collaboration with the county executive, must work together to analyze our current economic status and determine a “long term” course of action. This analysis cannot be done in a short period of time and it must involve all key stakeholders — the residents - in the process. Since I believe that a strong education system and the safety and security of our residents should continue to be top priorities, any attempt to downsize those functions would be closely scrutinized. I believe that certain services/programs have a positive effect on the economy and must be continually improved.
Hans Riemer
The next Council will need to partner with the County Executive and the separate agencies to focus the mission and priorities of each agency for a new fiscal era, and review work procedures to identify inefficiencies. We need a unified process with stakeholders and Council members that goes beyond the usual committee procedures. The conversation will become a search to define the core services. Because most ideas and services are good ideas, we must distinguish the good from the essential, and we must determine that each dollar we spend is affordable, sustainable, and can only be done by the county government.
For example, if the Department of Recreation were to prioritize serving youth and seniors, how would that change resource allocation? Since health care reform has been passed at the national level, how will that affect our county services? And what about middle managers? With county spending increasing dramatically in recent years, there is no doubt in my mind that we have management positions that we can do without. Diving this deep on our budgets, however, will require a crisis-turnaround mentality and agreement from partners about the nature and scope of the problem.
This mission needs to be supported by a new budget process. Many jurisdictions around the country have moved to a system where agencies start from scratch every year with their budgets, rather than assuming the previous year's budget amounts (zero-based budgeting). This system forces managers to be more strategic and more efficient, because there is no incentive for duplication; but it allows them more flexibility to meet the mission. This budget approach also demands much stronger leadership from the agency heads and a real partnership with labor. Legislation should be authorized to let several county agencies test a zero-based budget next year.
Brandon Rippeon
Job creation and increasing the number of people who pay taxes in MoCo. I advocate a reduction to the size of the Montgomery County Government through job privatization.
Becky Wagner
I am on the record as stating that “the piggy bank is empty, and we do not have enough to pay for what we care about: education, fire and safety, libraries and parks and services to the most vulnerable.” Given we have enormous deficits for the next five years, and are close to a tipping point on tax increases, we must start immediately looking at where services are duplicative. The recent back and forth about Park Police and County Police was neither thoughtful nor constructive. Should we ask the question and evaluate the data? Yes. Should we ask about a Parks Department and a Recreation Department? Yes. Are there things happening in the Executive Branch that we need to stop doing for now? Yes. We have the responsibility to consider openly where duplications exist. This does not mean programs are without merit. It simply means we have to agree what our core services are, and what will we do without until we have restored our financial house. These choices cannot be made in a vacuum.
Monday, June 07, 2010
County Council At-Large Candidates on Taxes
After concluding its endorsements, the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA) posted the questionnaires it had received from candidates on its website. Some of the questions pertain to issues of no great importance to people outside the union. But others are of interest to many. We are digging through the answers provided by the County Council At-Large candidates on a series of questions of considerable value this week and hope this aids our readers.
The candidates who completed the questionnaires are incumbents Marc Elrich, Nancy Floreen and George Leventhal, Democratic challengers Jane de Winter, Fred Evans, Hans Riemer and Becky Wagner and Republican challengers Robert Dyer and Brandon Rippeon. Incumbent Duchy Trachtenberg did not complete a questionnaire because she is not seeking union endorsements (unlike four years ago).
Our first question from MCEA’s questionnaire is: What is your view of the current local tax structure? What, if any, changes would you advocate?
Marc Elrich
I supported Al Carr’s bill to enable us to have a split rate tax system (commercial and residential property with potentially a higher rate on commercial) and will support it again if it’s introduced (only Phil and I supported it the first time.) I supported Rich Madaleno’s bill to give the county the right to create a transit taxing authority so we can raise taxes on property that would benefit from the construction of major transportation projects, such as my BRT proposal. In a perfect world, the State would have a more progressive income tax, and County’s would share in the corporate income tax. I’m especially interested in this because the cost of infrastructure for business expansion is borne at the local level, yet the State is the sole beneficiary of the income taxes.
Several years ago I supported the County Executive’s tax proposal to increase the rate but also the homeowner tax credit. Had we done that we’d have had another $100 million dollars this year and the furloughs and many of the painful service cuts would not have been necessary. The Exec was right in projecting our long-term revenue needs, but I lost the vote on the council 8-1.
Nancy Floreen
At this point, I think we’ve pushed it to the limit.
George Leventhal
I would support a charter amendment to remove the fire tax from the constraints of the Ficker amendment. I hope we can successfully rezone targeted areas of economic opportunity like White Flint, the Great Seneca Science Corridor, Wheaton, Glenmont and the Science Center East at White Oak/FDA. In so doing, we will increase land values and expand our property tax base. We need to get back to relying on property tax revenue rather than regressive nuisance taxes like energy and cell phone taxes. Expanding jobs and investment in these targeted areas of economic opportunity will also increase income tax revenues.
Jane de Winter
As an Economist I believe that the most efficient tax structure is broad based taxes unless we are specifically seeking to encourage or discourage certain types of economic activity. I would support a more progressive structure in the state and piggy back tax than we have now—there is very little progressivity. When residential property tax rates are increased I support using a mix of rate increases and credits to assist low income property owners so that the property tax also has some progressivity. I am in favor of exploring development tax districts to raise funds for development related infrastructure needs. I was not and am not in favor of the Ficker Amendment which requires nine votes to raise property taxes above the charter limit. When considering new revenue options, we need to have a thorough understanding of the impact on economic activity.
Robert Dyer
Property taxes are too high. Once the structural deficit has been addressed, we need to reduce property taxes. I have a plan to create at least 8 new revenue streams of varying amounts so that we can reduce the burden on the taxpayer. These include a voluntary income tax and voluntary gas tax program.
Fred Evans
Due to the national and state budget crises, the "trickle down" effect on local jurisdictions has created an economic disaster. I do not believe that the "local tax structure" is as much of the problem as our ability to predict these situations and be prepared for them. Therefore, I would advocate that a thorough fiscal analysis be completed involving all stakeholder groups to determine next steps and what steps to take in order to avert future economic disasters. Since I am not a fiscal specialist, I would depend on "experts" to give us a realistic framework for the future.
Hans Riemer
I have three concerns when I consider our tax structure:
1) Taxes must only be high enough to generate revenue to pay for the vital services the county provides, and no higher. Surpluses should be saved for rainy days and also returned to the taxpayers. During the boom times of our recent past, however, the County Council raised taxes, and now there are few alternatives for raising revenue.
2) The tax structure should be fundamentally progressive and it should be broad-based rather than singling out particular groups of people for unfair burdens. It cannot place an unrealistic burden on the poor, elderly or otherwise disadvantaged. In the property tax context, the state of Maryland has a Homeowner Tax Relief program designed to protect lower income families and the elderly and disabled from losing their property because the assessments and tax rates on their property has gone up and they can no longer afford them, and Montgomery County has taken steps to expand this program, both in terms of eligibility and the extent of relief. We must ensure that these programs and the income limits governing eligibility (currently $64,000) keep pace with inflation and any changes in the property tax rates.
3) Our tax burden must be competitive relative to other jurisdictions in our region. We do not need to have the lowest taxes, and we have a higher quality of life in Montgomery County because we are willing to pay for it. But we do have to be vigilant to ensure that the tax burden in this county does not grow so high compared to Northern Virginia or DC that we cannot compete for jobs. A 2009 DC government survey estimated the average total tax burden on a family of three making $100,000 a year would be $10,104 in Montgomery County, compared to $7,938 in DC, $8,276 in Alexandria, $8,417 in Arlington County and $8,347 in Fairfax County.
Brandon Rippeon
The current local tax structure is too high. I advocate a freeze on additional taxes.
Becky Wagner
I think it is more than unfortunate that the Ficker Amendment passed in 2008. There are times when new or increased taxes are necessary to fund the services that we value. That said, the piecemeal approach of tax increases begs for a comprehensive review and decision regarding what we want to fund, and how we intend to do so. In reality we have to grow our revenue base in the County by increasing opportunities for the business community to thrive here. Good jobs and thriving businesses pay for our quality of life.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
The State of the GOP in MoCo
Robert Dyer is running as a Republican for the County Council at-large.
