Testimony on the FY 07 Operating Budget- April 18, 2006

Presented by Linna Barnes, Vice-President

 

Good Evening, I am Linna Barnes, Vice-President of the Montgomery County League of Women Voters.  Nancy Soreng is not able to be here tonight.  I welcome the opportunity to share our views.  As you know, the League follows a number of issues that are impacted by this budget.  Although we have reached positions on these matters through our study and consensus process, we have not developed any priorities on one issue in the relation to another. 

 
Again this year, one of our concerns is that the budget document is still difficult to understand.  It is not enough to have information on where the money is going in future years, if one is not able to compare those figures to the amounts of money spent on programs in past years.  When the League, like many organizations, prepares its budget for next year for review by its members, the previous year’s approved budget and actual budget are presented to allow comparisons to be made.  We would like the county to provide the same information.    We are also curious to know what is happening with the budget process reform initiative that was started last year by Council Member Praisner. 

As you know, one of the core goals of the League is to support the electoral process in the county.  For that reason, we are pleased that the level of funding for the Board of Elections has more than doubled.  The creation of a community outreach specialist with a cultural competency focus has served the community well as well as supported the requirement that the county provide Spanish and English services at the poll.  (Montgomery County is the only county in Maryland to have this federal requirement.)   We also want to be sure that you are aware that the increasing requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the actions by the state legislature concerning elections may require more county funds to implement.  We know more citizens will vote with early voting and no excuse absentee voting.   Elections in Montgomery County are complicated because of the numerous ballots required (we have three Congressional districts, eight Legislative districts and five Council district - none of them contiguous).   The changes enacted by the legislature will require a great deal of effort by the Board of Elections to implement and this will require funding.

The funding of education in the county is a high priority for the League just as it is for the County Executive.  We are pleased that Mr. Duncan realized the importance of this expenditure in the budget and funded it fully.  Because the legislature did not fund the GCEI that was planned for in the school budget, do you look for savings at MCPS or in other county programs?

Montgomery College is also fully funded in this budget and we applaud that.  The College is enrolling more and more students as the number of graduates from MCPS increases and more residents use it to begin their college education.  The national increase in all people seeking post secondary education is the most visible in Montgomery County at the College where the increasing diversity of our residents is reflected in those enrolled.  The College is also the school where many of those attending have limited financial resources and are the first in their family to attend college.  All of these factors contribute to the need to continue to fund the College at the highest level possible to keep it affordable and accessible to our residents.

The FY'07 Operating Budget for the DHHS, $237,778,780 - an 8.3% increase from the '06 budget, is very generous and addresses areas of special needs while maintaining a balance throughout.  Eighty percent of the

department's general fund operating expenditures consist of contracts with service providers.  Much of the delivery of direct services occurs through partnerships with private providers but this information is not included in the section reviewed.  From the information presented it's unclear how this budget will affect the private providers.  The following areas are notable:

·        Funding to provide medical care to 1200 additional uninsured children in the Care for Kids program

·        Enhanced capacity at the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Clinic

·        Expansion of Linkages to Learning, increasing the program to 28 sites

·        Funding to provide wraparound services to youth with a serious mental illness - Care Coordinator Program

·        Additional funding for the Gang Prevention Initiative

·        Enhanced funding for the African American Health Program, the Latino Health and the Asian American Health Initiatives

·        Enhanced maternity services to provide prenatal and delivery services to 150 additional low income, uninsured women

·        $5 million additional funding for Montgomery Cares - Access to Health Care for the Uninsured.

 

The League studied services for the elderly a few years ago and realized the need to plan for this growing demographic group.  We are concerned about the large waiting list for in-home services and support expansion of services that will help seniors age in place. 

Keeping pace with transportation needs in this growing community with a scattered workforce is a real challenge.  As you know the League supports a balanced transportation system with provisions for pedestrians, roads and transit options.  We are pleased that there is an increase in funding for Ride-On Services and we support the purchase of additional clean hybrid and CNG buses.  Still it appears to us that more of the money in the proposed budget will be going to roads as opposed to transit.  We also wonder why the budget was reduced in Planning for Pedestrian Safety by almost 20%. 

 

One opportunity for creating more balance between transit and road funding is in the CIP budget.  The proposed elevator at the Bethesda Metro Station would not only serve the residents and businesses of that area, but would be a step forward for the Purple Line, which the League strongly supports. 

While the overall '07 Operating Budget for the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) has decreased by 8.1%, the League is happy to note that the Housing Initiative Fund has been maintained at 2.5% of the county's revenues as in the prior two years.  The amount generated by Payment in Lieu of Taxes Program is predicted to double, which may mitigate the decrease in the allocations for DCHA, as well as the decrease in federal funds.  The allocation for internet tracking of MPDU's and DCHA services will fulfill the need for the public's access to information about affordable housing projects.

 

With respect to the Park and Planning budget, we support the supplemental appropriation to hire additional planners and technical support staff to improve record keeping and quality control.  We also support making documents more accessible on the Commission’s website. 

 

We have a few other comments related to enforcement and accountability, which may or may not have budget relevance.  If fees are charge each year for annual inspections when a special exception is granted, why are inspections only triggered by complaints?   Has there been sufficient follow-up on the soil and conservation plans required by the legislation that allowed equestrian facilities in the Agricultural Reserve?

In closing, I would like to reiterate that public services and infrastructure provided by government form the foundation for a vibrant, healthy community. The public should know how much of the state and federal obligations that the county is now being force to fulfill in order to maintain this foundation.  We appreciate having a Council that is so committed to the welfare of its residents.