Steve Burns
WMAL.com
ROCKVILLE (WMAL) – The Montgomery County Council will be meeting today to approve cuts to the budget they had already approved for Fiscal Year 2016. From the original $2.5 billion budget, County Executive Ike Leggett had requested $51 million in cuts.
“In response to a projected revenue shortfall resulting from the Supreme Court’s decision in the Wynne case and other factors, we have responded to the County Executive’s suggestion…with a plan to add $54 million to our cash reserve,” said County Council President George Leventhal. He called the original budget “responsible,’ but also said the need for more in the reserves is clear.
“We recognize the need to add to our cash reserve, and we are doing it in a way that does not harm those of our residents who most depenend on help from the county government,” he said.
“We did not agree to some of the County Executive’s proposals that we felt were not consistenent with our values as a community,” Leventhal said. “We did not agree to eliminate the vouchers that will house homeless veterans. We did not agree to reduce the wage supplement for attendance for the developmentally disabled.”
While some of the money will go toward projected deficits in the upcoming budget, Leventhal said the situation gets more dire in future years.
“We’re facing a real squeeze in Fiscal 17 and 18 in particular as a result of the Wynne decision, so this savings plan does not end the conversation.”
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