For Immediate Release: Wednesday, February 9, 2011
ROCKVILLE, Md., February 9, 2011—Montgomery County today launched a new online function that makes it even easier for residents and members of the Montgomery business community to provide comments and suggestions regarding the County’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget. The budget comment web page, which was originally proposed by Councilmember George Leventhal, will be easily accessible from the County Web site’s home page, from the County Council home page and from the home pages of Councilmembers.
The budget comment link can be accessed directly at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/budgetcomments . Comments and suggestions will be forwarded to the Executive Branch and to all County Councilmembers daily.
The County’s Office of Management and Budget is projecting a $300 million budget gap for the coming fiscal year. County Executive Isiah Leggett will present his recommended budget on March 15. The Council will then begin examining budget recommendations, with a final vote in late May.
The Council recently received reports and recommendations on the budget from the Council’s Office of Legislative Oversight and an Organizational Reform Commission jointly appointed by the County Executive and the Council.
“This new web page will provide the public with easy access to decision makers. I hope my constituents will take advantage of it and share their suggestions with us,” said Councilmember Leventhal. “We know that we need to bring our expenditures in line with our revenues, and that will be very, very difficult. The Office of Legislative Oversight and the Organizational Reform Commission have offered many constructive proposals, but I believe there are other good ideas out there and I want to hear them.”
Councilmember Leventhal said every comment and suggestion left on the public comment web page will be carefully considered.
“We are at an economic point that this Council has never previously faced in the four decades under the current County Charter,” he said. “We owe it to taxpayers to eliminate all inefficiencies and redundancies. Any input we can gather through the new public comment web page could make a significant difference.”
Release ID: 11-030
Media Contact: Walt Harris 240-777-7945