Speech and Testimony
County Executive Leggett’s FY19 Budget Talking Points for His Final Recommended Operating Press Event
Executive Office Building
101 Monroe Street, Rockville
As prepared
It has been said that within the dry numbers and outlines of a budget lies the true articulation of a community’s priorities and policies.
I believe that in the twelve budgets I have proposed, I have been true to the priorities that we have mutually embraced.
Even in the depths of the Great Recession and the ensuing fitful recovery, we have invested in providing our community with quality educational opportunities, improving public safety, meeting the housing needs of our growing population, ensuring that our senior population can age in place, welcoming our diverse immigrant community, growing our economic base with quality jobs and revitalized neighborhoods, funding cutting edge environmental and energy programs and policies, expanding transportation services and infrastructure, and providing an accountable and transparent government.
Throughout my tenure, I have focused on the following priorities – which I laid out 12 years ago and have faithfully followed – through many ups and downs – over my three terms:
A Responsive and Accountable County Government;
Affordable Housing in an Inclusive Community;
An Effective and Efficient Transportation Network;
Children Prepared to Live and Learn;
Healthy and Sustainable Communities;
Safe Streets and Secure Neighborhoods;
A Strong and Vibrant Economy; and
Vital Living for All of Our Residents.
● I am recommending a total FY19 Operating Budget of $5.56 billion --an increase of 2
percent -- for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2018.
This closes $208 million gap -- $3.7 billion of gaps closed over the last 12 years while putting the County’s fiscal house back in order and making the necessary investments to build a better future.
We continue to face significant challenges to our revenues that have necessitated continued expenditure reductions. This recommended budget assumes a property tax rate within the Charter Limit ($0.98, which is a decrease of approximately two cents). I continue to assume a $692 credit for homeowners. The property tax bill for a homeowner with a house at the County medium price of $400,000, will see a monthly property tax bill increase of $2.25.
Given the continued budget uncertainty at the State and federal levels, and the potential impact any federal employment and spending reductions would have on the local economy, we must remain cautious in our spending.
Many of the Federal job centers located within Montgomery County are vulnerable to significant cutbacks and the potential resulting harm to the County’s economy cannot be overstated.
Since taking office as County Executive, I have overseen the shoring up of County finances by increasing our reserves from $77.6 million (2.1 percent) in FY10, during the depths of the Great Recession, to $492.6 million (9.4 percent) proposed for FY19.
We remain on track to achieve the ten percent reserves by FY20 – a commitment we have made to our residents and taxpayers. This level of reserves is critical to sound fiscal management.
As we learned in the depths of the Great Recession, a substantial reserve is essential to weathering unexpected economic downturns. We must never again put the taxpayer and the functioning of this government at risk.
Additionally, we are complying with the prefunding requirements for health benefits for retired County employees laid out by GASB, with a prefunding contribution of $132.9 million in FY19.
In recognition of the critical needs of our growing, world-class school system, I am recommending Montgomery County Public Schools funding at $2.592 billion – a 3.1 percent increase above last year and an additional $19 million in resources above the Maintenance of Effort- level of funding, for a total increase of 3.1 percent.
This represents 100 percent of BOE request.
In fact, I am increasing schools by 3.1 percent while actually REDUCING County government tax-supported spending by half of one percent compared to this year’s spending.
Montgomery College would receive $313 million -- $2 million above MOE.
Provides $152 million -- a 0.8 percent increase -- for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Since this is the final Operating Budget I will recommend, I want to review with you just a few important points.
First, let’s remember, I took office at a time when we had been living beyond our means -- even during the good times.
When I was elected to this office, County spending had increased during each of the previous four years by an average of more than 10 percent – an astounding 42 percent over four years. Simply put, that was not sustainable.
Then came the national recession, which caused real economic havoc for us. The recession reduced revenues while increasing the demands on our “safety net” for those most in need.
Together, we faced the facts and made the tough decisions.
Many residents had to pay a little more in taxes, while receiving somewhat less in some services. Dedicated County employees suffered layoffs and furloughs, while not receiving negotiated pay raises and cost-of-living increases and paying a larger share of their own health care and retirement costs.
These changes saved $469 million when they were implemented and continue to save us $156 million annually.
I implemented a plan that eliminated 10 percent of the County government’s entire workforce.
Many other jurisdictions did some of these things. Montgomery County did ALL of them.
All these choices pained me greatly, but they were the right decisions for Montgomery County.
Tax-supported County spending rose less than 3 percent annually – and less than one percent if you figure in inflation.
County taxes as a percentage of County residents’ personal income actually went DOWN by 5 percent between 2007 and 2018.
County property taxes on the average home, adjusted for inflation and including this recommended budget, have gone up only 11.6 percent in 12 years – that is less than 1 percent a year.
Over the last 12 years, while our population was increasing 11 percent, the number of County employees rose only 2.6 percent.
And while we were putting our fiscal house in order, weathering the Great Recession and being prudent, we were STILL doing what this County needed to do to build a bright present and an even brighter future.
During these years, the number of students in MCPS grew by almost 25,000 – and so too did the challenges in making sure that every single student had the teaching, the infrastructure, the technology, and the curriculum to reach as high as their God-given talents could take them.
From 2007 to 2017, the number of English-As-A Second-Language learners grew by 76 percent and the number of students on Free And Reduced Meals by 63 percent.
During this period, we have increased the spending on our public schools by nearly $350 million since 2007. The average expenditure per pupil went up 18 percent.
We added 21,000 classroom seats. And we invested $246 million in new technology.
I led the fight to expand State funding for our critical school construction needs, building coalitions with other jurisdictions and winning more than $472 million in State school construction aid over the last 11 years, including $59 million for the current year, our highest level ever.
Our commitment to the best community college in the whole country – Montgomery College – increased by nearly 62 percent on a per-student basis since 2007.
Public safety has to be at the top of any list for any local government.
While County tax-supported spending went up 24 percent over the past 11 years, I made sure our Police budget rose by nearly 33 percent.
Since 2007, I have added 132 new police officers. These officers have helped to keep our crime rate at historic lows.
How low?
Within Montgomery County, serious crime is down 33 percent over the last 11 years.
All crime is down 28 percent over the last 11 years.
And all this is while our population has gone UP by 11 percent over that same time.
That said, any crime is too much. In this budget I have added more resources in the Police and the State’s Attorney’s office to focus even more on gang activity in the County. And I am spending $27 million this year on my award-winning Positive Youth Development initiative.
I commissioned the very first comprehensive Pedestrian Safety plan; and we have worked hard on the 3 “E”s – Engineering, Education, and Enforcement.
As a result, we have seen pedestrian deaths in the County go from 19 deaths in 2008 to 8 in 2016. And we have seen more than a 50-percent drop in collisions resulting in serious injuries. But this is something we must continue to stay on.
We opened five new stations for County Fire & Rescue in the past 12 years, several in our growing Up County – compared to only one opened in the 12 years before I took office. And we added 64 positions to staff those stations.
Our Ambulance Fee – which I fought hard for over a five-year period – has yielded more than $86 million for more apparatus, more training, and help for our volunteer stations. And it hasn’t cost County residents a dime.
The result? Response times from 911 call to arrival for Advanced Life Support have improved dramatically – in urban parts of the County a 29-percent drop in response time between 2007 & 2017. In suburban areas, we have reduced response times by 25 percent and in rural areas by 19 percent.
In 2007 we had 13 fire-related deaths. In 2008 … 9. By 2017 that number was down to 3 for the whole year.
Without affordable and decent housing, individuals and families cannot hope to improve their health, their education, or their financial security.
Affordable housing is the basic building block to a just and productive society and has therefore been one of my top priorities. The resource recommendations I have made over the last twelve years have provided families the opportunity to live in safe and sanitary conditions, near transit-oriented developments and employment centers, and in areas approximate to County resources such as libraries, parks, and recreational facilities.
My FY19 Recommended Operating Budget adds $51.3 million to this commitment and brings the County's total investment in affordable housing since FY08 to over $1 billion. This averages approximately $84 million per year. This funding has enabled us to preserve and create nearly 70,000 affordable housing units.
Every dollar we spent on housing acquisition leveraged four dollars from the private sector.
I have committed to devoting 2.5 percent of the County budget to affordable housing.
Our program to prevent housing foreclosures has helped thousands of County residents and is a national model.
We have funded 17 senior housing projects, with 2,100 units.
From the start, I have worked to make County government more accessible, more accountable and more effective.
More “Town Hall” meetings than all other Montgomery County executives before me combined.
I established CountyStat – to give me real-time information and analytics on the performance of County services. By telling us what is working and what is not, we’ve saved millions of dollars.
Our 311 Call Center has taken more than 4 million service requests. Our satisfaction rate is 85 percent – and I want even better than that.
We have also worked to make sure that all companies – including those owned by women, minorities, and the disabled – have an equitable opportunity to do business with the County.
The numbers tell the tale. We have expanded County procurement to these vendors from $90 million in 2007 to $217 million in 2017 – a 140-percent increase.
Montgomery has always had a tradition of helping those who are most vulnerable in our midst.
Strengthened programs such as Montgomery Cares and our Maternity Partnership.
During the Great Recession, established Neighborhood Health Centers.
We have ferociously attacked homelessness with innovative programs and new facilities.
We have responded in a timely and effective way to such public health crises as the H1N1 virus and the Zika virus.
For our seniors – making this truly a “community for a lifetime.” $38.5 million in this year’s budget.
In my Recommended FY19 Operating budget, I am including $17.2 million for developmental disabilities providers to pay direct service professionals at 123 percent of the County’s minimum wage. This is a year-over-year increase of $2.5 million.
Of this enhanced funding, $1.3 million is directly related to the increase in the County’s minimum wage. The remainder is due to an increase in the number of hours worked.
In addition, as a result of the minimum wage increase, I am including over $800,000 to support adult medical day care workers’ wages and almost $62,000 to support public service interns’ wages at the new minimum wage. The total increase in funding needed for these three groups as a result of the minimum wage increase is $2.2 million.
Diversity is a part of who we are – it is part of “The Montgomery Way.”
I have increased funding for English classes in the County to help do away with waiting lists. I have year-in and year-out put resources into organizations that serve our immigrant communities’ needs.
Our “Sister City” program has helped us to draw links between the County and communities such as Morazan in El Salvador, Xi’an in China, Gondar in Ethiopia, Hyderabad in India, and Daejeon in South Korea.
I have worked to expand our County’s transportation options – in order to help County residents and their families – and to support the growth of business and quality jobs.
I have increased County funding by primary road maintenance by more than 136 percent and the amount spent on residential roads by 1,330 percent.
We have Purple Line construction on the way & and the beginning stages of Bus Rapid Transit along Route 29 underway.
We are, of course, honored to be on Amazon’s short list for its second world headquarters. But, of course, that didn’t happen by accident.
Throughout my Administration, I have made the creation of future job creation a priority.
I privatized our economic development functions and our workforce development to strengthen our efforts to market and develop target industries, to match trained workers with identified needs, and to retain and attract businesses.
I provided sound plans and resources to support the Great Seneca Science Corridor, the White Oak Science Gateway, and the White Flint Plan, as well as my Smart Growth Initiative, transit-oriented development around the Shady Grove Metro, and redevelopment in downtown Wheaton.
And these are only a few of our highlights.
I want to thank all County agencies for their input -- MCPS, College, WSSC, Park & Planning.
I want to thank all my department directors.
Special thanks to Budget director Jennifer Hughes and her staff.
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Release ID: 18-013
Thursday, March 15; 12 noon