It's budget season again and the council is meeting twice a week for the next several weeks.  There are several challenges in this year's budget, the greatest of which is probably the ever moving revenue targets.  While the state budget issues are settled, and our losses in the highway revenues were limited, the level of funding from Montgomery County and from property assessments is unstable.  A couple of big items....Ike Leggett's budget does not include any funding for the Piney Branch Pool, or the two deteriorating bridges over Sligo Creek -- Maple Avenue and Flower Avenue bridges.  The city has placed 50 percent of the funding for these bridges into our 2010 budget, with an understanding from the County that they would fund 50 percent.  The County Executive has now refused to use stimulous funds for this purpose, and has decided to keep all stimulous funds with no share going to cities.  It should be noted that the city receives a minuimal rebate from the county for maintaining the asphalt bridge top -- about two hundred dollars a year -- and the notion that we should have to contribute anything to these bridges is ridiculous in my view, as they span County, not city property (the creek).

There is a fair amount of uncertainty regarding the property and income tax revenues for this year.  The city manager's proposed budget sets the property tax at the same rate as it was in 2009.  For homeowners who will see an increase in their assessment value this year, that will mean an increase in real taxes paid.  For those who have gotten their assessments lowered by challenging the assessment through the county tax assessor's office, they will have a lower real tax payment.

The council is currently looking for ways to reduce the current tax rate, without putting the city's financial stability at risk.

Colleen