March 17, 2011

County Councilmember Nancy Floreen’s Statement on Fiscal Year 2012 Recommended Operating Budget

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 15, 2011—Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Floreen’s statement on the recommended Fiscal Year 2012 Operating Budget released today by County Executive Isiah Leggett:

This morning, the County Executive transmitted his recommended FY12 Operating Budget to the County Council. Next year’s operating budget represents both a continuation of the fiscal challenges we have experienced in recent years and a framework for future budgets. I commend the County Executive and his team for their hard work in developing this proposal.

While the County Executive’s recommended budget contains cost-cutting measures that will be difficult for residents and employees in the short term, I am pleased that it includes a balanced long-term fiscal plan. I spearheaded this new approach to budgeting last year, and I’m gratified to see a continued long-term perspective in our budget work. I have asked the Office of Legislative Oversight to look at the plan, particularly in terms of its progress toward resolving our structural deficit. I also plan to look closely at the reserve funds proposed by the County Executive. Last year, we set a policy to increase our reserves as we believed this would greatly improve our ability to handle future downturns and would confirm the historical excellence of our financial management.

I encourage residents to engage in the conversation about the hard decisions we will make in the coming months. As I have said many times before, I remain committed to fairness and equity among stakeholders and will work to make sure no one group shoulders a disproportionate burden. Residents should feel free not only to contact the Council as a whole but also to contact me directly at councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov.

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