Since this isn’t an election year, the priorities appeared to be vastly different from last year’s, as the St. Mary’s County Commissioners approved the budget for fiscal year 2008 on Tuesday.
“[A] lot of people are not happy,” conceded commissioner president Jack Russell (D, St. George’s Island), while expressing relief he was through with his first-ever budget.
Finance director Elaine Kramer’s presentation showed, with a total operating budget of more than $312 million, citizens would be paying $70.9 million in property tax or seven million more compared to the current year, and more than $65 million in income tax or 4.26 million more compared to the fiscal year that begins 2008.
Commissioner Daniel Raley (D, Great Mills) agreed publicly Tuesday that the budget making process was one of the most important functions of the county commissioner board. But these budget sessions are not shown on television. The matter of not broadcasting the sessions was decided at a closed meeting soon after the new commissioner president Russell took the board’s helm.
Behind the numbers are faces, and the faces of public school system officials were led by School Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano and Education Board chair Dr. Sal Raspa. The team included the entire school leadership.
“Yes,” said Martirano when asked if he was satisfied with the budget, as if accepting an inevitable fate. The commissioners made several cuts to the school’s requested budget.
Raley had lauded the commissioners for more making a 12 percent increase to the public school budget this coming year, adding the raise was just 5.1 percent last year.
Martirano agreed with Raley’s suggestion of better communications with the education board as he said there are so many issues that need to be addressed. He said. “The commissioners need to know what those issues are.”
“The bottom line is we are in this together for the children of St. Mary’s County,” Martirano said.
Russell, the only new commissioner on the board as all others are completing their third terms, frankly admitted he was a novice to the game, later telling The Bay Net he found the budget-making process quite complex.
“This has been a tough budget,” said Larry Jarboe (R, Golden Beach).
Amid a galloping gas market, the energy tax that was scaled down in the budget last year was back to where it was.
The commissioners formally approved a new tax named the “solid waste fee” of $60 per household, which is likely to bring in $1.8 million in revenues for the county.Quite a few priorities appeared to be lopsided