Well there is much I could say but for now, the only thing I want to say is that a "Essentially Flat budget" was delivered by an "Essentially Flat" County Executive.

More evidence of a simple fact: He could care less about the eastside of this county.

Keep spreading dollars on the westside, you are going to need their votes in two years.

An "essentially flat County Executive" who one one hand says he is trying to save money and on the other refuses to implement a volunteer program in the shelter that would save not only lives but also a lot of taxpayer money.

This Budget update was created and presented by the man whom views himself as the creator and leader of the "ideas county of the region." The "ideas" leader describes his own vision as "flat" and circumstances as "bleak" with no optimism of improvement in the near future. Way to fire 'em up. And he wanted $4000 a ticket to attend his VIP fundraiser.

There is no idle position, we are moving forward or moving backward.

Well, I'm pleased that there will be no increase in the income or property tax rates, but because of re-assessments my property tax has doubled over the past 17 years! Go figure.

I am pleased to see that the County Executive has presented and prioritized a systemic approach to the long-standing overcrowding and climate control issues in this County and done so, according to this article, with minimal impact to the County taxpayers. It is long overdue. I hope all goes as planned.

From earlier in the Budget process:

"As we manage this budget going forward, the pain is going to be shared," Mohler said.

Spread it around, plenty of pain for everyone.

I wonder how they decide which schools will get air conditioning. What about Westowne and the rest of the schools without air conditioning?

These comments are a living testament to the fact that you can't please everybody. As a lifelong (and tax paying) resident of Baltimore County, it is refreshing to see a politician who embraces the fiscal responsibility of his position. Excellent job Executive Kamenetz!

@ Brian,
No you cannot please everyone. But when the County Executive makes an Administrative effort to cut the people and the County Council out of the process, he becomes an agent for divisive politics and an impediment to progress. No matter what good is reported or attempted, as long as the people feel marginalized, he will never have the desired support of the tax payers. He is too arrogant and unlikeable for any concessions. He is fueling the angst in the community by making us choose: "Him" or the county... It is clear, people do not like him, trust him, believe him and now they do not believe IN him... The County Council has the attention of the Voters and we can only hope that they find the strength and courage to speak with a common voice.

Just goes to show that you can't please everyone. Hold the line and reduce the number of employees and people complain. Raise taxes like the General assembly and people complain. Kevin will make a good Governor.

Can someone tell me if the $1.6 Billion includes pension payments to those individuals "double dipping" into the system?

Four years ago I spoke about the the county's pending budget woes and people scoffed at me. I say they will get worse. Each penny increase at the pumps drains $1 billion out of the economy. Apply the trickle down theory to that dilemma.

A quote from the article, "Bond money for school projects makes up near 60 percent of the county executive's total request this year. If approved, that request will go before voters in November." Bonds involving borrowing money. That involves paying interest. That involves debt.

Then of course there is this little ditty.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-budget-local-impact-20120411,0,4101231.story

The county's budget may be done (in) but the story is far from over. The uncertainty in Annapolis will loom largely.

Isn't it facinating how we can manage when forced to make do with a smaller budget? I've beed doing it for over 40 years in raising a family and we're not in debt. the way MD and DC are. We had a paycheck, and based our spending on that...period! If there wasn't enough, then cut back on something not absolutely necessary.

Golly....does this mean DC could manage, too, without taxing and spending us to death? A smaller budge that they have no choice but to work with.....What a novel idea!

Uhhhh, excuse me....but did I see Chinese language instructors in that school budget? I'm trying to rationalize that one. Anyone have an answer for that? Wonder what else could be cut back on?

At the risk of sounding like the old woman who tells the story about how many miles she had to walk to school in the snow and ice without shoes or coat as a child....we never had AC in schools. We opened the windows and survived. Not only that, our grades were much better than students these days. Try putting windows in the classrooms that actually open. Most of them are permanently sealed, creating the oven effect. They should be more concerned about how to get the children out in a fire when the corridors are blocked with flames.

I say give the Government's budget management to a handful of housewives who kept their budget balanced for a number of years and before we know it, this State and Country will be well on the way to recovery.

I had the "honor" of meeting Mr. Kamenetz last summer, believe me i was not impressed.People complained about Jim Smith, but at least he was a people person and did not come with a fake smile. Jim Smith also took the time to listen to people He was at a parade our community had and was in such a hurry to leave.Our residents were not impressed either...but then what do you expect..we live on the EAST SIDE of the county.I will say his Asst. Bryan has more personality and is more friendly then the county executive is.At least Bartenfelder is a local and was for everybody no matter who you where and he knew what is was like to work and still does for what he has ...not just west side and for money.
Really ...chinese language...how about ALL schools and students being treated and receiving the same...and not by how much the parents make or don't make.I am not for or against the air conditioning issue, but i do feel there are more important things our schools need.

There is no more important thing our schools need than air conditioning. Obviously, the people commenting do not see our children when they get out of school in hot weather (in August or late June which did not happen when I was in school). The kids look very hot and actually sick. Their faces are flushed and sometimes they need to see the nurse. People that are used to air conditioning which I believe most of us are do not have the right to say our kids can live without it. They can't. Also, I would be very willing to chip in and buy the units ourselves but we would have to push that one. It's that important to me that these children have this necessity (it's not a luxury). They really need it.

Sorry if you didn't read my entire post about the AC.....if the BofE in their infinite wisdom didn't seal our children up in hot boxes, there wouldn't be such a dire need for the AC. I didn't mean that they should live without it under those conditions. I was being critical of the really stupid things the Board does to our children.

Remember to vote for the opposite of KK and OWE Malley next election.

JD-that does not surprise me at all.I am a democrat..but I definitely don't agree with him . I didn't vote for him then and I would not vote for him next time. Barbh-I did not say schools do not need ac. I know first hand how it is in schools, but I also know how sometimes by april there is no copy paper, glue,paper towels and other supplies because the budget is empty.I also know of the cuts in school money which means classrooms assistant positions were taken away. large classes due to not enough teachers. These are the important things i am talking about.As for ac in schools i do agree,unfortunately ,the people that make these decisions are not in a classroom or they don't have kids our school system.

Thanks Kevin. The budget is great. Very excited about the air conditioning. Also pleased there are no tax increases. When I read the above comments I am reminded of what is wrong with politics today. Even when someone does something good the other side gives no credit-- and both republicans and democrats are guilty of that. It's ashame. I appreciate what you did here.

I live in Essex and have grandchildren in Middleborough Elementary School. I didn't vote for Kaminits the first time but I will the next time. I admit it I'm selfish. I care about taxes and grandchildren.

I have an idea for all of the people who are complaining about their schools not being air conditioned. Why don't you put down your beer, put out that cigarette, tear up those losing lotttery tickets and get up off of your backsides and get down to your school or the next PTA meeting and volunteer to work on a fund raiser to put air conditioning into your school? How is that for an idea? Maybe if enough parents would begin to deny themselves a few of their pleasures (the aforementioned beer, cigarettes, and lottery tickets) and start to get active in their child's education, then the county might listen when you come to them and say, "We worked hard to reaise funds and now we have X thousand dollars that we want to have dedicated towards putting A/C in the school my child attends." This is the kind of grassroots activism that GETS THINGS DONE. Sitting back and bitching about how no one in county government is getting anything done about a problem never achieves anything.

By the way, when my two children were in elementary and high school, I worked 3 JOBS to pay to put them through parochial elementary and high school so don't cry to me about how tough your job is and how you don't have the time to get this done.

The PTA cannot raise funds to Air Condition schools.
I think Kamenetz has probably done the best he can in these tough times, and he can't please everybody. That being said, he is doing a lousy job as County Executive, he must communicate with the county council and stop playing childish games. They have the right, and the RESPONSIBILITY to act for their constituents.
Kamenetz hasn't gotten the message.

I would liken his in-ability to communicate fairly with the County Council to being a bad sport.... he was probably benched a few times growing up.
If you can't be good at a very tough task at least be fair....

Pending Approval sounds a little socialist...

I'm going to try again to raise some interest in the a/c issue at my community's elementary shool. I guess I can start with the principal and go from there. The last time I brought it up, I didn't get much interest because people probably felt it was a lost cause. I would hope BCPS would allow parents to raise funds for the a/c but I'm sure they have inspection/installation requirements. I hadn't heard that the schools won't allow it.

Buck, I have used the term people are voting with their feet. Take a look at one of Bryan's earlier articles.

http://towson.patch.com/blog_posts/baltimore-county-lost-8000-taxpayers

This is the destabilization I was talking about. The middle class flees as the value of their homes drop along with the tax revenues.

Here is another ominous sign.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-02-23/news/bs-md-cns-working-families-baltimore-county-20120223_1_sufficiency-child-care-subsidy-program-baltimore-county

Another interesting concept involves the government sector jobs. As state, local and federal government agencies put into place austerity measures, Maryland counties will share the burden of that impact.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/income/2010-08-10-1Afedpay10_ST_N.htm

The unemployment rate in the county is high. The county ranks 11th out of 24 jurisdictions in the state. This is an interesting analogy in the county ranks 12th in health care among those 24 jurisdictions.

Reality is a funny thing, there is no way of getting around it in the end.

By the way, to clarify, the 2007 date is used to reference the approximate start of the down turn. This house was built in the late 1980s and I'm the original owner. My dad was the original owner of the house in Towson in 1959.

Thank you for the feedback Ron. The budget itself is not the focus of my comments. The budget does what it needs to do. My concern lies with what is not being done to remedy the dire circumstances the county faces. The Administration's apathy and lack of willingness has helped necessitate the budget and its structure. It is not the economies fault; the economy makes it harder, but better leadership from the County Executive's office and down, would better position the County to recover and thrive. The Administration is doing as little as it has to, to survive until next election. A "good enough" attitude is not what I want in my county's executive. I want to see Baltimore County be the best it can be. Nothing outstanding was done in this budget cycle. What had to be done was reported as done: a little shuffle here, a little shuffle there, and lots of spin. What lies ahead, is insane cronyism at the expense of the County's health. This Administration is rumored to be: on a collision course with Federal Investigators, is restructuring departments to pad budgets and influence decisions, and using their positions to profit, improve retirements and advance individual careers, while the good people of the County struggle. That is intolerable. When you campaign on the promise of being the "ideas county of the region" and this is the best you can do, it is a complete failure.

@buzz-you are such a soothsayer, only you knew we were in trouble financially.Is that why the teachers were walking the streets protesting the pension plan.Is that why negotiations have been going on for some time with all unions,why plans were put in place to get folks off the payroll.I'm sure that thought just came up last November. Please Buzz,there are others inside the county that saw this long before you,so sit down and take a break from patting yourself on the back. Which brings us around to just how well the Exec and team are managing the County. I know how hard it is for you to say but why not give it a try.C'mon it won't hurt,really.Then you can go back to your daily rants spitting out the hate.

Am I right about this? Is it true that employees and the employer both contribute to pension plans? Is the employer contribution paid by the county or State? When they talk about transferring the pension costs from the State to the county, wouldn't that be a huge amount of money that the county would now be responsible for? How can the Governor just come up with that one day and slap that expense on the counties? They will just go under. Am I missing something here?

Ron, show where I use the word "hate?" How much time do you have with the county? If you saw it why didn't you stop it? I'm working on a blog for next week that will reveal some issues that you speak of.

Not only did no one stop it the bill was rubber stamped.

Do you bother to read the links I post, or do you just spout off without any knowledge of the facts. It does help when one is informed.

" ... saw this long before you ..."

"...brings us around to just how well the Exec and team are managing the County."

So what your are saying is that the administration which has been running the county for the last 16 plus years saw this coming and did nothing to stop it.

Just got a call from a friend of mine on his cell phone and he observed a lady in front of him purchase $130 worth of groceries using an Independence Card and when he walked outside they were being loaded into a brand new Chrysler.

Who's managing that Ron?

@jdstuts-in the words of one of your heroes and possible future vp candidate,Gov Chris Christie,"it's none of your dam business where I choose to send my kids to school". So please take a seat in the back of the class JD until you come up with something relevant.

Ron you haven't answered my question yet? Do you know how many public school students are eligible for free meals in the county? Do you know what the county's debt and interest on the bond issues are?

I hope you find these relevant questions, since you brought up the issue. It might take you a couple of days to read the budget (s).

This Buzz and JohnnyT are the best medicine to get me smiling in the morning. They are so silly that it is hard to believe they are real people. I've lived a number of places and I've seen people be mad when their person didn't win an election, but these guys are the gold medal winners. I hope they keep posting, because it's the best comedy around these days. As an independent, I hope the CE continues to work to keep my taxes down. Go Johnny. Go Buzz. I need some more laughs.

Here's what I care about-- taxes, taxes, taxes. Baltimore County is the only place that gets it.

@Buzz, Since you are tasking others with research how about explaining the "free market" dynamic that divorces success from compensation. How many corporate executives have mismanaged their companies to bankruptcy, yet walked away with multimillion dollar "golden parachutes". We love to focus on the woman with the Independence card buying steak. How about the corporate executive, who is the picture of excess and gluttony, who destroys the lives of others by creating mass unemployment through avarice and inept management?

All this complaining we do from our armchairs. Contacting legislators is great, but don't forget to volunteer for the Republican Campaigns to get tax fighters and job advocates elected or re-elected. Here are 2 Towson Candidates for you to sign up with:

CD 1 Incumbent Congressman Andy Harris http://www.andyharris.com/
CD 2 Senator Nancy Jacobs for Congress against Dutch Ruppersberger http://nancyjacobsforcongress.com/

Brian, are you justifying that kind of entitlement spending? Who do you think allows for that type of conduct? It ain't the taxpayers. What did Barney Frank say right before the bubble burst?

Whose is the presidents job czar? Ever hear of Solyndra?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solyndra_loan_controversy

Here is another one for you to read.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/09/fannie-freddie-executive-pay-limited-bonuses-cut-under-pressure-from-congress/

Brian, the one thing you forget is that the people at the top make the decisions that allow for the fleecing of the taxpayers and how you can find a way to justify that is beyond me.

I have written many times of the national scandals that have a trickle down effect.

Buzz,think for yourself,no links,like that makes you smart. Answer the question,are you happy there are no tax increases.Is this a good budget,just say it,no links,have a thought.

Ron, I am astounded that given the complex situation we face today, not only in this county, but state and country as well, you break everything down into one sentence.

In school when you were told to open a book and read, what did you do? Are you suggesting that you know everything about county government that you don't have to research anything?

I do have thoughts and I back them up with facts, not opinions. Those facts are hard and cold.

If you want to hear an opinion listen to this one. It's a school teacher from the county.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee-irZd_R6c

You want my opinion? You feel alright with the county having one of the highest unemployment rates in the state? You feel OK with the county being ranked in the lower half regarding health care?

Take a look at the bond debt which increased $291 million while the net assets
decreased by $116 million.

Why do you think they are calling the states budget (upon which the county relies) the dooms day budget?

By the way the board of ed budget was $24 million in the hole before the game began.

You feel OK with over half of our school children qualifying for the free meals programs.

You should read up on these issues, it might open your eyes.

If diagnosed with recurring cancer, and the Doctor said, great news, No New Chemo. We are going to cut off your leg, and stitch some toes to your face. Should I be excited?

@ Ed,

While you brag about being having avoided treatment because your doctor said taking your leg and stitching toes to your face was the best he could do to treat your symptoms, I will seek a second opinion and prepare myself for some hard work.

This post is split into two:

The County Executive is being praised for what he did not do and should not do, raise taxes. What my posts contend, is that the County Executive has yet to tell us what he is going to do.

The County Executive has highlighted his term thus far as an accomplishment in cost-cutting and efficiency; eliminating vacant positions is not slimming down government without the spin he uses to describe it. Cutting $30 Million from existing departments and creating a new $30 Million department is not net consolidation (see Public Works, Recs and Parks, and the new $30 Million “Property Management” division) Taking a service department from one function to improve a separate function only robs Peter to pay Paul. He stated that his work saves the tax payers money but the fact remains that the operating budget still increased!

The pension charade could be addressed by an entire separate post as could the foul restructuring of public safety and services.

...CONTINUED

Capital improvement attempts are not impressive either. 8 schools with AC, 2 construction projects. This is a good try to make a lemonade out of lemons. I get that.

But here is my remaining question to the Administration, and forget about trying to be "the ideas county of the region", that is not going to happen, Ulman and Howard County have a firm grasp on that one,

“As the leader of a community of 805,000 people, with remaining resources and opportunity that far exceed the majority of the United States, what is the vision that you, the County Executive, propose to the business community, the institutional community and the neighborhoods that will not just slow the economic and social decay but rather instead lead us to 2020 and beyond? If you do not have a vision that extends beyond mere survivorship, to include cow-towing for votes, please excuse yourself from the leadership and visionary role on which you campaigned, and let others who can and will, do.”

Thank you Ed for the response. The circumstances you cite are important issues concerning not just our county, but the larger community as well. What I expect from our County Executive is to not accept a "good enough"/ apathetic approach by government and a County Executive that abuses the current apathy of us voters as a means for a career. I expect our County Executive to be a heroic leader. I expect him to place county and voter before aspiring to a political career. I expect him to communicate and try to connect with the voters about what is and what could be- to do this without spin, with the inclusion of the County Council, and with humility, especially when members of the private sector are willing and capable of being of value. Political interference, obstruction, self-serving advocacy and arrogance is not going to be accepted by an informed Baltimore County. Kevin has nothing to change the incumbent policy makers and influencers that are carcinogens to the health of the County. I want the County Executive to be a man and not a nouveau-celebrity, want to be power-broker. He doesn't have it. But what he does possess is the ability to identify those in the community, and already within Government, that can help.

Ron, Kevin's fingers are in more than a dyke. What has Kevin done, what good initiative is he responsible for? He is depleting the resources and public will that were created by Administrations past; not to mention taking orders from Jablon and Homan. He has not had one significant success. His critics are growing by the second. But at least he has Ron Burgundy... where is Brian Fantana?

One very easy way that he could bring money into the county system but he flat out refuses to change the county charter for it would be to introduce Ambulance Billing. Here are the numbers, the average career ambulance has about 4000 runs a year, now cut out cancels, refusals. and no EMS needed, that brings it down to lets say 3100. A call that requires Adavanced Life Support costs about $900, a call that requires Basic Life Support cost about $600. Baltimore county and Montgomery county are the only jurisdictions that do not bill for ambulance transport. So lets cut that in half 1550 ALS calls at 900 a piece, thats 1.4 million dollars in ALS transports, and $930,000 in BLS transports, that a little over 2 million dollars, now there are 30 ambulances on the career side, so that is 60 million there, and on the volunteer side, there is 19 ambulances, each average about 1900-2000 calls respectively, so lets say $900,000 for ALS and $600,000 for BLS, thats a total of 1.5 million dollars per unit. Total that out, there will be one less hole in the budget. Now I know that there are people that are uninsured and will not pay the bill, but those numbers fail in comparison to how much money this county is losing out on. Baltimore City has a 38% collection rate of their EMS bills, but they will not hurt your credit score because it is soft billing, I believe its a federal law that does not allow you to go after someone for EMS transport.

And to add to the numbers above, medicare allows billing of $ 10 per mile transported. The average ride in Baltimore County is 7 miles to a hospital, obviously more in the more rural areas, Arcadia, Parkton, Kingsville, Edgemere, etc

Montgomery doesn't bill because the voters said no. I guess Baltimore County could get it through without a referrendum; I'm not sure. By the way, Dutch and Smith both put thumbs down on billing before KK, so he is following local tradition.

The problem, of course, is that many of the current taxpayers grew up listening to the 80s classis rock line, "i want my money for nothing and my chicks for free." In other words, don't DARE increase my taxes, but I better still get a cop, fire truck or medic unit at my front door 5 minutes after I call, my kids class size better not increase, we need more ball fields in my neighborhood, and so on. They want services but they don't want to pay the piper. Or should I say, they only want to pay for the services THEY think are important and to hell with everyone else.