Duncan, Council Divided On Budget

In an interview, Duncan said the council's position seems to shift continually when it comes to spending.

"I consulted with the council on this budget, and I laid out in pretty good detail the things I was going to be adding to the budget," said Duncan, who plans to step up his lobbying efforts to the council. "One day they criticize me for spending too much. The next day they are criticizing me for not spending enough."

Since he was first elected in 1994, Duncan and the council have shared essentially the same expansive approach to county government. Spending has increased by nearly 90 percent over the past decade, with the money going to such initiatives as reduced class sizes in schools and the redevelopment of downtown Silver Spring.

Over that period, the council -- which has the power to cut or add to the executive's budget -- always increased Duncan's ambitious spending recommendations.

The council's appetite for spending allowed Duncan to position himself as a fiscal moderate focused on funding education, easing traffic congestion and spurring economic development.

This year, however, the political calculations on both sides have reversed.

"He doesn't appear to be able to say no to anybody . . . so it's up to the council to come up with a responsible budget," said council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg).

Council analysts say Duncan's proposed budget, which increases spending by 8.6 percent over fiscal 2005, is the most generous in memory. It includes money for more teachers and police officers, expanded access to health care for the uninsured, increased support for residents who do not speak English and an 80 percent increase in funding for the arts.

Among the 225 new county jobs in the proposal are advisers for higher education and minority business -- posts that critics say are more about burnishing Duncan's credentials with interest groups than meeting the needs of the county.

With property assessments soaring, Duncan wants to cut the property tax rate by 2 cents, which still would leave the owner of a $400,000 house with an increase of $316 on next year's tax bill. The current tax rate is $1.06 per $100 of assessed value.

Duncan's plan would break a voter-imposed tax cap, enacted in 1990, for the fourth consecutive year. The cap limits the county to collecting tax revenue equal to the previous year's total plus inflation and the value of new construction. Duncan proposes to exceed the cap by a record $67 million.

If the charter cap were observed, the owner of the same $400,000 home would see a property tax bill rise by $86.