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Spending Plan Needs Closer Look, Officials Say
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While they acknowledged that shaping the budget is the council's responsibility, several members said the Duncan administration also has fallen short in scrutinizing spending.
Knapp said that during hearings he asked county officials what they cut from the base budget to make room for initiatives in their 2006 spending plan. Knapp, who wants a complete review of county priorities, said the response was "zero."
Council President Tom Perez (D-Silver Spring) said he asked similar questions of department heads. "Everyone said, 'We took a look at it and we need everything,' " Perez said.
Few governments do what's called zero-base budgeting. Like Montgomery, most work off the previous year's budget.
Beverley Swaim-Staley, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said officials are constantly looking at agencies' spending plans. For example, she said, for the fiscal year that begins July 1, Duncan reduced a planned expansion of the Ride On bus fleet, saving $3.3 million.
"It is part of what goes on every day," said Swaim-Staley, adding that council members have full access to data that detail exactly how county money is spent.
Duncan also has taken a number of steps over the years to address the needs of emerging communities.
Funding for health care, affordable housing and translation services has increased, and the investments in the school system have enabled Montgomery schools to consistently rank near the top despite an influx of non-English-speaking students, said David Weaver, a Duncan spokesman.
To prevent the bureaucracy from growing too comfortable, both the administration and the County Council do comprehensive reviews and audits of different programs and departments each year to evaluate performance, effectiveness and expense.
Council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg) said the real problem is that the council and Duncan are afraid to tackle the underlying reasons, such as expensive labor contracts, for the county budget's growth of more than 80 percent in the past decade.
"I would say we do deal with the base each year," Andrews said. "The challenge is changing the base."
