Big Surplus Comes at a Good Time for Duncan

But even with the rate cut, many -- if not most -- residents would have higher tax bills because of rising property assessments.

Duncan also has proposed freezing tuition at Montgomery College -- while pointing to tuition increases at Maryland public colleges and universities since Ehrlich took office.

On the issue of conservation, Duncan criticizes Ehrlich administration policies and says he will propose a $14 million increase in spending on Montgomery's land-preservation programs.

Some County Council members wonder whether the bill for Duncan's spending proposals will come due soon.

"It's like a candy store," said Marilyn Praisner (D-Eastern County), one of three council members who have remained neutral and not endorsed Duncan in his campaign for governor. "I worry about sustainability."

Since Duncan took office in 1994, the county budget has more than doubled, while the county's population has grown by about 20 percent. County officials said Montgomery's budget is larger than those of four states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

Duncan supporters note that he took office as the county's population was rapidly changing because of an influx of immigrants, many of whom require more services.

If the council approves Duncan's fiscal 2007 budget, the school system's budget will have increased by 120 percent since Duncan took office in 1994.

Other areas of county government have experienced similar growth. Spending on public safety and transportation will have more than doubled from 1995 to 2007 if the council approves Duncan's spending plan.

The county also has spent more than $100 million to revitalize Silver Spring and tens of millions to build and maintain the Music Center at Strathmore, a 1,976-seat concert hall in North Bethesda. Spending on the arts has increased 411 percent during the past two years, according to council analysts.

Duncan supporters praise his spending.

"This is a great place to live. Our property values are way up, and people want to live in Montgomery County," said council President George L. Leventhal (D-At Large). "Surely, Doug Duncan deserves some of the credit."

But critics call his spending profligate and insist that his decisions will haunt taxpayers in the years to come.

"What they get, they spend," said Marvin Weinman, president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League.

This week, Duncan said he has no intention of lowering the county's 3.2 percent income tax rate, the highest rate allowed under state law. The county's taxes on cell phones and energy use also are likely to remain the same, Duncan said.

Personnel costs eat up about 80 percent of the county budget. Since Duncan took office, the county's workforce has grown by a third, according to council analysts. And some say Duncan has been too quick to negotiate costly labor contracts with unions to win their support for his campaign.

"Bargaining needs to be a two-way street, and I have not seen a two-way street," said council member Phil Andrews (D-Gaithersburg), a frequent Duncan critic.