By Ann E. Marimow
Washington post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Montgomery County Council members signaled their intention yesterday to delay funding for the modernization of five high schools, for renovations at three elementary school gyms and for Montrose Parkway East.

Council members said they were swallowing hard in backing a pared-down $3.16 billion six-year budget for bricks-and-mortar projects to cope with rising construction costs and demands for services in tough budget times for a population nearing 1 million.

"This is asking for a tremendous compromise position from many of us," said council member Nancy Floreen (D-At Large) of the plan presented by council President Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty).

The council's capital budget blueprint comes in about $66 million less than the one County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) presented in January. It provides funding for a south entrance at the Bethesda Metro station, a Judicial Center Annex to accommodate the circuit court's growing caseload, an addition to the Gaithersburg library and four neighborhood recreation centers.

Under the road map the council informally agreed to yesterday, the top-to-bottom overhaul of four public high schools -- Paint Branch, Gaithersburg, Seneca Valley and Wootton -- would be delayed by a year. Construction at Wheaton High School would be put off for two years. Renovations to gyms at North Chevy Chase, Westbrook and Cold Spring elementary schools would be deferred for two years.

Several high-profile transportation projects probably would be hit hardest by the proposed changes. Construction would be delayed for two years on a Falls Road hiker-biker path and a four-lane Montrose Parkway East between Parklawn Drive and Veirs Mill Road. The plan takes out construction funding for a bus maintenance facility in Clarksburg and removes an alternative way to buy Ride On buses.

Council member Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring), who rides the bus from her Silver Spring home to the council office in Rockville, said the county must expand the bus fleet quickly to meet rising demands.

"I've stood on the corner and watched five full buses go by," she said of the 90-minute commute. "We have a lot of work to do."

Even with the reductions, the county is fast approaching its outer limit for borrowing. Widely used financial standards suggest borrowing no more than what amounts to annual payments of 10 percent of a local government's operating budget. Surpassing that limit could endanger the county's credit rating, which in turn could drive up the cost of borrowing.

The council typically waits until May to reconcile its wish list with approved spending levels. But initial discussions last month resulted in about $360 million in additional spending requests by individual council members.

Knapp suggested that the council act informally now to propose trims "so that the public is not led on for several months thinking that certain projects are 'safe,' only to see the rug cut out from under them at the last minute, and largely in private."

Separately, Leggett has proposed raising property taxes and trimming services to close a $297 million shortfall in the operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

In a memo to the council Monday, he warned against dipping into the county's reserve fund or further stretching out retiree health insurance payments to free up additional funding, saying it would exacerbate a projected $200 million gap for fiscal 2010.

"This would be a short-sighted approach that would compound the structural imbalance in the county's budget," he said. "I believe that our options at this point are very limited and that bringing down the rate of growth in spending is the most responsible approach."