Leggett Seeks to Revamp Services

Public Safety Offices Would Be Relocated

County Executive Isiah Leggett wants to increase accountability. (Sarah L. Voisin - The Washington Post)

Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) called for an ambitious reorganization of major government services yesterday, including the creation of a new public safety headquarters, in a state of the county address that marks his first year in office.

Leggett's plan, which requires approval by the County Council, would consolidate the county's police, fire and training operations on a campus in Gaithersburg, move some maintenance and storage facilities in Rockville and free land near the Shady Grove Metro for the development of thousands of high-density, transit-oriented homes.

In his speech, Leggett announced plans to begin a data-driven CountyStat program next month to make government more accountable and to introduce a 311 hotline for residents seeking county assistance. Leggett's half-hour address to county employees and elected officials also underscored the fiscal challenges facing Montgomery, which must contend with a projected $401 million budget shortfall for fiscal 2009.

"We must look for ways to be more efficient, creative and prudent, while still delivering much-needed public services," Leggett said, reading from a prepared text in the auditorium of the County Executive Office Building in Rockville.

Leggett has asked department and agency leaders to trim their budgets by 2 percent, including $36 million from the public schools. After the speech, Superintendent Jerry D. Weast said he had taken steps to impose restrictions on spending at the county's schools and to stop most hiring to try to find savings.

"These are certainly goals people want to stretch to, but we have many things that are not under our control," Weast said, pointing to rising gas prices and an unanticipated bump in enrollment.

Leggett did not mention one of the big-ticket items in the county's $4 billion budget: pay raises for school system and county employees. Last year, he complained that school leaders had negotiated generous pay packages with employees that exceeded those of other county workers. After the speech, he said he was holding back on criticizing the pay increases but might have to revisit the issue, depending on agencies' efforts to tighten their belts.

Despite the gloomy outlook for the county's finances, Leggett's speech included some optimistic nuggets. He said Montgomery has purchased properties in Takoma Park and Rockville that will provide 65 new affordable housing units. And Leggett said he has assurances from Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) that the county will receive as much as $55 million in state funding for school construction.

Leggett also used the high-profile speech to emphasize his approach to the issue of immigration, which has bedeviled many of the Washington region's government leaders. Soon after taking office, Leggett opened a third county-funded day-laborer center after Gaithersburg officials had failed to find a location within the city's borders.

"This county does not support illegal immigration. Nor do we support a punitive and counter-productive approach that would have local police enforce federal immigration laws. Such an approach is not right and it will not work," he said yesterday, prompting applause.

Under Leggett's reorganization plan, the administration will seek council approval to split the Department of Public Works and Transportation into two departments -- General Services and Transportation. The Division of Solid Waste Services would be moved to the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Procurement Department, an independent operation, would become part of General Services.

The general government relocation plan Leggett outlined is an attempt to relieve county public safety, maintenance and other operations that have outgrown their facilities as Montgomery's needs have increased with the population. Storage facilities for fire equipment are too small, the public safety training academy is cramped, and police operations are scattered around Rockville in leased space.