Many voters have asked us to come up with thoughtful questions that they could ask of candidates for local and state offices. Too often we hear the same promises of greater support for schools, better transportation and lower taxes. But very little is said about how a candidate intends to achieve these goals. Our questions below are designed for voters to ask candidates directly so they can get a specific answer as to how the candidates intend to fulfill their promises.
County Level:
1. Now that debt service accounts for 10% percent of the county budget and is for all intents and purposes at its ceiling, how would you address school construction needs?
2. The Department of Liquor Control is run by the county government and handles the purchase, warehousing and sale of liquor bringing in $28 million in revenue in a $5.5 billion county budget. Do you believe that the county government should employ 442 county staff and cover their salaries and benefits or does this function belong in the private sector?
3. The County Executive’s budget proposal for FY 2019 gives the school system $2.59 billion of which $19 million is over and above the mandated Maintenance of Effort level.
– Do you believe that the school system, while it describes how it will spend the increase, should also show how the increase will produce results? How would we know that such results have been achieved?
- 45% of the MCPS budget is overhead (non-instruction), Should MCPS cut overhead costs before it gets an increase in county funding? By how much?
- Public school budgets are created by non-elected public employees without formal input from the taxpaying public. What would you do to make the taxpayers feel more confident that the schools are spending their tax dollars wisely? Is it time for an Inspector General for MCPS that would look not only at waste, fraud and abuse but also at program performance?
4. According to Maryland’s State Department of Assessments and Taxation, there were just 19 new filing for new businesses in Montgomery County in FY16. In the year before there were 57 new business filings in the county. What specifically would you do, at the county level, to encourage business growth in Montgomery County?
5. In addition to reduced income tax forecasts, recordation/transfer and energy taxes are forecast to be lower than expected over the next 5 years. What are some of the programs or services where you would reduce spending to balance the budget?
6. County employees will get a 2% cost-of-living increase along with a 3.5% “step” increase in FY 2019. Do you believe this comports with wages in the private sector in Montgomery County?
7. It has been said that collective bargaining gives unions an unfair advantage in arbitration, leading to pay raises way above market and the highest paid employees in the region. Would you support changing the arbitration rules? Also would you support more transparency in collective bargaining negotiations so that the public is aware of the “going in” positions of labor and management and is allowed to express their opinions at a public hearing before the agreement is finalized?
8. County income taxes have varied significantly from forecast for the last 2 years. Property taxes are less volatile, but stagnant, and subject to Charter limits. Would you support increasing property taxes on home improvements by treating them as “new construction” and thus gaining more for the county in property taxes – without Charter limit restrictions? In other words, do you support the inequity of property owners of unimproved properties supporting those who have made major improvements to theirs?
9. WSSC, the largest monopoly in the state of Maryland, has prepared a six-year fiscal plan that requires 6% rate increases to maintain the debt service it has accrued to meet its net revenues. WSSC also has ad valorem taxing authority to raise county property taxes. What oversight would you propose to make WSSC an efficient and effective monopoly to avoid these annual rate increases or even an increase in property taxes?
10. What specific experience do you bring to the office to which you wish to be elected which demonstrates your development or implementation of a program in the public sector.
State Level
1. The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System has $20 billion in unfunded liabilities. The last time the State fully funded the system was in 2000. Further, the State pays $500 million a year to financial management firms to manage pension investments at no higher a return than low-cost index funds. Should we continue to pay out $500 million a year to these firms?
2. For every $1 that Montgomery County taxpayers send to Annapolis, we get 20 cents in return in direct aid. Howard County, a wealthier county than ours gets 24 cents on every dollar. How would you get us, at least, to Howard County levels?
3. Our delegates to Annapolis inform us, every year, that they have passed a “balanced” budget. True, in one sense. However it excludes long-term liabilities which in pensions alone exceed 10s of billions. How would you provide transparency in budgeting?
4. According to the State Department of Assessments and Taxation there were just nineteen new business filings in Montgomery County in FY16. In the year before, there were 57 new business filings in the county. What specifically would you do, at the state level, to encourage more business growth in the county?
5. Would you support Maryland Public Service Commission oversight of the WSSC, the largest monopoly in Maryland? Would you support privatizing the WSSC?
6. Do you favor the modernization of the state’s laws governing breweries? Breweries—most of which are small businesses—are limited to 2,000 barrels of beer they can sell to visitors in their tasting rooms. They can sell an additional 1000 barrels but only by adhering to a “buy back” provision requiring that they sell the extra beer to a distributor and then buy back their very own beer. This puts our breweries at a competitive disadvantage regarding surrounding states and hinders job growth and the concomitant increased tax revenue.
