Council Adds $2.2 Million to Proposed Budget

County councilmembers unanimously voted Tuesday afternoon to add an additional $2.2 million to its $5.9 billion proposed 2021 operating budget.

Council is expected to vote on the proposed budget on May 21.

On May 12, the council agreed to spend $888,000 to hire 10 additional school nurses.

It also agreed to allocate $700,000 for new security grants to faith-based organizations, $180,000 on a senior transportation initiative and $234,000 to enhance cell vent, bunk and door retrofitting to reduce self harm at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility based on findings from the National Institute of Corrections.

Because many stores temporarily closed and county residents are unemployed due to the pandemic, it is difficult to predict what income the county will be receiving in the coming months, noted Marlene Michaelson, council executive director.

But thanks to the influx of federal dollars, the county holding expenses to a minimum and roughly $71 million in budget reductions, Michaelson believes, at least for now, the county can continue providing services at the current level.

She predicted the county would have $554 million in reserves in the 2021 budget.

“Basically we are in okay shape right now” in terms of reserves, but that could be significantly reduced in 2021, depending on the economy, she said.

“Every department needs to be as fiscal responsible as possible,” she added.

“We know that the fiscal cliff is ahead of us,” agreed councilmember Evan Glass, adding that his goal was to avoid any layoffs or furloughs.

About Suzanne Pollak

Suzanne is a freelance reporter with Montgomery Community Media. She has over 35 years professional experience writing for newspapers, magazines, non-profit newsletters and the web.

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