(8/2014) This month I would like to go over some of the facts and results of the fiscal responsibility shown by the current BoCC. First, before I get into the details of our four years as Commissioners, I would like to take an opportunity to thank Ralph Whitmore. Ralph was my opponent in the Republican primary for District 5. You can see why Ralph is very well respected in the Walkersville area; he ran a clean race and his character and integrity show why he has been elected in Walkersville many times over to the local town council. After the primary I spoke with Ralph and we both admitted that people were trying to get both of us to go negative during the primary. We both decided we would run on our ideas and leave the negativity where it belongs, in the tabloids.

Now, on to what has been accomplished with the current BoCC. We have less than a 2% increase in the overall budget of Frederick County while including for the first time in six years, a 2% COLA and a merit increase for county employees. Overall increases in the budget during this Board’s term are due to the actual consolidation of services and streamlining operations. The elimination of a separate fire tax and the consolidation of fire and rescue services into the General Fund accounted for an approximate $43 million increase in the budget. The consolidation of the Division of Permitting and Development Review back into the General Fund in FY13 increased the budget by $5 million since this was previously an Enterprise fund reported separately.

This $48 million increase to the budget was NOT an increase in spending. The Gardner BoCC simply played a shell game with the old fire tax. The fire tax was losing upwards of $13 Million annually, instead of coming to grips with the fact it was not self-sustaining, they simply moved funds from the General fund to make up the shortfall. This BoCC took some heat from some municipalities who were concerned that their taxes may have been raised by eliminating the fire tax and rolling into the general fund. My point to them is simple, you were paying the tax all along, Jan Gardner and her BoCC just weren't letting you know it. It was a shell game.

The previous Gardner BoCC cut funding to Frederick Community College we restored this funding by $1 Million along with providing funding for five additional Sheriff Deputies ($650K). We expanded the senior tax credit which provides funding for the Dept. of Aging Case Manager position.

We added two LPN positions for the School Health Program ($110K) to assist with critical nursing support. Also funding for pay increases for Part-Time Non-Benefitted personnel including School Resource Officers, School Crossing Guards, Developmental Center and after school program funding for Office of Children and Families. These services are part of the $10.8 million of In-Kind Services provided by the County to the BOE.

We eliminated the amusement tax, the trailer tax and the excise tax. Just ask the Walkersville Feed Store if he wanted the excise tax? It would have cost him $4,800 to build his new pole barn just to pay the excise tax.

If you want to keep good government in Frederick County with fiscal responsibility as well as a central County Government that can work with local Municipalities as well, then you need to consider voting for the candidates that run on those terms. There are seven good conservative candidates running for offices in districts and at large. Do your research and vote for the conservatives that will allow you to do business in Frederick County while keeping more of your hard earned money along the way.