Budget Process

State lawmakers representing Washington County suspect they'll be called back to Annapolis for a special session on budget matters. But they say three months should have been enough for the legislature to finish its work. It should never have come to this. However, they don't all agree on whether a special session is necessary. Some Republicans are content to leave the approved budget as it is. But two local Democrats said cuts in that budget are severe and need to be countered with a tax package that was supposed to have passed during the regular session.

Why send people from the big city to the rural areas to scare people into supporting your plan when you can get local folks to do the job for you? That's apparently the strategy being employed by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is trying to line up votes to pass revenue-raising measures to plug a $1.7 billion hole in the state's budget. We don't doubt that there will be cuts in state aid to local counties if some revenue-raising measures aren't passed. The state's population is growing, which means new schools will be needed.

Washington County Board of Education members clashed Thursday over the suspension of a citizens committee intended to get the public involved in the development of the school system's annual budget. Executive Director of Support Services William McKinley sent the 12-member Budget Advisory Committee a memo last month asking them to suspend their meetings. School Board President Edwin Hayes said he asked McKinley to send the memo. School Board member B. Marie Byers said the full board didn't authorize that action.

Delegation backs parking plan By LAURA ERNDE / Staff Writer Washington County lawmakers, with the aid of Maryland's speaker of the house, are supporting an additional $4.4 million for parking and open space at the planned University System of Maryland education center in downtown Hagerstown. continued All eight members of the Washington County delegation to the Maryland General Assembly signed a letter, a copy of which was made public Monday, backing the proposal.

Hagerstown's Mayor and City Council were not as involved in early budget discussions this year as they were in 1999. The mayor and some council members say the difference is a result of this year's rosier financial picture, not a result of public criticism. In 1999, tight financial projections pushed the mayor and council into an unusually active role in the early stages of the budget process. Before the City Administrator released his proposed budget last year, the mayor and council had already discussed and reviewed the budget in several meetings, including some that were closed to the public.

Nearly 100 school officials, parents and business leaders have kicked off an ambitious effort to analyze Washington County's school system and come up with recommendations to address shortcomings contained in a stinging report last September. Officials, who have broken the system down into 10 major areas, hope to see a final report in time for the next budget cycle in October. "We're going to feel our way along because it's something new," said Michael G. Callas, co-chairman of the task force.

The Washington County Board of Education plans to speed up its budget process so it can submit its spending plan to the County Commissioners earlier than it did this year. Accelerating the process will be an improvement, but honesty is more important, County Commissioner Paul Swartz said Thursday. "It will give us a chance to examine and discuss (the budget) in the open a little more," he said. "The real issue is still being honest with each other and predicting ahead of time what their surplus will be. " The accelerated schedule is intended to allow for more discussion between the two boards.

The Washington County Board of Education can't speed up the construction schedule for some school projects because the county is providing less money than requested, Director of Facilities Management Dennis McGee told the board during its work session Tuesday. The six-year Capital Improvement Program budget, which the Washington County Commissioners tentatively adopted last week, gives the School Board $4.5 million annually in fiscal years 2002 through 2006. The county is giving the School Board $4.15 million in the 2001 fiscal year, which begins July 1. The School Board had asked for $6.2 million in each of the next five years, McGee said.

Clothes from Africa: What does it mean? To the editor: Bought a pair of pants from a mid-range clothing/department store recently and later noticed the tag, "Made in Swaziland. " I've experienced the cycle - from department store 4-cent "notions counters" of the 1950s, filled with "Made in Japan" tin and plastic toys, small household items, early ball-point pens, etc., the South's rise to become what's left of America's manufacturing center, China and Korea's export juggernauts, and more recently Mexico, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Cambodia and even Vietnam.

Deming receives preservation award Developer Michael Deming received the 2007 John Frye Historic Preservation Award on Tuesday for his redevelopment of the Schindel-Rohrer building in downtown Hagerstown. Members of the county's Historical Advisory Committee gave Deming the award during the weekly Washington County Commissioners meeting. Committee Chairman Ralph Young said Deming, who owns a number of downtown properties, had "greatly enhanced historic preservation efforts in Washington County.