Budget struggles

Our Opinion

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009

But this year really is different. Gov. Martin O'Malley released his budget proposal last week and it is 1.6 percent lower than the current year's operating budget and cuts 700 state jobs. And still it relies on creative bookkeeping and the hope of $350 million in federal stimulus spending that doesn't exist yet to balance the books.

The good news here is that a lower budget shows some genuine fiscal restraint. The bad news is that eliminating 700 jobs would help to push Maryland's unemployment rate up; that runs directly contrary to the intent of the Obama administration's plans for an enormous economic stimulus package.

The budget struggles in Annapolis are far from over and are just beginning in Charles County. School officials here held a budget session earlier this month, but it will be months before everything is hammered out. School officials were realistic. "With all this uncertainty, we are certain that with this economic downturn we can expect less," one school official said.

But given the current state of affairs, it seems there can be some reasonable guidelines. A top priority should be to look for ways to cut and defer expenses. Another priority should be to keep people working.

The fact is that the Charles County government is in good financial shape.

But that doesn't mean people aren't suffering. The relatively modest jobless rate here disguises the fact that things have changed. Local businesses are calculating what they must do to stay open.

Workers have had salaries frozen, health benefits cut and contributions to pensions and 401(k)s trimmed.

Those who still have jobs have made sacrifices, and will be making more, to protect themselves. The county government and the public schools will have to do that as well.

There's no doubt that there are new initiatives that could help bolster a steadily improving school system. There's no doubt that there are projects the county government could undertake to offer better services to its taxpaying citizens.

But now is not the time.

And it is not the time for job cuts either. The government's job this year is to keep people working to educate, protect and provide services. Thousands of people here work for the county, state or federal governments. That doesn't mean government jobs can or should fail to reflect the difficult economic times.

On his first full day in office President Barack Obama told members of the White House staff that salaries would be frozen for those making more than $100,000. That's worth considering for all of those people on the public payroll.