The City of Rockville, Maryland holds non-partisan elections for Mayor and 4 Councilmembers 2-year terms during odd numbered years (this year on November 3rd). This year is unusual in that a sitting Mayor, Susan Hoffman, is being challenged by an incumbant councilmember, Phyllis Marcuccio (which hasn't happened since 1987). In this diary, I have brought together what web resources are available, summarized each candidates position on establishing the city budget.
Web Resources from which I have culled the mayoral candidates assertions and opinions...
Susan Hoffman, campaign website
Phyllis Marcuccio, campaign website
Susan Hoffman, Gazette interview
Phyllis Marcuccio, Gazette interview
Susan Hoffman, Sentinal interview
Phyllis Marcuccio, Sentinal interview
The Issues...
Rockville City Budget, Fiscal years 2010 and 2011
background: The recession has hit everywhere, even the great state of Maryland. As a consequence the City of Rockville will not be getting $2.4 millionof the state funds that were originally allocated to it. Since the City has a legally encoded balanced budget imperitive, the fiscal year 2010 need to be trimmed. The City administrative bureaucracy reccomended that currently vacant city employee positions remain unfilled and that a variety of capitol improvements be put on hold. Even though the budget was balanced upon adoption, in fact the City will enter with a 20% reserve from fiscal year 2009.
Hoffman: Asserts that a balanced budget for the city is the biggest challenge for fiscal year 2011, especially since she is unsure where additional cuts can or should be made, although she emphasizes excess reserve promulgated during her tenure as mayor.
In a letter to the Rockville Central website (cowritten with incumbant councilmembers Britton and Gajewski) Hoffman seeks to emphasize that the 2010 was reduced by 1% while at the same time they broadened the homeowner tax credit, increased funding o non-profits, undertook a 20-year water infrastructure improvement cycle and completion of the Thomas Farm Community Center. They go on to assert that Rockville is still maintaining a Triple-A bond rating.
Marcuccio: From her own website, councilmember Marcuccio advertises her no vote on the fiscal year 2010 budget with the stated reason that during the current economic crisis it is wasteful to give city employees cost-of-living-adjustments to the salaries. Elsewhere Marcuccio cites her ability to obtain a 1% tax reduction in the overall budget as proof that said budget is bloated with additional costs that should be refunded/stay in the pockets of Rockville's citizens. Marcuccio proudly proclaims her record of introducing three such tax reductions during her tenure on the city council. In Marcuccio's vision, the budgetary process would be revamped to include more detail and see the mayor and council wrest more control from the city administrators. Marcuccio also warns that fiscal year 2011 will bring challenges in the form of increased retirement package costs.
Enterik: For someone who does her homework, Marcuccio provides surprisingly little detail about the budget, in interview or on her campaign website. In contrast, Hoffman speaks more specifically about the challenges faced in the recent past and the need to maintain specific infrastructure and programs within the city. Personally, I am not much swayed by the generic appeal of tax cuts that Marcuccio proposes, because they invariably cause belt-tightening elsewhere and risk degrading necessary municipal services and infrastructure, as we have seen most obviously at the national level. Additionally, I believe it is short-sighted and regressive to ask employees to forego cost-of-living salary increases when the city can still balance it's budget (as required by law). Neither do I find sufficient cause for Marcuccio's critique of the city manager form of Rockville's government, despite having been smited by said administration with regards to the West Argyle Street dispute.
For all the above reasons I give a strong advantage, on what is likely to be the defining issue in the next term, to incumbant mayor Susan Hoffman