Budget Crisis

THE GREAT budget crisis of the spring of '96 is finally over, boys and girls. Yawn. Oh, pardon me. Wouldn't want anyone to underestimate the fiscal problems Baltimore faces. You've probably heard the doom-and-gloom story countless times by now. And it's all true.The tax-paying middle class is moving out; leaving the city to the tax-sheltered rich, who are little inconvenienced by its shortcomings, and the tax-supported poor, for whom inconvenience is a way of life. This malady afflicts not only this town, but all of urban America.

While thousands of federal employees and government contractors in Maryland are feeling the bite of the partial federal shutdown, the impact on other Marylanders and on state and local government appears to be spotty.As the budget shutdown ends its third week tomorrow, the Clinton administration says the impact is spreading. But it varies widely from state to state.In Maryland, the main impact has been the anticipation of dire consequences if the shutdown doesn't end soon. In most cases, the state is using its own funds when federal money runs out.Although Kansas closed its unemployment offices Tuesday after running out of federal money to operate them -- the first shutdown in the 60-year history of the federal program -- Maryland offices remain open.

Since Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich late last year identified "federal aid to dependent corporations" as a major culprit in the budget crisis, groups across the ideological spectrum have echoed his argument that the government is providing "corporate welfare."The libertarian Cato Institute, the moderate Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) and the Ralph Nader-affiliated group Essential Information issued separate reports last month saying that eliminating many corporate subsidies and tax breaks would narrow the budget deficit and help the economy.

Baltimore school officials will lay off 66 administrators, teachers and clerical workers Dec. 31 -- and potentially more by spring -- to help balance the system's budget, Superintendent Walter G. Amprey said yesterday.Supervisors handed layoff notices to many at headquarters and at schools yesterday, bringing to an end a week that also saw the school board sever its contracts with Education Alternatives Inc. to save money.Officials said that as budget reviews continue through the winter, more layoffs are possible.

In the first sign of severe education budget cuts expected next year, the Howard County school system has issued layoff notices to 15 employees in the central administration office.The notices went out as Superintendent Michael E. Hickey is preparing a plan to restructure and streamline the central administration, which could reduce further the number of central office employees.School officials said the notices were the first sizable set since the county's 1991 budget crisis -- when revenue shortfalls resulted in cutbacks that included canceling negotiated teacher raises.

As the General Assembly convenes in Annapolis at noo today, there are no bright expectations for a productive, high-spirited session ahead. The budget crisis continues to cast a long shadow over state government.Many of the legislature's 188 senators and delegates got into politics so they could do something for their constituents. In more prosperous years, doing something was easy. Usually it involved steering more money toward a pet project -- schools, police, drug rehab programs, small business, the homeless, the local community college or whatever.

Sixty-three days after it began, California's budget crisis is over. Well, sort of. Let's just say the crisis has been put on hold till next year.After Gov. Pete Wilson signed the $57 billion budget (yes, VTC California's annual spending program is that big -- more than the combined budgets of Greece, Finland and Ireland), state officials started figuring out ways to cash the $3.5 billion in IOUs that had been issued from Sacramento to pay state workers, vendors and nursing homes during the prolonged deadlock between the Democratic legislature and the Republican governor.

Responsive governing requires a close and attentive ear to public opinions and expectations. This is doubly true when troubled economic times pit potential winners and losers against each other in hard-ball state budgetary politics. This forces Maryland elected officials to make choices that please none of the players and may well injure long-term state interests.The Schaefer Center for Public Policy at the University of Baltimore conducted such a comprehensive survey in December issues dealing with the state budget crisis, taxation and services.

SOPHIA, the mother of three, works six days a week as a chamber maid in a Baltimore hotel. She receives no government benefits and spends three-fourths of her salary on rent.Her company offers no health insurance, and she and her three children struggle to make ends meet. Now her youngest has started crying from the pain of an awful earache. So Sophia faces the choice of taking her daughter to a doctor and paying for medication or paying this month's rent. All over Maryland families are having to make these choices.

Media victimsAfter reading letters by H.F. Rizzo and Jean Kittel about the media's "coddling" of Bill Clinton on the character issue (Oct. 16), it amazes me that these long-suffering victims of the so-called "liberal" media still don't get the message.Despite their harangues about the media being apologists for "Slick Willie," the truth is that most people have heard in great detail their stories and claims and simply reject the premise that George Bush is the right man for the job.Perhaps people see the hypocrisy of a candidate who flip-flopped on Roe vs. Wade, voodoo economics, the Iran-contra scandal and promises of no new taxes.

State officials agreed Wednesday to buy more than 1,000 acres of pine forest and tidal marsh in Dorchester County, bringing to more than 25,000 acres the total amount of land acquired for preservation under the O'Malley administration. The Board of Public Works - made up of Gov. Martin O'Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp - approved paying $3.1 million for five privately owned tracts west of the Fishing Bay Wildlife Management Area. The parcels, owned by the Dorchester timber firm Besley and Rodgers Inc., are to become part of the state's Chesapeake Forest Lands, allowing continued timbering while also providing public access and preserving wildlife habitat for ducks, eagles and federally endangered Delmarva fox squirrels.

Given the drastic, across-the-board gains in student achievement Baltimore City public schools have registered over the past two years, few would deny schools chief Andres A. Alonso deserves the $29,000 bonus the school board awarded him this year. Yes, that's a lot of money, especially coming on top of his $250,000 annual salary, which is among the highest in the state for school superintendents. But an approximately 10 percent bonus isn't out of line for a CEO responsible for a $1.1 billion system with thousands of employees, and it's actually considerably less than that for a comparable position in the private sector.

State officials are signaling that Gov. Martin O'Malley's hallmark tuition freeze at public universities could end soon as Maryland grapples with a budget crisis that shows few signs of easing. "I think the time has come to look at moderate tuition increases," said state Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp at a Wednesday meeting of the State Board of Public Works, where $281.5 million in midyear cuts to higher education and other agencies were approved. O'Malley, a Democrat who sits on the spending panel, told her that many agree.

Hollywood producers may say they like a location's weather, or wax poetic about the great scenery or architecture, or love the people they hire as extras. But whether they decide to film in your state? That's largely a function of the bottom line. Despite the downturn in the economy and the resulting state budget crisis (and perhaps even because of it), California has started offering 20 percent tax rebates for big movies shot there and 25 percent for TV shows. That's a relatively modest deal - Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico and New York are among the states either offering or contemplating giving even more.

Land purchases invest in our future The importance of the decision to purchase land in Southern Maryland cannot be understated ("State OKs $57 million to purchase 4,400 acres," Jan. 29). Some may question the merits of spending state funds for open space preservation when the overall state budget is facing a possible $1.9 billion deficit. However, it is important to understand that the money used for this purchase, and for similar land acquisitions, comes from a special source. Founded in 1969, Maryland's Program Open Space is a dedicated fund that pools the proceeds of the real estate transfer and recordation taxes.

While millions of Americans sat before TV sets on Tuesday night watching presidential election results, Jennifer Seidel was in her kitchen with a laptop, fixated on the Carroll County Board of Elections Web site. The Mount Airy resident sought to know how she fared among three other candidates vying for two open spots on the county's school board, which meant she spent much of the evening repeatedly pressing the refresh button. Around midnight, Seidel got the news: She placed first in balloting with 37 percent of the vote.

Slots will support services state needs The Baltimore Sun made the right call in endorsing the referendum to legalize slot machine gambling at five locations around the state ("Yes on Question 2," editorial, Oct. 19). As the editorial notes, slots could provide as much as $600 million in new revenues for the state at a time when budgets are tightening and communities are finding it harder to provide the vital services the public relies upon. AFSCME represents more than 50,000 state, county, municipal and other public service employees who make Maryland happen every day. We maintain roads, care for the sick and elderly, make our schools clean and safe places for children to learn, manage water and waste effectively and much more.

While the state braces for budget cuts that are expected to significantly impact bread-and-butter programs such as education and public safety, leading politicians are seizing the opportunity to talk about another hot topic - slot-machine gambling. Gov. Martin O'Malley brought up the November referendum to legalize slots yesterday as he discussed spending cuts that he plans to present Wednesday to the Board of Public Works. A list of recommended cuts he's considering reads like a catalog of unappealing options: public schools, state police, community colleges and health care programs.

Despite resistance from House leaders of both parties, Gov. Martin O'Malley said yesterday that he would not back off of his call for a special session of the General Assembly to tackle the state's $1.7 billion budget crisis. Instead, the governor embarked on a feverish push - both in private meetings with lawmakers and via a flurry of media appearances - to sell his plan as a "consensus" proposal. O'Malley cautioned that the longer lawmakers wait to debate the details of his plan, which includes divisive initiatives to legalize slot machine gambling and raise the sales tax, the higher the state's deficit climbs.

It was the low tuition that persuaded Alex Nowodazkij to enroll at Howard Community College in Columbia. But for the past three years, the cost of attending HCC and other community colleges statewide has shot up, leaving Nowodazkij and other students scrambling to pay for their education. HCC announced this week that tuition for 2005-2006 would increase again, by $5 a credit. Other community colleges are contemplating similar action as they prepare next year's budgets. "Some of the students work two jobs to make a living," said Nowodazkij, 21, president of the student body.