Budget Plan

Gov. Martin O'Malley's first full day in office began with a Cabinet meeting just hours after inaugural festivities ended and concluded with a birthday celebration with his family. 8 a.m. - Held a Cabinet meeting in the ceremonial reception room, where he was briefed on details of state government, such as how the highways are plowed during snowstorms. 9 a.m. - Briefed legislators on his $30 billion budget proposal. 11 a.m. - Left for Baltimore, where he watched Sheila Dixon be sworn in as mayor.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton will release a $1.766 trillion federal budget blueprint for 2000 today that proposes billions of dollars in new spending while preaching fiscal conservatism.Clinton's budget plan will ask Congress for substantial new money for scores of domestic programs popular with liberal and middle-class constituencies, from urban housing vouchers to new classroom construction.But Clinton, taking advantage of surging federal tax receipts, will also propose large spending increases for cherished Republican priorities: the military, local police and small business.

The Baltimore County school board approved last night a $684 million spending proposal for 1999-2000 that includes large raises for veteran teachers to encourage them to keep teaching.The operating budget -- which seeks a 5.8 percent spending increase -- expands the system's focus on early reading instruction by adding 80 teachers to decrease the size of reading classes in lower-performing elementary schools.The budget proposal goes to County Executive C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger and the County Council for their approval this spring.

WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Senate Budget Committee proposed a Republican fiscal blueprint for next year yesterday that rejects nearly all of President Clinton's calls for increased domestic spending but provides smaller tax cuts than sought by many Republicans.The proposal from Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico is the first detailed GOP budget plan this year and appeared likely to be adopted more or less intact by the committee this week over Democratic opposition.If approved by the full Senate, it would serve as the chamber's broad tax and spending template as it confronts the first federal budget surpluses in a generation and begins grappling with the long-term financial crises facing Social Security and Medicare.

Supporters of music and adult education packed a hearing last night on the Baltimore County school system's proposed $641 million spending plan for next year, urging the school board not to cut money for the arts or turn over adult education programs to the community colleges.Several parents and leaders of the county PTA Council also called for the board to increase spending in areas such as building maintenance and textbook purchases, saying the schools need more than a 2.25 percent budget increase.

Two weeks after receiving a $213 million, three-year repair bill for its elementary schools, the Baltimore County school board faces tough budget choices this week that are sure to leave at least some communities unhappy.The board is scheduled to vote Wednesday night on a $77.6 million capital budget plan for the 1999-2000 school year.For every school for which the board decides to seek repair money, others will have to survive for one or two more years with antiquated plumbing, fickle heating and peeling paint.

WASHINGTON -- Fannie Mae said yesterday that it has learned that the Clinton administration's proposed federal budget would raise at least $500 million a year by slapping new fees on Fannie and its sister mortgage concern, Freddie Mac.Both companies are government-sponsored enterprises, or shareholder-owned entities created by Congress to help ease funding in the housing market. Due to this status, Congress exempted both companies from Securities and Exchange Commission rules that require public companies to register securities and pay fees.

WASHINGTON -- In a giant step toward ending three decades of deficits, President Clinton and Republican leaders announced agreement yesterday on a balanced budget plan that would provide tax breaks to investors and middle-class families, more aid to college students and health care to millions of uninsured children.The deal would also increase Medicare premiums for most elderly citizens, squeeze doctors and other health care providers and further restrain spending for non-military government programs.

WASHINGTON -- Brushing aside last-minute criticisms and attempts to shift priorities, Congress moved late yesterday toward approving a five-year plan to cut taxes and balance the federal budget."

Compared with the past two years, when droves of irate parents complained about what wasn't in the proposed Anne Arundel County school budget, last week's hearings were eerily tame."

Noting "slim margins" and "little flexibility" in an uncertain economy, the Carroll County commissioners unveiled yesterday a lean budget plan for the coming fiscal year intended to address cuts in state and federal funding, as well as rising fuel and utility costs. The proposed operating budget for 2009 totals $353 million, a 1.6 percent increase in spending compared with the budget for the current year. Almost half -- $171.7 million -- would go to the public school system. "This is the tightest budget plan we've adopted" in recent years, said Ted Zaleski, director of management and budget.

The General Assembly passed Maryland's $31.2 billion budget yesterday, capping a hectic day of debates and votes as lawmakers sought to put the finishing touches on a crush of legislation before they adjourn tomorrow. Although much of the day was taken up with debate over the repeal of the computer services tax, both legislative chambers sent bills to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his signature, including high-profile measures that would protect rural shoreline from further development and strengthen penalties against manufacturers of toys and other products containing lead.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said yesterday that the state could collect $200 million over four years by bolstering efforts to audit individuals and businesses that violate state tax laws. Franchot, who held news conferences Thursday in Baltimore and Silver Spring to speak out against proposals to legalize slot machine gambling, said his plan includes doubling the number of corporate auditors. An aide to Gov. Martin O'Malley reacted to the news conferences by saying the governor's office "would welcome any constructive ideas" from Franchot on how to close the projected $1.7 billion shortfall in the state budget.

Gov. Martin O'Malley's first full day in office began with a Cabinet meeting just hours after inaugural festivities ended and concluded with a birthday celebration with his family. 8 a.m. - Held a Cabinet meeting in the ceremonial reception room, where he was briefed on details of state government, such as how the highways are plowed during snowstorms. 9 a.m. - Briefed legislators on his $30 billion budget proposal. 11 a.m. - Left for Baltimore, where he watched Sheila Dixon be sworn in as mayor.

WASHINGTON -- The Army's top officer withheld a required 2008 budget plan from Pentagon leaders in August after protesting to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that the service could not maintain its current level of activity in Iraq plus its other global commitments without billions in additional funding. The decision by Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, is believed to be unprecedented and signals a widespread belief within the Army that in the absence of significant troop withdrawals from Iraq, funding assumptions must be completely reworked, said current and former Pentagon officials.

A year after receiving all the money it requested for the first time, the Harford County public school system is expected to approve a $380 million budget this week that seeks more money from the county and state to improve intervention programs and increase teacher salaries. The proposal, which is about $40 million more than the current year's budget, seeks to add more than 150 teaching and administrative positions - including some for the Patterson Mill middle and high school complex - while increasing wages and benefits by $26 million.

The Baltimore County public school system would expand college-readiness programs and head off emergency repairs under a proposed operating budget for the next fiscal year that exceeds $1 billion. "This budget is a modest budget and a very realistic budget," system Superintendent Joe A. Hairston said at last night's county school board meeting, where he presented his recommendations. The proposal is about 7.3 percent higher than the current year's spending plan, according to the school system.

The Maryland House and Senate are set to approve competing versions of a $26 billion state budget this week, setting up what could be heated negotiations over whether homeowners should receive a property tax break and how much money should be spent on school construction. The fiscal committees in both chambers decided last week where to cut from the spending proposal submitted by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in January. Full debate is scheduled to begin today, during an afternoon session in the House of Delegates.

Annual property tax bills for many Marylanders would decrease about $100 under a $25.7 billion state budget plan approved by the House Appropriations Committee yesterday. The committee decided to use $163 million in real estate transfer-tax revenue to reverse a tax increase agreed to by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. two years ago as part of an unpopular budget-balancing move. Under the House of Delegates initiative, property taxes would drop about $48 per $100,000 in assessed property value, said Warren G. Deschenaux, the Assembly's top budget analyst.

Baltimore officials unveiled a bleak budget picture yesterday for next year that calls for eliminating more than 500 municipal jobs, increasing a variety of fees and reducing fire protection and trash collection. The city should also consider increasing how much it can tax the annual assessment growth of homes, currently 4 percent, Mayor Martin O'Malley said. The change could cost homeowners in neighborhoods with escalating real estate prices hundreds of dollars a year in additional taxes.