Budget Plan

The Anne Arundel County Council was to act today on a proposed $616.6 million operating budget that includes no tax increase.The council and County Executive Robert Neall have tentatively agreed to endorse a proposal to redistrict schools, shifting as many as 15,000 students and saving about $50 million.The school board has the final say on that plan.Anne Arundel would join Carroll, which approved its budget yyesterday, and Harford counties and the city of Baltimore in maintaining their tax rates.

WASHINGTON -- The Republicans took an important step toward balancing the federal budget yesterday when the House approved a spending blueprint that promises to cut taxes and eliminate the deficit by 2002.The savings in the budget resolution would come largely from slowing the growth of Medicare and Medicaid and by slashing a wide swath through the federal bureaucracy, wiping out hundreds of programs. The GOP plan sets the outlines for more than $1 trillion in spending cuts over seven years; the details would be determined by Congress late this summer.

Your recent editorial on state finances preferred the House of Delegates' version of next year's budget over the Senate's budget plan because of its smaller tax bite ("A better plan," March 27). The House version, though, provides less ongoing revenue and a smaller year-end balance. The result: A $200 million shortfall for the legislature to resolve this time next year. In order to bridge that gap, the state will either need to revisit its options for new taxes or make more cuts to local schools, college affordability, access to health care and other community services.

Baltimore would offer no cost-of-living raises to city workers and no cut in the property tax rate to homeowners under the preliminary budget plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1.Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke's $2.2 billion proposal stresses public safety and education. The city would hire 80 more police officers and 81 more teachers, although the overall number of city workers would grow by just 54.The austere budget plan, which officials said is made necessary by a decline in property tax revenues, will be presented next week before the Board of Estimates, the first public step in the two-month process for adopting a budget.

NEW YORK -- Stocks closed lower yesterday amid concern about today's release of the July employment report and the pending budget vote in Washington."The economy is sluggish, and there is no reason to think this trend is going to change any time soon," said Dick Adler, who heads the investment committee at Eagle Asset Management, which oversees $5.5 billion in equities.The Dow Jones industrial average lost 3.08 points, to 3,548.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.41, to 448.13. Declining common stocks on the New York Stock Exchange exceeded advancing issues by a margin of about 8-to-7.

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats closed ranks and nervously approved President Clinton's long-term budget plan yesterday, then splintered into a dispute over whether his $16.3 billion jobs program is needed.Conservatives and moderate Democrats, angry that they were not being permitted to offer amendments to Mr. Clinton's economic stimulus proposal, were holding the Senate floor last night in what looked like the beginnings of a filibuster.Sens. John B. Breaux of Louisiana and David L. Boren of Oklahoma said they were hoping to persuade enough of their colleagues and the White House to support a compromise.

DALLAS -- One day after he jarred the presidential campaign with his announcement that he was re-entering the race, Ross Perot said yesterday that if elected, his plan to balance the federal budget would not get started until a year after his inauguration.Interviewed by Barbara Walters for the ABC News program "20/20," Mr. Perot said it would take that long to secure congressional approval of the legislation needed to implement his economic proposals."At the rate Congress moves, let's assume you go in the first of '93," he said in his first comments on the timing of his economic plans.

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."

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.

County Police Chief Robert P. Russell proposed yesterday a departmental reorganization that could eliminate five positions from his command staff as part of his $41.6 million budget plan.While many county departments are reorganizing, few are making changes at the top. The chief's approach drew praise from one County Council member."Everyone else, when they take positions out, they take them out from the bottom," said Councilman George Bachman, D-Linthicum. "I think that speaks highly of you."