Budget Process

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has asked Congress for $75 billion to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. That comes on top of the $419 billion in defense spending included in the regular budget. Some congressional leaders oppose such separation. "It's another example of where there is a requirement - something we all know we need, something we all know is going to be supported - which is not funded in this budget," announced Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan. But the president is right to keep regular defense spending separate from funding for the war on terrorism.

A new planetarium will open at Aberdeen High School next month, replacing one destroyed by vandals at the school 18 months ago.The old planetarium, which was built in 1966 for $85,000, could not be repaired because replacement parts are no longer available. It was fully functional until it was damaged.On Aug. 12, 1992, at least two people broke into the planetarium by smashing a window and jimmying two locked doors.Once inside, the vandals smashed the star projector, a delicate piece of machinery that formed the heart of the planetarium.

What a difference a year makes. Schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell, who proposed a $977 million operating budget for the school system last week, said he and County Executive John R. Leopold have been meeting monthly since August. He described those interactions as "collegial." And Leopold called the proposed budget "consistent with my own budget priorities." "I believe those conversations have led us to a place of greater understanding on all sides, and I certainly respect the job Mr.

EVER HEARD of James C. "Chip" DiPaula Jr.? Few people have. But when it comes to how Maryland collects and spends money, the 41-year-old bureaucrat is the second-most important man in the state. DiPaula is the secretary of Department of Budget and Management. Lock him in a room with his boss, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., and the two can pretty much decide on their own how to spend $22 billion a year. Maryland stands alone among states in the financial influence wielded by a governor with the strongest of the strong-executive type of budgeting.

After twice denying the county sheriff's request for extra money, the County Council is expected tomorrow to approve the $80,000 he needsto balance his 1991 budget.On two separate occasions last week, the council voted down Sheriff Robert Pepersack's emergency request for $90,000 to cover overspending, prompting fears that the sheriff's office and Circuit Courts would have to shut down in mid-June.The council and County Auditor Joseph Novotny complained they should have known about the shortfall long before this.

The Anne Arundel County attorney's opinion about the legality of the "Crofton counselor" has less to do with the merits of the position than it does with Crofton's excessively broad budgetary powers.The counselor, a taxpayer-supported psychologist who provides free services to anyone living in the special tax district, has been a source of controversy for 20 years. Some civic leaders argue -- persuasively --that if residents of the county's fifth richest neighborhood need a couch to lie on or a shoulder to cry on, they ought to foot the bill themselves.

Beginning today, about 140 fewer employees will work in Baltimore City government, with the Fire Department and the Office of Employment Development taking the brunt of the cuts.Nearly a third of the workers were laid off late last year from the Office of Employment Development, the city agency that helps find work for residents on public assistance.In the Fire Department, 75 positions were eliminated, most because of termination, attrition, retirements and reorganization.Like most agencies, the Department of Public Works laid off employees in the name of reorganization.

Superintendent Sydney L. Cousin has decided to halt the application process to fill a newly developed assistant superintendent position, saying the school board should have the opportunity to discuss the new job during the budget process. After a recommendation by an outside audit that the school system centralize communications functions, the position was created to oversee public information, TV services and partnerships offices. "There were some people who raised the question over why there was another high-level administrator," said Cousin, adding that the position ranks lower than a chief position in the county school system hierarchy.

The Baltimore County school system is a top-heavy mess. So say the members of the County Council, who have cut $4.4 million from the 1995-96 education budget with the intent of trimming what they claim is a bloated bureaucracy.However, the most recent state figures suggest that the councilmen have made a gross misjudgment. The statistics from the State Department of Education show that Baltimore County ranks third from the bottom in dollars devoted to administrative costs. Twenty-one of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions spend more on their central operations than does Baltimore County.