Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1920-02-20
Lower Tax Rate.

And Democrats. whether interested o
not in sound public finance, see in Gov
ernor Ritchie's budget tremendous asse
for their party. Republican leaders frankly
concede that the Governor has made
ten-strike for himself and his party.
Governor Richie met the situation, il
the first place, by welding a ruthless prun
ine knife, even while he recognized tn
fact that increases in most appropriation
were inevitable because Of the higher cost
of doing business. He did not allow thu
fact that increases were necessaryto sweeI
him off his feet He distinguished between
the necessary increase and the sort OF in
crease that present-day spending habit
invited. The result was State department.
we're cut from as little as 500 for the very
small departments to considerably NOR
than 100000 each year in the case o
the State College of Agriculture. Stat
institutions were cut thousands of dollars
and State-aided institutions, which eener
ally do not receive very large appropria
tons, had their requests reduced in man!
instances by from $500 to $4,000.
While cutting constantly into the re-
quests for appropriations submitted t.
him, the Governor was aided, on the Other
hand, by several favoring circumstances
which he was skillful enough to take ad
vantage of. The general advance in values
had increased the taxable basis sufficiently
to cover the addition Of $750.000 to the
appropriation for teachers salaries. after
making the regular school appropriation
and the appropriation for interest and
sinking fund charges, without requiring
more than about 33 cents on the 500 Of
basis. After allowing about cent more
on the 500 to meet the interest and sink
ing fund charges on the bond issues pro-
posed to be authorized, the Governor set
himself to prevent any further addition to
the rate arising from the demands for other
appropriations. In other words. he set his
face against allowing any appropriations
that could not be cared for out of what are
broadly described as general funds-that
is, those other than receipts from direct
taxes.
He was aided in holding the other ap-
preparations within the total Of receipts
other than those from direct taxes by his
decision not to take any money out Of the
general funds for roads. In the past sew
eral hundred thousand dollars annually
have been appropriated from general funds
for State-aid roads. Two years ago $780,
900 was appropriated for each Of the ifs
cal years 1919 and 1920 for State aid roads.
By cutting out this appropriation the Gov
ernor had, in comparison with the current
and the last fiscal years, 100000 for
the next two fiscal years, to be applied to
meeting the demands for larger appropria-
tons from State departments and institu-
tons and State-sided institutions.
The roads situation was met in accord
ance with the plan outlined in the Gov
ernor's inaugural address. That is, he pro-
poses in his budget message to have the
State put up $1,600,000 year for the
next two years. to be applied in meeting
$850,000 from the Federal Government,
and $750,000 from the counties. making
a total of $3,200.000 year for roads. or
$6,400,000 in the next two years. which
is all that the Roads Commission says it
can efficiently spend. The money will be
spent in building rural post roads and lat
eral roads. To meet the $l,600,000 a
year. which the State is to put up, the
Governor plans to issue bonds each year for
$l,5OO.000 The remaining 100000 will
be taken out Of the general funds
Another important aid in holding the
gene al appropriations within the general
funds, and thus av iding adding to the tax
rate, was the balance in the Treasury. Some
time ago il was stated that there probably
would be a surplus of Sl.500000 in the
Treasury by the end of the current fiscaI
year-September 80 next. Whether the
surplus will 60 that high is not certain
There was left over from the last fisca
year about S775,000. Playing safe, the
Governor estimates the surplus to be &C.
cumulated in the current year at some.
thing over $250,000. That is conserva.
tive. That means that at least the COM
bined surplus of the last and the current
fiscal years will be over $l,000,000. The
Governor used about three-quarters Of
that. calculating upon leaving approx.
mately S286,000 surplus in the Treasury
at the end Of two fiscal years covered by
his budget that is. he calculates that as
there is no increases in revenues and il
this years surplus does not exceed the
conservative estimate.
Just what that 81. 900. 900 surplus meant
in holding down the tax rate and in meet.
ing the general appropriations will be seen
when it is stated that Governor Richie,
proposed appropriations for the 1921 fisca
year exceed the expected revenues b,
$326.000 and his proposed appropriations
for the 1922 fiscal year exceed the ex
pected revenues by S405.000. The tota
of the excess appropriations for the two
fiscal years is about $733,000. Assum
ing that the appropriations could not safely
have been cut lower, the finding Of that
surplus in the Treasury saved an addition
of several cents to the tax rate. In COM
menting on the surplus, the Governor paid
tribute to the efficiency Of the budget sys-
TEN under Governor Harrington, and spoke
of it as the great achievement Of Governor
Harrineton's administration.
As a matter of fact. however in a pinch
the Governor probably could have pulled
through without the use Of about three
quarters Of the $l.000.000 surplus, for as
the situation has been worked out by him
he has been able to give Baltimore city
its share Of the roads money out of the
general funds. The practice has been to