Fire Cuts, Another Bad County Proposal from Democrats

During the last weekend of 2017, Montgomery County experienced a record number of building fires. Two days later, the County Fire Chief announced nearly $3 million in cuts.

Why would the Chief reduce the support to county residents at a time when fire, rescue, and emergency medical services needs are at an all-time high? As the number of building fires continues at a record pace through early January, Montgomery County stands to lose two fire engines, a ladder truck, career staffing, and volunteer department funding. The impacts of these cuts are real and frightening – longer response times to those in life threatening situations.

The cuts were not the Chief’s doing, but rather a result of Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett calling for executive departments to make cuts of two percent in order to save money after projections show income tax revenues were $64 million less than projected for the last quarter of 2017, and another nearly $100 million shortfall is projected for 2018, all while much of the country is thriving and the Dow Jones is topping 25,000 for the first time ever. With people and businesses leaving our high-tax, sanctuary county with a growing gang problem, it should have come as no surprise.

You may have confidence that the county council will work everything out. After all, many of them have been reelected again and again. They must have a plan based on hard data and the wisdom drawn from their extensive time in office.

But Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner’s analysis of the situation should bring shivers to county residents: “In a world in which there is almost full employment and a stock market that has been going up, up and up, the notion that our tax revenues are going down is really something that we don’t understand.”

So as we gear up for the 2018 election season, let’s take a fresh look at our incumbents and their like-minded allies. Let’s remember that politics is a means to an end, that end being the welfare of our people. And let’s elect councilmembers who don’t simply use support to first responders as a tag line to get elected. In other words, Vote Republican.