News & Opinions

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Flush with Revenue, Drunk on Spending

Montgomery County is not broke. It is broken — broken by political will.

Since Fall 2023, a state-authorized property tax rate hike and back-to-back SDAT reassessment cycles have flooded the County with record revenues. Income tax collections surged. Property tax collections climbed without another rate increase. A $260 million windfall arrived in November 2025 alone. Yet County officials stood before cameras and declared a “structural deficit” — then proceeded to propose an $8.02 billion budget, a 26% spending increase in four years, and a progressive income tax hike they called a “restructuring.”

This report documents what the money bought — and what it did not. Residents are paying 29% more in property taxes than four years ago. Their streets are not safer. Their schools are not dramatically better. What did grow: county union paychecks at 6.5%+ effective raises per year while federal employees received 1.0%; non-competitive grants to political advocacy organizations that campaign for the same incumbents who write them checks; and a spending trajectory that the County’s own Revenue Estimating Group warns is unsustainable by $854 million over six years.

READ MORE

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165 Does Not Equal 8 | Montgomery Perspective | Adam Pagnucco | April 22, 2026

County executive candidates lay out vision for East County at White Oak forum | Bethesda Today | Elia Griffin | April 21, 2026, 6:10 pm Updated April 23, 2026 3:20 pm

Louella Tham for Montgomery County Council

I’ve known great Democrat and Republican leaders in Montgomery County. I’ve even voted for and supported some great Democrats who helped MoCo thrive. And here, in past years, folks would often vote in good Republicans, and we had some great ones.

Jim Gleason was our first elected County Executive, Connie Morella, Gilbert Gude, Newton Steers were great Congressmembers, Betty Ann Krahnke, Nancy Dacek and Howard Denis were effective County Council Members, and Stephen Abrams was a City Council and School Board Member…all Republicans, here are some pix

It made good sense, they were always the minority, but you always knew there was diversity of viewpoint, someone to watch the majority party carefully, and with a chair at the table, the ability to call into question any bone-headed idea that might come up. We’ve lost that. Most votes in MoCo and Annapolis are now 100% Democrat. Maybe we don’t need a fox watching the hen house, but maybe a few Republican guard dogs would be in order to make sure your money’s spent well, your rights aren’t diluted and your taxes aren't raised through the roof.

Yep, I recognize MoCo and Maryland are not majority Republican, they never have been. I remember that before the Civil War, we were a Democrat run slave state, that only stayed in the Union because the Army was in DC- on old MoCo land! But even as the minority party we have a substantial reason to want to participate in making MoCo great. It would take a Republican to say:

• Don’t buy million dollar electric buses that don’t work in winter.
• Don’t put lots of empty Ride On buses on the roads next to empty bike lanes.
• Don’t raise taxes to funnel money into a glut of public school administrative staff while schools are serving fewer students - and the ones we have poorly, keeping them less safe, and not teaching them STEM and patriotism.
• Keep boys out of girls sports and girls bathrooms.

We need some normal folks with common sense. True diversity means diversity of thought. Look at our great candidates, vote for the best, not the most red or blue, but the best. That’s the way we’ll get back on track, pull our country back together and enjoy the better quality of life that we had in MoCo before single party government was the norm.

Read this editorial I wrote in Bethesda Magazine about Ending One Party Rule and tell me what you think.

Tell me what issues we should address, what diversity really means and how you feel about single party government. Write to me at [email protected]

Dennis Melby

Only about 10% of the Republican Judges we need have signed up. I can't complain they don't have Republican representatives when Republicans don't volunteer to serve. I need you, the Party needs you, the free and fair election process needs you. We need you now.

-Dennis Melby, Chairman

Thanks to those who sent in feedback! Here is of the feedback that we received last week.

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County Exec's Tone Deafness

Can you take this opportunity to respond to Elrich’s  recent comment that we can afford to pay his proposed increased property taxes because Trump reduced our Federal tax bite this year.  I also note that county bus service seems to be wasting a lot of money.  Elrich worked for a long time to get the big, expensive to operate Flash busses running on Colesville Road.  I notice that they are almost empty on their runs most of the day.  Also, the county keeps getting bigger and bigger Ride-On busses, and most of them anywhere in the county that I see them, are carrying few passengers.  I have not been out to observe passenger loads at the peak of rush hour, which may call for those busses, but the expense of operating them with such small loads outside of rush hour seems like a big waste of money.  Is anyone looking at the budgets for the county’s bus systems?

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Newsletter

We look forward to your weekly newsletters.
You are spot on man with everything including this federal work base which we find are more socialist as they want more government paid stuff.
We grew up in the world you labeled a Better Method and Capitalism. Work hard because there are no free handouts. Make a contribution to society, community and the family -   not to keep taking.
This lack of wanting to be accountable and work in a budget is empathetic suicide. We would end up in prison if we ran out home like they run the government.
Thank you sir.
God bless you.

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DID YOU GET THIS?

Mailed at your expense to every household. Use more electric says the county. Don't us gas, don't use oil, don't use propane, and whatever you do, don't have a wood fireplace. No one in America pays more for electricity than we do in Maryland. Montgomery County taxes your electricity through the roof. Give me a break...a tax break. Give us some clean, cheap and useful power. Let folks stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Give us all a break! What do you think? Tell us at [email protected]

  News & Opinions

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EMBARASSED MUCH?

Who will win the seat vacated by Eric Swalwell?

(Just for fun, we included non-Californians.)