Testimony at County Council Public Hearings on the Operating Budget

Testimony from the Public Hearings on the Montgomery County Operating Budget, April 11th, 2012:

Thank you. I’m Paula Bienenfeld. Tonight I have three minutes so I want to make three points.

First, I want to express my deep gratitude and thanks to Senator Brian Frosh and his informed constituents. I thank Senator Frosh for voting against the draconian MOE legislation which every other member of our Montgomery County delegation voted for. I also thank Senator Frosh for coming out against the bill which would give the student member of the Board of Education the additional voting power over financial matters. As you know this legislation would mean that 13 and 14-year-old children in middle school would have more control over the county’s budget than you, our council members, would, given that the BOE controls more than half of our entire budget. While the bill failed in this session it is likely to come up again in the next session.

My second point regards the cronyism and secrecy – the back-room and unrecorded deals that are rampant in this county. No-bid contracts, in which millions of dollars are spent; this pattern has to end to get our fiscal house in order. The Montgomery County Civic Federation, of which I am the Education Committee Chair, is working on the Checkbook Online Project. We want to see Checkbook Online put in place in the county government and in the public school system. Checkbook Online is used nationwide including in the Miami-Dade County Public School system, the fourth largest school system in the country; and, closer to home, in Goochland County, Virginia. According to officials in Goochland County, implementing Checkbook Online cost the county next to nothing to put up online. As MCPS claims to be ‘data-driven,’ the same can be expected from them as well as from you, the County Council. I understand Checkbook Online actually saves government agencies money, as more eyeballs on the finances means more opportunities to identify waste and provide solutions. We ask that you put Checkbook Online on the county website within this fiscal year. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” The Civic Fed will be working on the Checkbook Online Project this year and we ask other civic organizations, and the Council, to join us in bringing the county’s secret books into the sunlight. We are all responsible for how we spend our taxpayer dollars.

Third, in looking to the future I ask that you put in place a professional economic development group and not rely on the well-known Montgomery County Crony System. Each year the Washington Business Journal publishes the list of regional economic development offices and the number of jobs they have created in the last fiscal year. This year again our Department of Economic Development fell short when compared with other areas. In Montgomery County, the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development created 556 jobs. By comparison, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, led by a professional in the field, created 8,765 jobs. The Prince George’s County’s Economic Development Corporation created 1,191 jobs. It is time to end the secret deals and the cronyism in this County.

Thank you.

Maryland Ranks 27th in Transparency, Receives C+ Grade

US PIRG has just released their annual report on states' transparency, Following the Money: How the 50 States Rate on Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data. You can read the entire report here. What are the findings?

This year’s report found that 46 states now provide an online database of government expenditures with “checkbook-level” detail, a major increase from 32 states two years ago. Twenty nine state transparency websites now provide information on government expenditures through tax code deductions, exemptions and credits – up from eight states two years ago.

“Citizens expect information to be at their fingertips the way they can view their cell phone minutes or the location of a package. Putting spending information online helps hold government accountable and allows taxpayers to see where the money goes.” said Phineas Baxendall, Senior Analyst for Tax and Budget Policy at US PIRG.

States that have created or improved their online transparency have typically done so with little upfront cost. In fact, states with top-flight transparency websites actually save money for taxpayers, while also restoring public confidence in government, and preventing misspending and pay-to-play contracts.

“It is important to continually strive to improve the state's transparency website because it shines a light on government spending,” said Baxandall. “Given our budget problems, American taxpayers need to be able to follow the money.”

And what about Maryland?

Maryland ranked 27th of the 50 states in transparency, earning a C+ grade and a score of 75. Who ranked higher? Virginia. Louisiana. Mississippi. Texas.

Here is our ask: Marylanders want Checkbook Online.