The Silver Spring Penguin

Belt tightening and higher taxes may be needed to plug a $400 million gap in the county’s 2009 operating budget, MoCo exec Ike Leggett announced Thursday.

“We have to get through this tough transition,” Leggett told more than 100 people who packed into the Long Branch Community Center for a budget forum. “It means saying no to people when we traditionally say yes.”

Leggett did not specify which programs (if any) he’d like to shrink in 2009. However, he previously suggested cuts in fire and rescue services, as well as an end to free Ride-On bus trips for the kiddies, during renegotiations for the 2008 budget. The county council ultimately trashed those recommendations.

In the meantime, Leggett said he would leave the door open to a tax increase if residents couldn’t agree on some budget cuts (view video below).

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While most in the audience petitioned Leggett for continued educational and health services, Silver Spring resident Andrew Kline wanted more cops on the beat.

“We’d like to see you stick with your commitment to add 250 sworn officers to the force,” Kline said on behalf of Prezco, an umbrella group of 12 below-the-Beltway civic associations.

Another Silver Springer requested better security and support services for businesses beyond Ellsworth Drive. Leggett said underdeveloped parts of the central business district, like Fenton Village and South Silver Spring, were already pegged for streetscape improvements (view video below).

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Nearly half the county’s proposed $4.2 billion operating budget would fund public school programs; one third picks up the cost of running the county government. Overall, the largest tab covers salaries and benefits, including those for retired county employees.

While the county still enjoys revenues that increase by 4 percent each year, expenses are climbing twice as fast, Leggett explained. Chalk it up to increasing energy and insurance costs, as well as decreased revenues as a result of the crappy housing market, he said.

County council prez Mike Knapp acknowledged Monday that balancing champagne tastes on a beer budget would take finesse and a little research. He hoped that Wednesday evening’s town-hall meeting in Silver Spring would give the council the 411 on the area’s economic revitalization.

“There have been vast improvements to downtown Silver Spring, but what more needs to be done?” Knapp said at a media briefing in Rockville. “Where are we in the status of downtown Silver Spring?”

Leggett submits his draft operating budget to the county council on March 15.

Video photography by Ron Pace for The Silver Spring Penguin.