County residents are fed up and have grown weary with the current County leadership that has propagated the same failed policies and played musical chairs with the same people for 12 years with no real progress. County residents are seeing the worsening violent crime, decline in school performance, increasing debt to finance the County budget, and moribund business and job growth.
Most recently, the County Executive is proposing a 10% increase in our property taxes without looking at reducing spending.
By Authority Reardon Sullivan for MoCo – Victoria Birkett, Treasurer
Must Montgomery County Endure Another Major Property Tax Hike?
It is said that history repeats itself if the principals don’t learn the lesson the first time. Here we go again.
Marc Elrich’s budget proposes a double-digit tax increase from $0.98 per $100 of assessed value to $1.08 per $100 of assessed value. Many of us remember the County’s 9% tax hike which was supposed to provide for increased funding for the school system, but didn’t.
A cursory review of Elrich’s proposed FY24 budget clearly shows several line items getting double-digit increases other than the school system. Elrich’s new budget adds over 170 positions in the County on top of the bloated growth of his first term. So much for concentrating on the schools.
Reardon Sullivan, former Chairman of the Montgomery County GOP and County Executive candidate stated, “Before raising taxes, Montgomery County should look for ways to cut spending.” During the campaign for County Executive, Sullivan uncovered prior spending excesses including $160 million to undisclosed vendors. Sullivan confirmed, “There are almost 2,000 unnamed vendors in the prior County budget. The total disbursed to those vendors total over $168 million.” Almost 300 vendors received over $50,000; 40 of them received over $1 million in disbursements; and one vendor, identified only as 1803092593, received a single disbursement of over $1 million. https://youtu.be/5yJqUksdxCM
Marc Elrich has admitted that his tax structure does not work as well as northern Virginia’s, noting during debates that, “Virginia can bond against their revenue flow.” Maybe a rework of the tax structure is in order before raising property taxes on homeowners. https://youtu.be/7Vhbb5N8Lpg
What can we expect from Marc Elrich, as he thinks the lack of economic growth in Montgomery County is due to the lack of busses? https://youtu.be/5u5XG0G7v6o
Federal tax dollars from COVID relief are drying up. The gravy train that Marc Elrich was riding on during COVID will evaporate and the County will be required to stand on its own. “I would expect more games from the County Executive,” stated Reardon Sullivan “such as the hidden $64.7 million property tax hike on our homes he proposed two years ago. Since he couldn't raise the property tax rate, he tried to artificially inflate the value of our homes in order to bring in more tax revenue without saying they raised taxes… buckle up.” https://youtu.be/xaUX4KefUQM
Wednesday, November 2, 2022 6:39 AM
Sullivan Dominates Elrich in Pre-Election Forum
Sullivan Dominates Elrich in Pre-Election Forum
At the one and only County Executive forum, the crowd was able to see the differences between my vision for the future of Montgomery County and that of my opponent, failed County Executive Marc Elrich.
The Republican, Democrat, and Independent voters alike had a chance to hear my clear, common-sense message of increasing public safety, improving our schools, and bringing businesses back to the County. In contrast, Marc Elrich opined that the main reason that businesses are not coming to the County is lack of buses.
Really Marc?
I need your support NOW more than ever in this closing week. Please donate whatever you can, TODAY, to help me bring common sense back to Montgomery County.
Marc Elrich claims that he has not defunded the police. Yet his proposed budgets from March 2021 and the County’s final budget reflect cuts to the police budget, putting our citizens at risk, and resulting in increase in crime.
I ask for your vote to help me bring safety and common sense back to Montgomery County.
County Executive Marc Elrich is lost. He admits the tax structure in Montgomery, that he oversees, does not serve us as well as Virginia’s tax structure. Furthermore, he admits that he can’t plan capital projects.
We deserve better.
I ask for your vote to help me bring common sense and economic growth back to Montgomery County.
In a recent County Executive forum, I spoke about ways to improve public safety, restore education in our schools, and bring jobs back to Montgomery County.
On the topic of economic growth in the County, Marc Elrich stated that he thought the biggest impediment to job growth in the County is the bus system.
We can't make this up.
I ask for your vote to help me bring common sense and economic growth back to Montgomery County.
Marc Elrich is out of touch with the people of Montgomery County. Having been in County politics for so long he has forgotten what it is like to be a regular citizen, send kids to school, have a business, pay taxes, or be concerned about public safety.
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 12:25 AM
Marc Elrich is the "Wizard of the Budget"
There are almost 2,000 unnamed vendors in the County budget. The total disbursed to those vendors total over $168 million. Almost 300 vendors received over $50,000; 40 of them received over $1 million in disbursements and one vendor, identified only as 1803092593, received a single disbursement of over $1 million. When questioned about who got the disbursements, we were told in writing that the vendor names are scrambled by each department and they don’t want the names disclosed. This is not acceptable. We need to know where our money is going. Examine the budget for yourself:
Each year, Marc Elrich swept $130 million dollars from Pepco and the county energy tax into the general fund. The energy tax was put in place under the guise of a "climate emergency" Instead of raising taxes, they need to reduce spending on their special projects while maintaining essential services.
Friday, September 2, 2022 4:51 PM
Do you really want another four years of Marc Elrich?
I am committed to bringing common sense, cooperation, and compromise back to our local government so we can tackle the County’s most pressing issues.
We must stop disrespecting the police and allow them to do their jobs. We must provide for SROs in our schools. We must allow our teachers to excel in education, instead of pushing radical social ideas. We must bring business back to the County. We must improve transportation including 270 and the American Legion bridge.
We must get away from identity politics and archaic views based on skin color, party affiliation and gender, and get our County back using common sense for the common good.
Sunday, August 28, 2022 7:34 PM
Marc Elrich’s economic policies are not working
Marc Elrich’s economic policies are not working. Council Member Tom Hucker knows it, business owners know it, and anyone that drives to Northern Virginia knows it.
I believe that Montgomery County must do a better job at bringing new businesses to the County and supporting small business. I need your support to make Montgomery County more business friendly.
Each year, Marc Elrich swept $130 million dollars from Pepco and the county energy tax into the general fund. The energy tax was put in place under the guise of a "climate emergency" Instead of raising taxes, they need to reduce spending on their special projects while maintaining essential services
The Montgomery County operating budget is not sustainable. in FY 22, servicing our debt costs more than education, transportation or public safety. We spend 20% of every dollar raised to pay off past expenses. See: https://spending.data.montgomerycountymd.gov/#!/year/2022/explore/0-barChart/service
By authority of Reardon Sullivan for MoCo- Victoria Birkett, Treasurer
