Thanks for your analysis.

I wanted the opportunity to meet you at a resent Kent County event, but I was told attendance was closed to just registered Republicans. I have attended a number of RoK events, but was shut out of this one.

Regards the State, and County Budgets, I have yet to read you pointing a finger at the elephant in the budget room … THE BLUEPRINT EDUCATION PLAN! The $4BILLION/YEAR STATE UNFUNDED MANDATE that is causing chaos and discontent within every County and County Equivalent in the State, and for that matter the State itself.

According to the Dept. Of Legislative Services, singling out our local jurisdiction, the funding that Kent County taxpayers might be asked to make up to implement THE BLUEPRINT are as follows: KCPS FY27 Budget is scheduled to be $2.5 million more than FY26; FY28 Budget scheduled to be $1.4 million more than FY27; FY29 $1.7 million more than FY28; FY30 $2.5 million more than FY29, and from FY30 the increases go up exponentially. All totaled somewhere between 35% and 100% increase in Real Estate Tax Bills just to fund THE BLUEPRINT when all is said and done.

Note: this is not Kent County Commissioner funding, but Kent County Taxpayer Funding.

Every news article about the State’s Budget, and every news article about Counties trying to balance their Budgets have a single common denominator of expense … THE BLUEPRINT EDUCATION PLAN, AKA THE KIRWAN EDU PLAN.

The General Assembly … i.e., Senate President Ferguson, House Speaker Jones and High Profile Committee Chairs Guzzone and Barnes, the people who are truly running the State, have increased and created 338 taxes and fees for FY25, and another 50 tax and fee increases and creations quantified for FY26, some of which you point out, in order to help balance the State Budget.

Lest we forget the huge amount of expense dollars the State has shifted down to Counties; what Gov. Moore called tax cuts. I think the dollar amount for Kent County is $1.6Million of State expanses the State shifted down to Kent county. [I stand to be corrected, as I ‘think’ that is the number I heard.]

Every County/County Equivalent is in Structural Deficit Status now because of THE BLUEPRINT EDUCATION PLAN, AKA THE KIRWAN EDU PLAN.

Please, would you address how Moody’s AAA credit rating for Maryland is now in critical jeopardy because Moody’s realizes Maryland and its Counties cannot financially sustain funding the unfunded THE BLUEPRINT EDUCATION PLAN, AKA THE KIRWAN EDU PLAN mandate.

For those who wish to read a thorough analysis of the funding requirements to implement THE BLUEPRINT, may I recommend you read this Dept. of Legislative Services Fiscal Note.

https://dls.maryland.gov/pubs/prod/Educ/LocalFiscalImpactofImplementingtheBlueprintforMarylandsFuture.pdf

Please note that the Exhibit 2.2 on page 11 was been revised just in time for this year’s General Assembly Session, and the total funding requirements for Kent County increased by a factor of $12Million, 28%.

Within the first 3 pages of this document, Kent County, and a few other Counties, are singled out as being SIGNIFICANTLY FINANCIALLY IMPACTED in the financial effort to implement THE BLUEPRINT EDUCATION PLAN, AKA THE KIRWAN EDU PLAN.

You do a great job of educating readers of The Spy, please educate them on THE BLUEPRINT EDUCATION PLAN!

Mike Waal