Ballot Question 2 - MD Democrats pimping gambling again -- of course for the children <wink><wink>

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude

IIRC, the way government budget/accounting works, the money you are given at the start of the fiscal year has to be spent for its intended purpose by the end of the fiscal year. If not, the money must be returned to the Treasury. By law, it cannot be kept and spent the following fiscal year. You can, however, accept delivery of goods/services and make payment the following fiscal year.

This failure to spend affects future appropriations, because unspent funds at fiscal year end indicates you’ve overestimated your budget. Your credibility is questioned, and, as a result, you may get less appropriation in succeeding fiscal years. Obviously, this is a serious faux pas.

To avoid this error, the purpose for which the money was originally sought is changed as the fiscal year end approaches. In some cases, you’ll mask the change by spending the money on goods/services in the same expense category. In the end, the money may be spent on things not required just to say that you’ve spent the money. This ensures that all money allocated to you is spent.

This is serious business. Heads role if there's unspent money at the end of the fiscal year.

That depends. You can "keep" the money after a budget adjustment law is adopted. You're correct that any excess doesn't necessarily carry over for the operations end.

The State Pension Fund invests the excess
https://sra.maryland.gov/investments-financials
Here is for the Highway Trust Fund
https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/tso/Pa...aspx?PageId=85
Local governments, Counties and Municipalities, invest in the Local Government Investment Pool
https://treasurer.state.md.us/treasu...ment-pool.aspx
The Flush Tax has the same setup. When it was set up the legislation specifically stated that the funding couldn't be redirected.

The Highway fund is set up to account for future expenditures after bond payments this year are made and and excess goes into reserves for that future. Local government enterprise funds like capital charges for water and sewer are the same. The funding and expenses for those work differently than from the general fund budget.

Things like roads and sewer plant upgrades are designed to be bonded and not paid for entirely out of current revenue.

What you described is true for federal expenditures, state and local works a little bit differently, as does Social Security and the federal Highway fund.

That was the original issue with the gambling money, it went directly to the General Fund and not a set side, so in year two when the various Counties started to ask for appropriations from it it was discovered that it had all been spent last year. Hence the set aside/lockbox law adopted a couple years ago that puts it into a separate account that carries over from year to year.

[bande1102]

I voted no. Gambling, lottery.....just another word for taxes.

[Digger 68]

Originally Posted by bande1102

I voted no. Gambling, lottery.....just another word for taxes.

They are choices. You do not have to gamble. I don't.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by Digger 68

They are choices. You do not have to gamble. I don't.

That is a point. While gambling, the lottery and slots, have been called a "tax on the poor" the reality is that playing either is a choice.

[Cruzincat]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

In all honesty it's not just Democrats but many Republicans too. Ehrlich pushed for slots his entire term and neither House would consider it because both then Speaker of the House Mike Busch and then Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller had moral qualms about gambling. Those qualms abated when O'Malley was elected and slots were passed.

The moral qualms were more about Erhlich getting a WIN in his column.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by Cruzincat

The moral qualms were more about Erhlich getting a WIN in his column.

Yeah. I meant to put moral qualms in quotations when I wrote it (I usually have in the past) but forgot.

[NJ2MDdude]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

That depends. You can "keep" the money after a budget adjustment law is adopted. You're correct that any excess doesn't necessarily carry over for the operations end.

The State Pension Fund invests the excess
https://sra.maryland.gov/investments-financials
Here is for the Highway Trust Fund
https://www.mdot.maryland.gov/tso/Pa...aspx?PageId=85
Local governments, Counties and Municipalities, invest in the Local Government Investment Pool
https://treasurer.state.md.us/treasu...ment-pool.aspx
The Flush Tax has the same setup. When it was set up the legislation specifically stated that the funding couldn't be redirected.

The Highway fund is set up to account for future expenditures after bond payments this year are made and and excess goes into reserves for that future. Local government enterprise funds like capital charges for water and sewer are the same. The funding and expenses for those work differently than from the general fund budget.

Things like roads and sewer plant upgrades are designed to be bonded and not paid for entirely out of current revenue.

What you described is true for federal expenditures, state and local works a little bit differently, as does Social Security and the federal Highway fund.

That was the original issue with the gambling money, it went directly to the General Fund and not a set side, so in year two when the various Counties started to ask for appropriations from it it was discovered that it had all been spent last year. Hence the set aside/lockbox law adopted a couple years ago that puts it into a separate account that carries over from year to year.

Yes, I was describing how spending works at the federal level. I worked in a federal Budget Office right out of college. It was the worst desk job I've ever had. But I got to meet a lot of good people across the country.

Government infrastructure projects are bonded and generally secured by the full faith and credit of the government issuing the bonds. U.S. municipal issuance is down for the year, most likely due to Covid-19. If the pandemic continues into next summer, I imagine the lockbox will be picked by the legislature.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by NJ2MDdude

Yes, I was describing how spending works at the federal level. I worked in a federal Budget Office right out of college. It was the worst desk job I've ever had. But I got to meet a lot of good people across the country.

Government infrastructure projects are bonded and generally secured by the full faith and credit of the government issuing the bonds. U.S. municipal issuance is down for the year, most likely due to Covid-19. If the pandemic continues into next summer, I imagine the lockbox will be picked by the legislature.

Yep, every bonding document I ever read had that "full faith and credit" phrase plus, and I don't know if this extends past State/County/Municipal bonds, an ad valorem addition.

That really freaked people out when the then Treasurer complained about it (she was born in 1911 or so and had been in office since 1942). Being the polite guy I am I just told people that we wouldn't have to pay the bonds out of property tax revenue if they would just pay their water and sewer bills. We had people in 1988 who had never, not once ever, paid a sewer bill since the system went on line in 1958. Since we didn't have a water system yet we couldn't shut them off for non-payment. I discovered a way (actually I just asked the Town Attorney) to make them pay their bills going forward-put the house up for Tax Sale. That got their attention when we did it. We had something like $1M in past due sewer bills for a system that cost $750K to build (in 1958) and we were making up the shortfall from general revenue.

Some of the people regretted electing a 34 year old prick to office when that happened.

Maybe. Since I left office I haven't really paid attention to it. Calvert County just issued $40M in bonding for various projects, one is a 911/Emergency Operations Center upgrade plus some school money as well as other projects.

[Digger 68]

Bottom line is the money has to come from somewhere. Elves don't sneak out at night and make things happen that so many take for granted.........