‘Doomsday’ would eliminate crucial public safety grants, officials say

...“I just don’t think it’s that big a deal for us,” said Garrett County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt. Overall, Garrett was anticipating a $2.7 million decrease in funding, one that had already prompted the closing of two undercapacity elementary schools, one with about 300 students, one with about 50, Pagenhardt said.

“The board of education did the prudent thing [by closing the schools],” Pagenhardt said. A special session to raise revenues and restore some funding might be nice, but officials weren’t depending on it, he said.

A reduction in public safety funding was about equal to two full-time patrol positions, and the county had asked workers in its roads department to decline a scheduled raise agreed-to in collective bargaining to help compensate for the cuts, Pagenhardt said.

“We’re used to having money taken away by the state,” he said.

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