ANNAPOLIS — A state report of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal 2009 budget shows less “fiscal restraint” than the governor maintains is within the budget.
Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat, touted eliminating 500 state jobs in the $31.6 billion budget, but the report by the state’s Department of Legislative Services shows that the governor created 898 more jobs.
The governor also said that his budget — the second in his four-year term — increases state spending by 4.09 percent and that the change was the smallest in state spending in the past five years. However, his proposed budget increases spending by 6 percent.
Still, Democrats supported the budget, released Wednesday, despite the increases.
“I think the governor did fine,” said Sen. Jim Brochin, Baltimore County Democrat. “I think it’s a lean budget on a lot of different fronts.”
O’Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese called the budget “lean” and “fiscally responsible” because it focuses on improving public education and public safety.
He also defended the budget by saying that Mr. O’Malley met spending guidelines set by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly and that 275 of the jobs were created in higher education and the courts, which are outside the governor’s control.
Republican lawmakers have frequently bristled at Mr. O’Malley’s use of numbers, saying that he mixes general-fund estimates with total-budget estimates, depending on what is politically expedient.
“It’s unfortunate that the citizens of Maryland can’t get straight talk,” said House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell, Southern Maryland Republican. “Last year, we heard he only raised [spending] by a couple percentage points, but we all knew that wasn’t true.”
Mr. O’Malley and the Assembly’s approval ratings among Marylanders decreased after they raised $1.4 billion in taxes during November’s special session, according to recent polls.
Lawmakers also mandated about $300 million in budget cuts and recommended another $250 million, which Mr. O’Malley adopted, to help close the state’s budget shortfall, estimated to be at least $1.5 billion.
The O’Malley administration frequently criticized predecessor Gov. Robert. L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, for increasing spending by 12 percent in his last year in office. But Mr. Ehrlich increased spending by 8.7 percent, according to budget numbers by legislative services.
Mr. O’Malley also said when announcing his fiscal 2008 budget that he increased spending by 2.5 percent, but he increased spending by 5.4 percent.
The disparity can in part be attributed to previous governors” moving money into the state’s savings account, or “rainy day fund”, then calling it spending.
The state’s complicated budget structure has often given political leaders from both parties room to play with the percentages and numbers they present to the public.
The complete budget includes federal dollars and special funds paid for with specific taxes, including the Transportation Trust Fund, which is paid for largely with the gasoline tax.
The general fund, which accounts for about $15.2 billion of state spending and would have fallen short by the roughly $1.5 billion had lawmakers not made cuts or raised taxes, is often the focus of most legislative scrutiny.
Mr. O’Malley started his term last year talking about spending increases in the total budget but shifted gears this week to start talking about differences in general fund spending.
The Spending Affordability Committee — composed of budget leaders from the Assembly — sets budget spending limits for a sizable portion of the general fund and is viewed as a significant fiscal watchdog.
Mr. O’Malley met the committee’s spending limits, but they account for less than one half of the complete budget.
“It’s like hokey-pokey accounting, you put it all in, you shake it all up, you take it out,” said Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley, Frederick Republican.
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