Reducing Our Tax Burden
In a time when taxes never seem to go anywhere but up, it’s good to know that Tom Ellis has been bucking the trend. With a population that is larger than some states and a budget of almost a half a billion dollars, running Montgomery County’s government effectively and efficiently was no simple task.
Tom Ellis believes that government should be run like a business. Using his experience as a public finance attorney, Tom used cutting edge financing techniques to generate $30 million in savings which were used to hold the line on taxes.
For both 2007 and 2008, Tom and the Board of Commissioners adopted operating budgets which called for decreases in county property taxes. In fact, when Tom left office in January, property taxes were actually lower than when he took office four years ago!
Montgomery County is one of only 30 counties in the United States that consistently qualifies for the highest “Aaa” Bond rating saving resident millions of dollars annually.
And finally, Tom has personally contributed to this “holding the line on taxes” philosophy by taking no salary for the first 2 ½ years of his term & taking half of his salary thereafter.
Tom Ellis has embraced the challenges that were presented before him and he has tackled the tough decisions that Montgomery County was faced with every day.