Latest news with #fiscalconservatism
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New commissioners take office as Rosemont passes budget
The village of Rosemont passed its budget for fiscal year 2026 on Monday as two new commissioners took office. Rosemont plans to use its $101,000 budget on $75,625 worth of expenditures, while transferring the remaining $25,375 to savings, according to village records. That compares to a $94,040 budget for fiscal year 2025, including $74,730 in expenses and $19,310 in savings, according to the records. Commissioner Robin Scarff said that the village has always been 'very fiscally conservative.' Scarff said that in her time in village government, the commissioners and burgess have sought to use tax funds, when possible, to benefit residents rather than forcing a single resident to bear the burden on their own. Thus, she said, Rosemont looks to 'stockpile in case of emergency.' 'We just feel all of our tax dollars should be benefiting residents and we don't want to waste it,' Scarff said. She credited Beth Coyne, Rosemont's clerk, with doing a 'thorough' and 'excellent job' on research to benefit residents. One change to the services for residents involves bulk trash and yard waste removal. In years past, the village offered an annual service of bulk trash and yard waste removal. The village approved a budget for FY 2026 that would include two such pickups with a new vendor. Coyne said the dates have not yet been set, but would probably be in October and April. The village will pay $5,350 for the twice-a-year service in the upcoming fiscal year — $1,000 more than it did the previous fiscal year, according to village records. Commissioner Mark Rohner said the bulk trash and yard waste pickup is a 'good service that the village provides to residents.' Burgess John Leach called the FY26 budget 'pretty status quo' and characterized the changes between the first read in March and the final budget approved on Monday as minor. 'The budget was great,' Leach said. Aside from wages, auditing services and the trash pickups, the largest expenses in the budget were speed enforcement, streetlights and maintenance of Merryland Park. 'Those things don't change much year to year,' Rohner said. Leach said the village is considering getting new mulch for the playground at Merryland Park, due to the current surface 'looking aged and we want to get that spruced up.' The park is owned by the state, but Rosemont mows the lawns and otherwise manages the upkeep. Leach said the village will explore state funding options for the new mulch, but is open to paying for the special playground mulch itself. New commissioners Former Commissioners Stephen Harshman and Daniel Houck did not seek re-election for another two-year term. New Commissioners Rohner and Sean Byrons were sworn in on Monday after being nominated in March and running unopposed for the two open seats. Rohner said he and his wife have lived in Rosemont for eight years. He said they enjoy that it has residential and agricultural elements while also being close to bigger cities in Brunswick and Frederick, calling it the 'best of both worlds.' Rohner said Rosemont needs to stay independent, so it can control issues that may arise related to land use. 'I don't really have any of my own personal agenda in mind other than keeping things as they are,' he said. Rohner said he and his wife have known Leach since they arrived and he looks forward to working with the burgess on civic matters. 'I couldn't wait to get Mark Rohner on the board,' Leach said. He said he was 'tickled to death' having Rohner and Byrons as commissioners, because 'we're trying to get younger people involved.' Scarff echoed the burgess's point about younger perspectives continuing to keep the village an independent municipality and maintaining the way of life the community loves. 'We like it rural and we intend to keep it that way,' she said. 'We like our neighborhood. We like our set-up,' Leach said. He added that one way he tracks community sentiment is by looking at 'for sale' signs. Leach said 'happy campers' do not want to move out of a thriving community they enjoy being part of. 'If you ride around and look, you don't see 'for sale' signs,' he said.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Elon Musk says Trump's ‘big, beautiful' tax and spending Bill is a ‘disgusting abomination'
Elon Musk , the billionaire tech entrepreneur, has opened a new rift with Donald Trump by denouncing the US president's tax and spending Bill as a 'disgusting abomination'. Mr Musk's online outburst could embolden fiscally conservative Republican senators – some of whom have already spoken out – to defy Mr Trump as they continue crucial negotiations on Capitol Hill over the so-called 'one big, beautiful Bill'. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it any more,' Mr Musk wrote on his X social media platform on Tuesday. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending Bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' Mr Musk, who had previously voiced criticism of the proposed legislation , quipping that it could be big or beautiful but not both, added on X: 'It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.' READ MORE He continued: 'Congress is making America bankrupt.' A top donor to Mr Trump during last year's US presidential election campaign, Mr Musk departed the White House last week after steering its so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) with the stated mission of slashing fraud and abuse within federal departments. He has argued that the Republican Bill will undermine Doge's work and drive the US further into debt. On Tuesday, Mr Musk drew immediate support from Thomas Massie, one of only two Republicans who last month voted against the Bill in the House of Representatives. 'He's right,' Mr Massie responded on X. But there was a rebuke from Mike Johnson, the House speaker, who said he had spoken with Mr Musk by phone on Monday for more than 20 minutes, making the case that the Bill achieved campaign promises while making permanent massive tax and spending cuts. Mr Johnson told reporters: 'With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the One Big Beautiful Bill. It's a very important first start. Elon is missing it … I just deeply regret he's made this mistake.' [ Elon Musk wanted to 'move fast and break things' in Washington. The main thing he broke was his reputation Opens in new window ] John Thune, the Republican majority leader in the US Senate, was more diplomatic, saying: 'So we have a difference of opinion. He's entitled to that opinion. We're going to proceed full speed ahead.' Having narrowly passed the House of Representatives, the Bill is now under consideration in the senate, which is aiming to pass a revised version by July 4th. Some Republican fiscal conservatives, such as senators Ron Johnson and Rand Paul, share Mr Musk's concerns about the need for significant spending cuts. Mr Johnson told CNN: 'We have enough [holdouts] to stop the process until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit.' Mr Trump has previously dismissed Republican dissenters as 'grandstanders' and urged them to get on-board. His influence proved decisive in quelling a potential rebellion in the house. On Monday he wrote on his Truth Social platform: 'So many false statements are being made about 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL'.' The White House acknowledged Mr Musk's stance but said it has not changed its position on the Bill. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: 'Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this Bill. It doesn't change the president's opinion: this is one big, beautiful Bill and he is sticking to it.' The Bill extends Mr Trump's 2017 tax cuts and includes new spending for border security and the military. Republicans aimed to offset these costs with cuts to programmes such as Medicaid, food stamps and green-energy tax credits. Projections from the Congressional Budget Office and independent analysts indicate that the Bill would add between $2.3 trillion and $5 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. White House officials contend that the economic growth generated by tax cuts will offset the increased spending. Russ Vought, director of the office of management and budget, told CNN: 'This Bill doesn't increase the deficit or hurt the debt. In fact, it lowers it by $1.4 trillion.' But Democrats have warned that the budget would raise the cost of healthcare for millions of people, and cause millions to lose coverage, to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. A new analysis by Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania found that it could lead to more than 51,000 preventable deaths. Chuck Schumer, the senate minority leader, said in a floor speech on Tuesday: 'Donald Trump and his so-called 'big, beautiful Bill' is ugly to its very core. Behind the smoke and mirrors lies a cruel and draconian truth: tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy paid for by gutting healthcare for millions of Americans.' Later, responding to Mr Musk's intervention, Mr Schumer commented on X: 'I didn't think it was imaginable but … I AGREE WITH ELON MUSK.' Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, added in a post: 'Musk is right: this Bill IS a 'disgusting abomination'. We shouldn't give $664 billion in tax breaks to the 1 per cent. We shouldn't throw 13.7 million people off of Medicaid. We shouldn't cut $290 billion from programmes to feed the hungry. Let's defeat this disgusting abomination.' – Guardian 'My Irish friends are awesome' says Elon Musk – who are they? Listen | 27:30
Bloomberg
7 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Blasts Rand Paul as ‘Crazy' for Resisting Tax-Cut Bill Over Debt Limit
President Donald Trump attacked fiscal conservative Rand Paul as 'crazy' Tuesday morning as he pressed reluctant Republican senators to move forward swiftly with his massive tax and spending package. The Kentucky senator earlier said on CNBC that he wouldn't vote for the president's signature legislation because it would increase the legal US debt limit.
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Mississippi governor calling lawmakers into special session to seek a budget deal
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi lawmakers are headed back to the state Capitol after failing to pass a budget in their regular session, called back by Gov. Tate Reeves for a special session starting Wednesday. Reeves summoned the lawmakers earlier in the week, saying a proposed $7.1 billion deal before the legislators was 'fiscally conservative.' He expressed hope that a final agreement could be secured quickly. 'It is my belief that this should not take long. In fact, I believe the passage of these bills could be done in as little as one day,' Reeves said at a news conference Tuesday when he announced the special session. Republicans, who control both chambers of the legislature, were unable to reach agreement on the next budget in their recent session. Mississippi Today reported GOP infighting led lawmakers to end their regular session in early April without passing a 2026 budget. It was the first time the legislature did not reach a budget deal during regular session since 2010. 'There weren't a lot of huge disagreements on funding of the core functions of government. There were quite a few disagreements on issues out here,' Reeves said, gesturing to the side, 'which led to them not funding the core functions of government.' Reeves said the proposed budget would keep recurring spending at roughly the same level as the current budget. But he acknowledged that uncertainty over the federal budget has played a role in budget planning. In Washington, House Republicans were jubilant after muscling through President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax and immigration package by a single vote last week and sending it for what is expected to be long negotiations in the Senate. 'There are still a lot of unknowns about what the federal government budget is going to look like going into the next fiscal year, and so I think that it certainly makes sense for states — all states and certainly Mississippi — to be prepared for whatever may occur coming out of the one big beautiful bill,' Reeves said.
