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nAn ‘accounting error' is caught, but questions of oversight remain

At a time when every dime of government spending should be subjected to microscopic review, here comes the baffling news that the state mistakenly shorted Montgomery County schools nearly $25 million.

The state's "accounting error" was caught when county school officials noticed something was amiss as they pored over state budget estimates last month. Further probing uncovered the likely cause — an error in calculating property values that are plugged into a formula that helps determine how much state money is sent to counties.

The governor, noting that "mistakes happen," has promised to make good on the payment, but the issue is a bit more complicated and not so easily dismissed.

Turns out, the error touches all of the school districts. And, while Montgomery will be paid the $25 million it was promised, there were millions overpaid to other school districts around the state and the governor will not be asking for that money to be repaid.

An interesting public policy dilemma and decision — that in such times of fiscal crisis the state of Maryland overpays school districts by $25 million and chooses not to have the money returned. Further, it appears that the state has known of the foul-up since August and said nothing.

This is not exactly the kind of bookkeeping lapse that makes you want to rush out and call a news conference but the delay sends the wrong message as to how tightly the state finances are being managed.

At least in Montgomery sums of money like $25 million are still taken seriously — and we do know how to do the math.

nDanger averted, bigger problems unsolved in water main break

Fresh paving on a stretch of River Road has erased a nightmarish pre-Christmas scene after a 5-foot water main ruptured and turned the thoroughfare into something resembling whitewater rapids during morning rush hour.

What can't be paved over is the reality — seen time and again with seasonal breaks — that the water pipes and sewer lines of the regional water utility are wearing thin and not enough money has been set aside for replacements.

The River Road break qualifies as a life-threatening disaster, something that a few experts have warned about. Luckily no one was injured during heroic rescues of drivers trapped in flooded cars.

Elected leaders in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, who play an oversight role with the budget of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, are pinning their hopes on tapping hundreds of millions of dollars from the much-discussed federal economic stimulus package to help play catch-up. Since there is no guarantee that any bailout money will be forthcoming soon, they need a Plan B, and perhaps plans C and D. As has been spelled out many times before, delaying the utility's billion-dollar infrastructure problem by shortchanging the capital improvement budget can't be an option any longer.