The saga of whether Wicomico County will come up with enough money to pay for a new Bennett Middle School continues. The County Council recently declined to make a commitment to raise taxes to fund this school before seeing the county executive's budget. For those angry at council members for being cautious about county finances, a more proper target for your vitriol would be our state's policymakers.

Wicomico County taxpayers already bear a heavy burden. While the county's property tax rate is among the lowest in the state, the county income tax is among the highest. But that's not the whole picture. The current state tax regime already imposes significant income, sales and excise taxes on us, as well as levying a .112 percent property tax. The heavy burden of state taxes leaves the county with fewer options to raise revenue than if Maryland were a low-tax state.

The spending policies of the state don't help, either. When tax revenue declined in the past few years, the state took money from funds that were supposed to go to counties to pay for roads, education and law enforcement.

This year Gov. Martin O'Malley is proposing to shift payment of teacher pensions onto counties, something that will cost Wicomico taxpayers millions of dollars every year. He also wants to raise the income tax and expand the sales tax.

If the state were more sensible with its spending, the county would have seen less revenue disappear in the past few years. If the state's tax burden were not so high, the county would have other options to raise revenue without overburdening the county's taxpayers.

One of the key architects of these failed fiscal policies in Annapolis is Wicomico's own Delegate Norm Conway. As chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, he is responsible for the spending bills considered by the House of Delegates. Unfortunately, he has failed to use his powerful position to support spending and tax policies that would have alleviated the pressures currently faced by the County Council.

I doubt anyone in the county is opposed to building a new Bennett Middle School. The sad condition of the current building speaks for itself. The real question is how the county should pay for this school. The caution displayed by the County Council during this process is a sensible reaction to the fiscal mismanagement and high tax policies originating in Annapolis.