Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature aren't happy. 

They've had Maggie Brooks' latest budget in their hands for about a week. And while they have some major concerns about it, they're also unhappy with the local media, which they say haven't reported extensively enough about budget issues.

In a press conference that lasted more than 30 minutes last week, eight of the 12 legislature Democrats laid out their questions about the budget. And the tone of the event seemed to indicate that they've given up on getting answers from the Brooks administration and are taking their case to the public. Or at least to the media.

Minority Leader Carla Palumbo put it bluntly. "We think these are the questions you also should be asking," she told members of the media.

Many of the Democrats' questions are important. Why, for instance, has the county budgeted $1.5 million for rent from Frontier Field when it's received very little rent since the facility was built? Why wasn't the source of $24 million in additional revenue (which basically closed the budget gap) clearly identified? ("There is absolutely no explanation for where that money comes from," fumed Legislator Paul Haney, a former county director of finance.)

Current Budget Director Bill Carpenter says the $24 million will come from a handful of sources, most of them mentioned in the budget address, though not the budget itself. (All were covered by local media, including this newspaper). They include an energy-savings project Brooks is putting in place at county facilities, the lease of space on the county's fiber optic network, and sales of electricity generated at the Mill Seat Landfill. The potential revenue from these actually exceeds $30 million, says Carpenter.

The county didn't itemize the specific revenue projections from each component, so that if revenue from one came in higher, the county could back off from another, says Carpenter. For instance, if the sale of Mill Seat electricity exceeded projections, the county could lease less space on the fiber optic network.

Carpenter also acknowledges that Frontier Field often doesn't pay rent but says the budget line item is necessary to appropriate the funds, if the rent is paid.

"If we don't include the money, we can't invoice for it," he says.

Haney says that may be the true, but if the county knows it may not receive the revenue it should create a corresponding line item on the expense side for uncollectible revenue. That would make the final balance sheet more accurate.

The Democrats are also upset with things that aren't part of the budget itself. Brooks, they say, is placing too much blame for the budget's growth on Medicaid as a way to push her "community solution," which involves hiking the sales tax, then turning that revenue over to the state in exchange for the state taking over Monroe's Medicaid costs.

Perhaps the Democrats are more confident in the press than their GOP counterparts. Or maybe just more desperate. In case the message hadn't been hammered home by the tone of the press conference or the preponderance of sound bites, Legislator Steve Eckel ended it the way Palumbo began it: with one last plea for coverage.

"The media's the watchdog for this community," he reminded departing reporters.

The County Legislature will hold a hearing a public hearing on the budget at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 7. The full legislature will vote on the budget at its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, December 12.