As county executive, one of my responsibilities is to manage tax dollars effectively and prudently. I recognize that this money belongs to the people of Howard County and should be invested in quality of life priorities such as education, public safety, recreation, and infrastructure, among others.Every year, we make tough choices so we can keep up with the growing needs of the community without raising taxes. Question A, a measure to use tax monies for political campaigns, would require us to make even tougher choices – weighing the cost of funding political campaigns against critical services and projects.If passed Question A would put taxpayer's hard-earned dollars into a fund that would be given to political candidates. Proponents say the fund could initially need as much as $2.5 million, but the final amount would be up to a seven-member appointed commission to decide.Every year, I hear from Howard County residents who would like us to invest more in our schools, parks, libraries, health services, nonprofits and other taxpayer-funded programs. We are working to eliminate the achievement gap among our students. We are striving to improve access to mental health services for our residents. In most years, our limited budget growth is barely enough to maintain those services at current levels. These fiscal concerns are at the core of my objection to Question A.I have always supported publicly funded campaigns using voluntary donations. For years, we have been able to check off boxes on our personal tax returns to donate to federal and state funds to help finance campaigns. But we do that voluntarily and it should stay that way. Our taxes should not go to boost the campaign coffers of any political candidate. And the type of public financing proposed in Question A will not prevent a candidate from taking donations outside the public financing system, leading to even more money being spent. I also believe that it is a solution to a problem that we don't have in Howard County, evidenced by recent elections, including my own.Proponents who imply that money determines outcomes should look at my race for county executive two years ago. I was outspent by my opponent by more than 50 percent. Clearly, money wasn't the determining factor in my election. It was through grassroots support from the community that I was elected, not by spending more money than my opponent.Strangely, Question A is anything but a grassroots movement. Only 0.3 percent of the nearly $188,000 in contributions to Question A's campaign fund has come from Howard County donors. Their top donor, who gave $10,000, is the son of billionaire and longtime heavyweight campaign donor George Soros. For a group that espouses getting big money out of politics, it seems disingenuous to push for a system to take taxpayer funds while using "big money" to try and make its point.Question A offers no specifics on how the process will work and includes no safeguards for taxpayers by failing to require those who apply for the matching funds to limit their fundraising. Those who see this as a way of reducing the cost of campaigns are being misled. Candidates can still spend as much as they want – which means we may get even more annoying robo calls and attack ads, only this time, we, taxpayers, get to pay the bill.I take my job as manager of your tax dollars seriously. I believe in using that money to continue to improve our quality of life and invest in our shared priorities. Using your taxes to fund political campaigns should not be a government function! It's bad public policy. And it will take away from government's ability to continue to keep up with growing costs for critical services without raising taxes.I urge Howard County voters to vote against Question A.Allan Kittleman, a Republican, is Howard County executive.