County Budget Not As Dismal As Expected

By Darrell Mak
Although much better than originally feared, the county is still trying to resolve about a $30 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal year, but, fortunately, the latest figure is only about a third of what it was just a few months ago. County officials point to overly pessimistic estimates, some additional revenue, and a significant reduction in expenses that helped narrow the gaping hole.

Earlier last month, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley released details of the state’s budget for fiscal year 2012, which included about $13.7 million in direct local aid to Anne Arundel County, a 4.1 percent increase. About $12 million was eliminated when the county assumed employees would take an additional 12 furlough days, according to John Hammond, the county’s budget officer.
Two other initiatives, announced by County Executive John R. Leopold, together have raised more than $10 million, which will help the budget dilemma.
“Instead of relying on tax increases, this Administration has used creative methods to help balance the budget in difficult fiscal times by cutting spending and identifying new revenue sources,” Leopold said in a statement.
Some of those creative methods included establishing a $500 ambulance transport fee, which has generated $8.5 million, and collecting about $2 million of delinquent personal and commercial property taxes.
The increase in revenue, while welcome, was small compared to the bulk of the cost savings that materialized when the county reined in planned spending for the year when it began to realize funding would not be obtained.
Last year, Leopold presented a county budget that held to his initial campaign promises of no new taxes. “The budget continues my commitment not to increase property or income taxes during my term,” assured Leopold last year. Leopold was forced to implement about $2 million in spending cuts for fiscal year 2011, a harsh reality for the many individuals and organizations that depend on county funding to survive.
Significant budget items benefiting Pasadena included construction funds to continue improvements at Northeast High School, construction of the second phase of the Adaptive Recreation Complex at Lake Waterford Park, and funding for construction of Lake Shore Fire Station.
The first phase of construction at Northeast High School began in July 2010. Work continues and will include two new wings to the school, which is expected to be completed in April 2012.
The Adaptive Recreation Complex at Lake Waterford Park is the county’s first athletic field dedicated to adaptive recreation. The new field was designed as a baseball field with a multipurpose field overlay and is covered with a rubberized, wheelchair accessible surface.
Earlier this year Leopold initiated his fifth county-wide hiring freeze to help address this year’s budget difficulties. “Despite these difficult fiscal times, this Administration has been able to weather the storm with prudent cost-cutting actions to avoid extensive reductions in service or layoffs,” Leopold said.
Each hiring freeze saves between $2 million and $2.5 million, depending upon the number of vacancies and the duration of the freeze. Past hiring freezes have lasted anywhere from six to ten months.
Going forward, the county executive is expected to present his proposed budget to the County Council on April 15, earlier than in past years after voters voted to move the budget schedule ahead by 15 days. It will then be reviewed by the Council, which will schedule hearings within 30 days to gather public feedback on the budget, and then will have until June 1 to approve the new budget. The budget for fiscal year 2012 will begin on July 1.