(5/2018) This year’s operating budget is estimated at $608M and the capital projects budget is estimated at $158M. The operating budget is being funded by various tax revenues, with the main source being property taxes ($316.8M) and income taxes ($217.4M). This year the property tax rate remains steady at $1.06 per $100 of property value.
Income taxes have remained the same as well. This rate has not changed during our tenure as Council Members. If your property taxes went up it was due to the increase in the value of your home and land.
We should all be very proud that the cost of borrowed money is the lowest possible due to our stellar AAA bond rating with all three bond rating agencies. This is due to not only good fiscal management but also the votes of the majority of the council to continue to fund the county’s reserves.
The capital projects budget is funded thru a variety of sources including the county’s general fund, developer contributions, recordation tax, impact fees, school construction fees, water and sewer fees, grants, bonds, etc. These monies pay for schools, renovations, roads, fire stations, fire trucks, parks, libraries, maintenance and much
more.
By the time you read this article, the Council will have gone through at least two full days of budget workshops. It is vital work, the most important job we hold as elected officials – to pass a conservative and sensible budget to protect our citizens.
The majority of our operating budget (82%) is mandated, with only 18% of discretionary spending. Over half of our expenditure is on education including Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS), Frederick Community College and Frederick County Public Libraries. We are very fortunate to be able to continue to fund FCPS at a level that our
teacher salaries are no longer at the bottom of the pay scale in Maryland. Teacher salary deficiencies were of grave concern to me when I was elected. It is very gratifying to see the pay scale slowly emerge to a more reasonable rate of pay for such qualified and excellent educators and stewards of our children. The proposed budget has $7.2M above maintenance of
effort, and that is needed for the salary adjustments, among other projects to serve the needs of our students.
The specifics of the county budget are all available online under the budget office’s section of the Frederick County website: https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/66/Budget-Office
Many of the residents of the county responded to surveys asking where their priorities were for spending tax payer dollars. The vast majority voted for education and safety.
We have excellent public safety in our communities. This budget provides for continued support for our Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Fire and Rescue Services, 9-1-1 Communications Call Center, and Emergency Management. It adds an additional five 9-1-1 Communications call center employees to meet the growing demand as more people come
to live and work in Frederick County. Did you know that the 9-1-1 Center takes an average of 1,300 calls per day equating to 934 dispatched calls each and every day of the week? Amazing work. And, you probably don’t think too much about needing this protection until you have to call 9-1-1.
Again this year the county executive is requesting an increase for our employees. This time it is a merit increase. I support our over 2,000 employees as they do a tremendous job day in and day out The budget also fully funds the Frederick County firefighters proposed agreement.
We have a great environment and quality of life. This budget continues to support our senior citizens, parks and recreation, cultural amenities, bikeways and trails, TransIT, our health department, roads and bridges, water, animal control, utilities and solid waste, our cyber security, economic development, and more. We have also increased
funding to help our non-profit partners which support so many of our local programs to protect our seniors, house the homeless, feed the hungry and provide a safe environment for those in abusive relationships, and address the opioid crisis in our midst.
It is a conservative budget, increasing 4.58%, which is less than the City of Frederick at 5.8%.
We honor our pledge to be good stewards of your taxes which fund the myriad of county services and keep our promises to maintain our excellent school system.
