May 2019 County News Briefs

Proposed FY20 Budget Delivers High Quality of Life in Frederick County

Likening the budget to a jigsaw puzzle with many pieces working together to create a high quality of life, Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner unveiled her proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2020 on April 15. The budget is lean, sensible, balanced, and fiscally responsible, and it delivers results, including outstanding schools, safe communities, efficient services and a high quality of life. Income and property tax rates remain unchanged.

The budget reflects modest growth, with a third of new revenues going toward paying the bills and sustaining existing service, and half supporting employees across all agencies. New spending accounts for an increase of less than 1% of the total budget, with most directed toward public safety. The budget also continues the County Executive’s strong commitment to public education, with an additional $12.2 million for Frederick County Public Schools to ensure the best teachers in the classroom and high-achieving student outcomes, and an additional $1 million for Frederick Community College.

In the coming year, residents will see the opening of two new parks, the Myersville Branch Library, construction of Urbana Elementary School, and numerous road and bridge projects.

During her presentation, Executive Gardner highlighted new initiatives for the upcoming budget year:

• Composting. The budget includes funding through the solid waste enterprise fund for a composting demonstration project to incentivize the private sector to offer composting, and to support composting within our schools.
• Branding. To implement the next step of the County’s Growth Opportunities strategy, the budget funds the development of a branding and marketing plan to support emerging businesses and help to retain existing employers.
• Affordable Housing. A bill will be introduced that dedicates a portion of existing recordation tax revenues to affordable housing. Funds from these tax revenues were set aside last year for the Housing Initiative Fund. Legislation would codify the funding commitment.

Fiscal Year 2020 begins July 1, 2019. Detail copies of the proposed budget can be viewed on the County’s website at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/Budget.

Firefighter Safety a Top Priority

Frederick County Government values its employees and takes seriously the need to protect their safety. This is especially true for those employees who put their lives on the line each day. A probationary firefighter’s injuries in 2017 were unfortunate. They were not, however, a result of unsafe gear, as claimed by the leadership of the Career Firefighters Association.

Frederick County Government investigated the November 25, 2017, incident and has addressed the concerns raised in the report. The injured firefighter was wearing NFPA-approved gloves and protective hood. Since the incident, newer style gloves and hoods have been provided to nearly every career firefighter in the Division of Fire & Rescue Services (DFRS). In addition, recruits are now issued a full set of protective clothing when they leave the academy.

Prior to the cited incident, DFRS applied for a $2 million federal grant to replace PPEs that were reaching 10 years old the following year. The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the grant request, saying the gear was not old enough to qualify for replacement funds. That is why last fall County Executive Jan Gardner submitted the county’s first-ever supplemental budget request, which included $1 million to replace safety gear for both career and volunteer firefighters.

When she announced the supplemental budget during her annual State of the County Address, Executive Gardner said it would take several years to fund the firefighters’ full request for both replacement gear and a second set of protective clothing for every firefighter. The County Council supported Executive Gardner’s supplemental budget request, and replacement equipment was requisitioned in January. That gear is on order, and DFRS is currently conducting an audit to identify which career firefighters have gear that is at least 10 years old so the vendor can perform individual sizing of coats and pants.

County Agricultural Initiatives

County Executive Jan Gardner announced initiatives to support the long-term economic viability of agriculture in Frederick County. A survey of farmers and the agriculture-based industry will be used to develop proposals and direct legislation that will best support local farmers.

"One of my priorities is to ensure we leave a legacy of agriculture for future generations," commented Executive Gardner. "That means we must preserve our best, most productive farms, and help to keep agriculture an economically viable industry. I invite everyone in the farming community to participate in the survey and attend our important roundtable discussion."

Frederick County is a national and state leader when it comes to being stewards of its rich farmlands, with more than 180,000 acres and over 1,300 farms. Agriculture directly accounts for more than $150 million in sales each year and the industry generates an economic impact of nearly $1.5 billion. The county boasts more USDA-certified organic farms than any other county in Maryland.

There are more large and small farms in the region than there were 20 years ago, and agritourism and craft beverage enterprises that use local products are flourishing. Since 2015, the county has preserved more than 65,000 acres of farmland. However, a serious challenge to the industry is that the dairy business has declined over the past several decades.

Questions on the survey relate to issues such as land preservation, hurdles to value-added products or land uses, interest in shared resources such as cold storage or processing facilities, and what the community identifies as the biggest challenges they face.

For more information or to be included in the survey, contact Business Development Specialist Katie Albaugh Stevens, Office of Economic Development, at 301-600-3037 or via e-mail at kstevens1@FrederickCountyMD.gov.

Frederick County Recognizes 2019 Sustainability Award Winners

County Executive Jan Gardner and Frederick County Sustainability Commission Chair Ron Kaltenbaugh recognized the Frederick County 2019 Sustainability Award winners and nominees at the 8th Annual Green Homes Challenge Recognition Event. Selected by the Frederick County Sustainability Commission based on demonstrated leadership, innovation, and success in sustainability.

The Housing Authority of the City of Frederick (HACF) provides safe, affordable housing and supportive services that enhance the lives of Frederick's low- and moderate-income residents. HACF incorporates sustainable, energy efficient solutions and designs in their communities and projects to benefit the environment, save money, create jobs and improve public health. Working in partnership with Sustainable Energy Systems, the Bernard W. Brown Community Center, located at 629 N. Market St. and Catoctin Manor, located at 798 Motter Ave., have had solar panels installed to provide renewable energy, which are producing approximately 30 percent of the energy needed to operate the center, as well as common spaces at Catoctin Manor. The Authority’s newest project, Catoctin View Apartments at 800 Motter Ave., is being designed with sustainability throughout. Renewable energy will be provided by solar panels installed on the roof. The design of the solar installation is particularly innovative because it will use a new canopy system to allow the panels to be installed above the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units on the roof. This allows the HACF to use roof space that is usually considered unusable for solar technology.

McClintock Distillery co-founders Braeden Bumpers and Tyler Hegamyer are pioneering new production technologies to reduce waste and using renewable energy and organic and locally-sourced ingredients to set a new standard in the distillery industry. McClintock is Maryland’s first and only organic distillery and the first 100 percent renewable energy-powered distillery, having eliminated 78,900 pounds of carbon emissions since opening. The distillery also reduced wastewater by 250,000 gallons in 2018 using a self-designed circular water-cooling system. They use locally sourced ingredients whenever possible and work with farms to reuse all grain waste as animal feed and gin botanicals as ingredients for local ginger beer.

Urbana High School teachers Elizabeth McCook and Jim Smith, together with the Learning for Life program and Environmental Science classes, created a waste management initiative with students at Urbana High School to divert compost, liquids and recycling from the landfill. They have diverted more than 10,700 pounds of compost, recycling, and liquids from the waste stream since January 2018, which is about 35 percent of the total waste by weight on average per day. Along with tremendous support from Joe Richardson from Bar-T, they continue to encourage the implementation of similar programs in other schools throughout the county.

This year the Sustainability Commission also decided to present a Lifetime Achievement Sustainability Award to honor George C. Rudy, who passed away earlier this year. Mr. Rudy was an environmental advocate with a reverence for nature, intelligence for investigation and analysis, and a passion for preservation. Mr. Rudy was a one-of-a-kind person and activist who worked relentlessly, for many years, on behalf of the citizens of Frederick County and the region. In his professional life, Mr. Rudy was a nuclear systems expert specializing in assessing risks in the industry. He brought this interest in public health and safety risk assessment to his volunteer efforts within the environmental community in Frederick County and the region.

More information about the Frederick County Sustainability Commission can be found at: https://www.frederickcountymd.gov/FCSC.

Read other articles related to Frederick County