Full Funding for Education, Public Safety; Historic Tax Cuts
County Executive Barry Glassman today signed Harford’s budget for FY 23, his last budget due to term limits, and issued the following statement.
“When I came into office, teachers and law enforcement had gone years without raises, our debt was unsustainable, and our fund balance was nearly depleted. I was advised to raise taxes.
In my eight years of fiscally responsible budgets, annual raises for teachers and law enforcement have been restored, and their salaries and benefits are now highly competitive in the state. Our debt is under control, our pension obligations are fully funded, and we have a healthy fund balance for the future.
We modernized our schools, maintained our infrastructure, met our stormwater obligations, and expanded broadband internet.
COVID relief funds were set aside for one-time expenditures.
And we never raised tax rates. In fact, we cut property taxes for our citizens, seniors, and retired veterans.
I would like to thank the County Council for unanimously supporting my final budget, my budget staff, and our county employees for helping us achieve what I call the trifecta: We fully funded education, we fully funded public safety, and we cut taxes.”
Budget information is posted on the county government website at https://www.harfordcountymd.gov/1531/Budget-Efficiency.
