HCPOA NEWS
Ulman budget includes layoffs, furloughs, Spending cut by 4 percent; 'crucial core priorities' funded
Apr 21, 2009 (12:04:52)
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Nine full-time county employees will lose their jobs and most employees will be furloughed in December as part of County Executive Kenneth Ulman’s proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2010, released Monday.The overall proposed operating budget is $1.4 billion, down about 1.5 percent from last year’s operating budget of $1.42 billion. This includes the county’s general fund spending, as well as revenues that can only be used for specific purposes.
The general fund budget is down 4 percent from the previous year and includes cuts in every county department except schools, which has a budget increase of $2.7 million, Ulman said Monday. Ulman will present the budget to the County Council on Monday evening.
The proposed general fund budget is $820.2 million, down from about $854.5 million the previous year. It is the largest operating budget decrease since 1992.
“It’s been one of the toughest processes I’ve had to work through,” Ulman said. “We had to make a lot of tough decisions in this budget.”
The county’s property tax rate remains stable, but that will still mean an increase for many taxpayers who receive Maryland’s Homestead Tax Credit. The credit caps property assessments at 5 percent each year so homeowners do not have to pay the full assessed value of a home if it rapidly increases in value.
That has meant, however, that some homeowners will continue to see increased tax bills as their capped value is still below the regular assessed value of the property. For a home valued at $300,000, that means an average increase of $152 in taxes.
In addition, the county is raising water and sewer rates 6 percent to make up for an increase in the cost of purchased water and sewer services.
Homeowners who live in private communities will also be charged a new $39 annual fee for recycling if their community decides to continue to receive county recycling pick-up. Those communities typically have private trash removal, but have received recycling services from the county without paying fees for it, Ulman said.
Ulman said officials debated whether to raise property tax rates or to lower them, but felt keeping them at the same rate was the best way to maintain county services without a major impact to the public. Lowering the rate would have required much more significant cuts in spending, he said.
As part of the budget proposal, non-essential county facilities will be closed between Dec. 25 and Jan. 3. Libraries will remain open.
During the closure, non-public safety employees will be furloughed for four days, with county department heads taking an additional day. Elected officials cannot legally be furloughed, but Ulman is asking them to voluntarily return five days' worth of pay to the county.
Furloughs will not apply to 911 dispatchers, police officers below the rank of sergeant, firefighters below the rank of captain and correctional officers. County employees are not getting cost-of-living raises this year, except for those receiving them through already negotiated union contracts, Ulman said.
Three employees will be fired from the county Health Department as a result of state cuts, two positions will be cut from the Soil Conservation District and four positions are being cut from the Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office jobs were from an alternative sentencing program that was supposed to support itself through fees paid by defendants, but has been unable to do so, Ulman said.
The county also expects to cut another nine temporary positions and will reduce hours for some other temporary employees. A hiring freeze is in place on 50 other jobs and no money was put in the budget for those positions, Ulman said.
By closing for several days in late December and early January, the county expects to save roughly $1.8 million on energy and custodial costs, as well as in salaries from employees.
A federal grant will allow the county to hire 12 new firefighters this year, he said.
As part of cost cutting, libraries will open one hour later starting July 1, opening at 10 a.m. rather than 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday.
General government expenses were cut by 3.7 percent, public safety is down by 3.6 percent, community services is down 5.7 percent, public facilities are down by 7.9 percent and legislative and judicial services are down 3.4 percent.
The county is not tapping into its rainy-day fund this budget year, but Ulman said it may have to next year if the economic recession continues.
The entire budget will be available at www.howardcountymd.gov starting Monday.
By Derek Simmonsen
dsimmonsen@patuxent.com
Posted 4/20/09
Columbia Flier
