Council Approves Kamenetz's Third Budget

The Baltimore County Council unanimously approved a $2.8 billion spending plan proposed last month by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz.

The budget for the year that begins July 1 contains no property or personal income tax increases.

The county has not raised property taxes in 25 years. The county income tax rate has not been raised in 21 years.

Spending on education continues to represent the largest portion of the county budget. The county spends about 53 cents of every county tax dollar on K-12 education.

Included school spending in the proposed budget includes:

• $200 million in proposed spending for county school construction and renovation. That number includes $149 million in county money and $35 million in funding from the state. The county is also hoping to secure an additional $15 million from the state for air conditioning upgrades to county schools from a pot of $25 million for all schools in Maryland.
• Adds 109 teaching positions for county schools as a result of expected enrollment increases. In 2011, then-Superintendent Joe A. Hairston eliminated 200 teaching positions. 
• $4 million for first phase of a multi-year plan to spend $15 million to upgrade school classrooms to support wi-fi and other digital upgrades.
• $2.5 million for the county's school safety and security plan. The money will pay for school identification badges for students and faculty. The swipe to enter system will also allow students to pay for their lunches and check out books from the school library, Kamenetz said during a briefing Friday.
• Funding for six school resource officers. The budget request would mean that all county high and middle schools would have a Baltimore County Police Officer working as a resource officer.

The council last week concluded two weeks of budget hearings after which the seven-member legislative group . That reduction represented the correction of a math error.

Council Chairman Tom Quirk, a Catonsville Democrat, said last week the spending plan "is a fiscally prudent budget." 

Read more:

• Baltimore County Council Gives Budget A Paper Cut