Now that the legislative branch of Harford County government has held its fiscal 2025 budget work sessions, I would like to clarify some issues raised.
First, my administration and the County Council want to do our best for the citizens of Harford County.
The entities we fund, including public schools, the sheriff’s office, libraries, etc., have requested a total of $66 million in addition to the amount in our budget.
We simply do not have these funds; they would have to be moved from other areas.
For perspective, please consider what it would mean if we were to fully fund the total $40 million increase requested by the school system alone.
The following would be eliminated:
- The Department of Parks & Recreation, including activity centers
- The Department of Housing & Community Services, including all senior centers
- All school resource officers and crossing guards
- County funding to the volunteer fire companies
- The Department of Economic Development, including agricultural services and tourism as well as county funding for soil conservation and agricultural extension services
To fund the total $66 million increase requested by all agencies would eliminate all of these and more; or the County Council would have to raise property taxes by $500 per year for the average homeowner.
None of this is necessary, and I will not raise taxes to balance this budget.
Harford County public schools have accumulated unspent taxpayer funds they can use as a bridge during these difficult economic times. In fact, they have more than enough and would still have $5 million to $15 million left over.
We do not recommend the school system use fund balance alone. Rather, we urge it to find efficiencies that don’t significantly affect the classroom and reset spending so we can fund reasonable increases moving forward.
To those who say we should raid our own assigned fund balance – funds set aside to meet requirements and future needs – please consider the following two points:
First, we need assigned reserves because our budget commits funds to outside agencies based on future revenues. This revenue is volatile and always at risk of falling short, especially in uncertain times. This also is why we adhere to fiscally responsible estimates. In fact, if we had gone along with rosier estimates urged by some last year, we may have had to claw back funds from the school system and other entities. This is exactly what happened under a prior administration during the Great Recession.
Second, Harford County government alone is responsible for the debt of the entities we fund. When we sell bonds to pay for capital projects like schools and libraries, our AAA bond rating allows us to borrow money at lower interest rates. To maintain our AAA rating, the rating agencies recommend 20% of our revenues be held in reserve. This is not an arbitrary measure. It reflects the real-life experiences of 3,143 counties across the country. Tapping into that now would risk our top rating, which would increase project costs and limit the number of projects we can fund.
In closing, we should not shift our responsibility onto future generations by draining our fund balance or raising taxes. Instead, county government and the public entities we fund should continue working together, through these fiscal ups and downs, united for the Harford County citizens we serve.
Robert G. Cassilly, a Republican, is the Harford County executive
