March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 41 F

County Council approves budget

The County Council today approved County Executive Steve Schuh’s budget plan designed to make Anne Arundel County the best place to live, work, and start a business in Maryland.

“Once again, the County Council has joined our effort to make our jurisdiction the best in Maryland,” said Schuh.  “Together we have enacted a spending plan that is a major victory for our citizens and taxpayers.”

The FY 2018 budget accelerates the County Executive’s five-point strategic plan for a stronger Anne Arundel County.

Reducing Taxes and Fees: Over the last two years, the Schuh Administration has enacted more than $64 million in tax and fee relief. The FY2018 budget continues this initiative by eliminating two unnecessary taxes that hurt working families:

  • The movie tax: a nearly one dollar per person nuisance tax that hits our citizens as they enjoy a night out with the family.
  • The mobile home tax: a $300 per year tax that places an unnecessary burden on residents of mobile home communities.

Strengthening Education: The FY 2018 budget fully funds a $15.6 million teacher salary step increase and the largest school construction effort in County history, including construction money for Crofton High School.

Investing in Public Safety: The FY 2018 budget includes funding for 40 new public safety personnel and construction funds for the new police academy and central booking facility.

Reforming County Government: The FY2018 budget will centralize all background checks so that our various front line departments, particularly public safety, are not distracted from their primary missions by having to conduct background checks. The Department of Inspections and Permits has also been restructured for better deployment of staff and the County is digitizing personnel forms to help reduce red tap in hiring.

Improving the Overall Quality of Life: The FY 2018 budget also works to improve resident’s overall quality of life by making strategic investments to protect our waterways and enhance recreational opportunities. This includs more than $233 million over 6 years to improve our waterways, $36 million to fully connected system of bike trails, and funding to open two new boat ramps this year: one in Shady Side and the other in Solley Cove.

The budget will go into effect July 1st.

Previous Article

EDITORIAL: Will Annapolis kick the budget can down the road again?

Next Article

Reading’s three run sixth costs Baysox

You might be interested in …