Proposed Budget

The County Council will hold two public hearings in its review of County Executive John G. Gary's proposed budget for the coming fiscal year. The council is likely to vote on the budget by May 22.The hearings will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Old Mill High School and at 7 p.m. May 13 at the Arundel Center in AnnapolisThe council is also holding hearings this month in council chambers at the Arundel Center during which departments and agencies defend their budget...

Elisa Lane is not much bigger than the pigtails she wears when she gardens at the Whitelock Community Farm in Reservoir Hill. But she has a big impact. She sells the fresh vegetables from the empty corner lot that she just kind of took over at below-market prices to residents of the neighborhood. When her farm stand isn't open, residents can buy from the corner market that she supplies. And she has enough to sell to restaurants like Woodberry Kitchen and at the Waverly Farmers Market to help subsidize her cut-rate prices for the garden's neighbors.

Anne Arundel County school board members have had two days to consider acting Superintendent Carol S. Parham's $414.2 million budget proposal -- and already some are proposing changes."

Eighteen months after Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake voted to approve the purchase of four new helicopters for the Police Department, her proposed budget called for grounding one of them in a cost-saving move. But within days, the administration reversed course and said Thursday it intends to keep all four choppers flying in the unit known as Foxtrot. Police likely will have to find the projected $1 million in savings elsewhere in their budget. It is unclear how the cut became part of the proposed budget, which was unveiled last week.

Despite wintry weather that closed its schools yesterday, the Baltimore County Board of Education assembled last night to hear public comment on Superintendent Joe A. Hairston's proposed operating budget. Jan Thomas, a parent who monitors the school system's budget for the PTA Council, criticized the board for holding the hearing on a night when schools had been canceled - saying that, plus a last-minute change in the hearing's location, may have limited public input. School board member Michael P. Kennedy said Thomas had a legitimate point.

Harford County library officials say County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann's proposed budget for fiscal 1995, which adds $818,664 to the library's operating budget, will go a long way toward improving its collection and restoring hours of service to their 1992 level.Library Director Philip A. Place said the increase, which amounts nearly 19 percent over last year's budget of $4.33 million, will help meet the library's two key goals -- buying more books and keeping the nine library branches open longer.

Taneytown's property tax rate would remain unchanged under a proposed $1.5 million budget for fiscal 1999 that was scheduled to be introduced by the City Council last night.The proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 keeps the property tax rate at 78 cents per $100 of assessed value.Increases in property assessments are expected to boost the city's revenue from property taxes by $97,000, to $648,000.Under the proposed budget, Taneytown would spend $378,000 for administration; $307,000 for public safety; $674,000 for road projects and maintenance; and $149,000 for parks and recreation.

The Anne Arundel County school board was to vote late last night on the proposed $380.9 million operating budget for fiscal year 1994 that attempts to "bridge the gap" in elementary school staffing.The plan proposes about $32 million more in spending than this year's operating budget of $348.7 million, and includes money for an additional 57 employees -- teachers, guidance counselors, secretaries and assistant principals -- for elementary schools.After the school board acts on the proposed budget, it will be sent to County Executive Robert R. Neall.

As the school board continues combing through the hundreds of line items that make up this year's proposed $554 million operating budget, it is becoming apparent to members that assessment tests are the driving force behind many programs slated for approval. For example, at the first budget work session held Tuesday, school board member Courtney Watson asked whether the administration would have requested 14 additional mathematics teachers for the 2006-2007 school year if assessment scores were not an issue.

Don't touch our stuff. That's the message dozens of Baltimore County residents sent to the County Council last night at a largely tranquil public hearing on a proposed $1.79 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year. At a time when county coffers are brimming with a surplus expected to reach $85 million, County Executive C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger found something for everybody in the budget proposal he unveiled earlier this month. The plan includes money for everything from comfortable chairs for the lobbies of senior citizen centers to classroom listening devices for special-needs students to pay raises for teachers.

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz proposed Thursday a general fund operating budget of about $1.65 billion that includes no tax increases but reduces the number of county employees through attrition. In introducing his spending plan for the 12 months beginning in July, Kamenetz highlighted proposed spending on education and infrastructure, including air conditioning for a dozen schools. His budget proposal, presented during his State of the County address to members of the County Council in Towson, holds taxes flat in part by taking advantage of the projected $21 million in yearly savings expected through voluntary retirements of county employees, he said.

Gov. Martin O'Malley says he still hopes to convince the legislature to raise money for highway and transit projects — possibly by adding another penny to Maryland's six-percent sales tax and dedicating the extra revenue to transportation. In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, O'Malley conceded that his initial proposal to apply the sales tax to gasoline is dead in the General Assembly. But he said an alternative would be a delayed implementation of that proposal, with the sales tax not being applied until gas prices fell to a certain level.

The leaders of Maryland's university system say they're grateful that Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed another increase in higher-education spending for 2012-2013 at a time when many states are slashing support for public universities. University officials were in Annapolis on Wednesday to testify on behalf of the governor's proposed budget, which includes a 0.8 percent increase in operating funds and $215 million in capital projects for the state system. As in previous years, O'Malley chose to "buy down" a systemwide tuition increase, adding $9 million to the budget to limit the increase to 3 percent for a third straight year.

Anne Arundel County residents attending hearings this week lauded school Superintendent Kevin Maxwell's recommended $986.2 million operating budget and encouraged the school board to adopt it and the County Council to help fund it. Maxwell presented his recommendations at two public hearings. The proposed budget comes at a time when concerns over maintaining the quality of education amid a stagnant economy are high and the school system and County Executive John Leopold are at odds over per-pupil funding.

Howard County schools Superintendent Sydney Cousin unveiled Thursday night a $697 million budget for fiscal year 2013 that is about 2 percent greater than last year's budget and adds 69 new positions to address enrollment growth. Most new positions would be teachers: 43 in elementary school, 12 in high school and one in middle school. In addition, the budget calls for no layoffs or furloughs, school officials said. This year's budget requests $476 million from the county and $215 million from the state.

Employment, increased funding for youth programs and a living wage were a few of the reforms city residents demanded of City Council members during public meeting Wednesday evening. Before the annual "Taxpayers' Night" at the War Memorial Building, where council members hear comments on the mayor's preliminary budget, many residents rallied against cuts to after-school programs, recreation centers and other youth services. Although the City Council does not have the authority to allocate spending, residents took the opportunity to voice their objections to the mayor's budget, which trimmed $65 million from the city's $1.29 billion operating budget to balance expenditures and revenue.

A front-page graphic in yesterday's Sun should have specified that it is aid to the poor for utility bills that would be cut from $2.1 billion to $791 million next year under President Clinton's proposed budget.The Sun regrets the errors.WASHINGTON -- President Clinton sent Congress a $1.52 trillion budget yesterday that proposes hundreds of spending cuts but also rearranges a host of federal spending priorities that he believes invest in the future of the nation's children and work ++ force.

The Columbia Association released a proposed $48.5 million budget for the coming fiscal year last night, the first in which the 30-year-old planned community will have a surplus to spend on projects rather than to use to cut deficits.The spending plan includes more dollars for maintenance and improvement of existing facilities rather than the building of new ones, and the expenditures represent an 8 percent increase over current spending.The proposed budget contains good news for Columbia's 87,000 residents: The association would cut membership rates for most of its recreational facilities, including pools and gyms, by about 5 TTC percent.

A bit less borrowing and a little more cash mark Howard County Executive Ken Ulman's proposed $179.3 million capital budget proposal for fiscal 2012, along with a larger emphasis on environmental projects. His twin goals, he said, are "to finish up some of these larger projects and to continue progress on parks like Blandair, and in education. " To that end, Ulman wants to spend $10 million for storm-water facility upgrades, stream and watershed improvements and retrofits to capture rainwater and prevent runoff.

Social Security Administration employees rallied outside the agency's Woodlawn headquarters and offices across the country Wednesday in a union-organized protest against proposed budget cuts. Workers shouted "furlough Congress" after hearing an American Federation of Government Employees leader say cuts in a House-approved budget would be the equivalent of workers taking off an entire month without pay. Congress is five months into the current fiscal year but has yet to pass a budget.