Strange Bedfellows

Last week several councilman grilled county school system officials on the subject of air conditioning in some schools, specifically Ridgely Middle School.

But not everyone felt the focus should be solely on comfort.

Councilman Vince Gardina, a 5th District Democrat who represents aan area that stretches from Perry Hall to Towson, is the council’s conscience when it comes to green issues, and last Thursday’s budget hearing with the schools system was no different. For about five minutes, Gardina turned the focus on sweltering classrooms into a discussion about energy conservation. (more…)

It’s a rare event for a county agency to escape the budget ax when it comes before the County Council during annual budget hearings. Most departments can expect to see some type of recommendation ranging from a nick to a full-blown cut. (more…)

Community College of Baltimore County employees almost had $863 million reasons to be happy about County Executive Jim Smith’s budget.

County Auditor Mary Allen was outlining about $12 million in proposed salary increases during the council’s annual overview of the budget on Tuesday.  Most of the raises come as cost of living adjustments for county employees. The lion’s share of that, about $11 million, would go to county teachers. (more…)

The Community College of Baltimore County has a new, eye-catching vehicle to publicize the college.

The car in the photo to the left was parked on Chesapeake Avenue across from the Old Courthouse on Monday night (click to enlarge). College officials were in Towson attending a reception with council members. (You can see some alternate shots here and here.) (more…)

Budgets are the guiding star for local governments. The playbook for what an administration has in mind for the coming 12 months.

But getting them done is often as challenging as it is for many of us to get our taxes done by the April 15 deadline. This is especially true this year for Baltimore County, but procrastination is not the issue.

The budget for county, and other jurisdictions in the state, is tied into what happens in Annapolis during the 90-day session that ends April 13. (more…)

As the House of Delegates begins debate this week on a budget package that could bring deep cuts in local aid to Baltimore County, members of the county’s House delegation focused their attention on legalizing video lottery terminals for use by nonprofit organizations in the county.

Del. Eric Bromwell, chairman of the county delegation, offered an amendment Tuesday morning to add Baltimore County to a bill regarding slot machines, which affects, among other counties, Worcester County. (more…)

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller’s desire to share the state’s budget pain with local jurisdictions isn’t sitting well with County Executive Jim Smith.

“Everybody is dealing with some fiscal strain,” Smith said. “To pass it along to someone else because you have the votes isn’t sound fiscal management and isn’t good government.” (more…)

County Executive Jim Smith will be watching the County Council’s Spending Affordability Committee closely tomorrow as he prepares his budget for the coming year.

Of particular interest will be the committee’s final recommendations on how much the county budget can grow. That number likely will determine whether or not county employees will receive raises.

“It would be wonderful to reward our employees,” said Don Mohler, a spokesman for Smith. (more…)

Gov. Martin O’Malley and Maryland legislators want state employees facing unpaid days off this holiday season to know they feel their pain.

The guv and the others are taking a pay cut, too, after all.

But not all are taking quite as big a cut, relatively speaking. State workers will lose full before-taxes pay while O’Malley and the legislators are giving back an amount based on their net, or after-taxes, income. (more…)

The dust-up over raises to Mayor Sheila Dixon and other city elected officials raises the question:

Could mid-term raises happen here?

The short answer is no, because the two jurisdictions set raises for their respective elected officials differently. (more…)