Howard County Proposed Budget: Fire Tax Increase, Pension Shift Included

The county executive’s office recently released its proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2013, and it's a $40 million increase over last year’s budget.

Of the $1.54 budget, $898.8 million comes from the general fund, monies collected primarily from property and income taxes, along with other taxes and fees. 

Education: $878.2 Million

The budget includes $878.2 million for education, which includes funding for the Howard County Public School System, the Howard County Library System and Howard Community College.

The education budget is about 57 percent of the total operating budget, and a 3.9 percent increase from last year. Last year’s education budget, about $845.6 million, was a 5 percent increase over 2011.

Included in the education portion of the budget is $9.8 million to cover half of the cost of teacher pensions, which “this budget assumes…will be ultimately be adopted,” according to text of the document.

One Tax Increase Proposed

A larger percent of this year’s operating budget comes from property taxes—about $526.1 million dollars, versus $502.5 million last year.

The income tax portion of the general fund also increased by just under 4.5 percent. The rate is $1.014.

The one tax increase proposed in the budget is the fire and rescue tax, a tax on property values that funds fire and rescue services.

In April, the County Council approved a consolidation of the metropolitan and rural fire districts.

Previously, the metropolitan district paid $0.1355 per $100 of assessed property value and the rural district paid $0.1155.

The new, consolidated fire district contributes $0.176 per $100 of assessed property value. 

The county has budgeted for 42 fire and rescue positions which will staff a new Glenwood Station in Western Howard County. 

In addition, 60 jobs will not be filled this year, a move that will generate $3.2 million in savings, according to County Executive Ken Ulman.

Find the full text of the budget attached, or view it on the Howard County Government website.

The County Council will have a public hearing on the proposed operating budget at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 30, in Ellicott City's .