Thursday, February 14, 2013
Automatic cuts at the federal level could impact counties.
Howard County Budget director Ray Wacks told the County Council on Monday that if the federal government's AAA bond rating is downgraded due to federal budget problems, the county's bond rating could be downgraded as well, according to an Explore Howard report. Wacks told the council that Moody's believes jurisdictions with significant exposure to the federal government, such as through federal jobs, cannot have a higher bond rating than the federal government, reported Explore Howard. Howard County has kept a AAA bond rating, the highest possible rating, since the mid-1990s, an achievement Howard County Executive Ken Ulman touted in his recent State of the County address. The bond rating helps the county access lower interest rates on …
Friday, January 4, 2013
The budget is an increase of 2.5 percent over the fiscal year 2013 budget.
Howard County Schools superintendent Renee Foose presented a $721 million operating budget to the Board of Education Thursday that includes cuts in transportation and supplies while adding funds to pay for new staff, higher enrollment and mandatory increases in employee benefits and retirement costs. The proposed fiscal year 2014 budget is a 2.5 percent, or $17.4 million, increase over the fiscal year 2013 operating budget. The $489.4 million requested from the county makes up about 68 percent of the budget, and is a 1.5 percent increase from fiscal year 2013, according to Foose. There are a total of $9.9 million in cuts from transportation funds, supplies and the elimination of 12 positions through attrition, when retirees' positions …
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Let us know if you think lawmakers can agree on a better state budget.
In early April, the Maryland General Assembly passed a "doomsday budget" that would require $512 million in cuts across the state, which would be felt everywhere from classrooms and libraries to police departments and nonprofits. Now, lawmakers are heading back to Annapolis to fix it. Gov. Martin O'Malley and state legislators have agreed to reconvene the General Assembly on May 14 to address the budget cuts, The Daily Record reported Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday, the Howard County Chamber of Commerce issued a statement that it was opposed to the idea of a special session, which would be for the purpose of raising income taxes. "Businesses and residents have faced the reality that funds are not unlimited, and so too must the …
H.R. Pufnstuf
12:19 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
When things are good: Ken Ulman is responsible for our AAA rating. When our AAA rating is in jeaopardy: the Federal Government is to blame. more ›