Executive Summary
The Latest News from County Executive Jan Gardner
Like a Puzzle, Budget Pieces Work Together to Tell Our Story
The County's budget is like a jigsaw puzzle, with many pieces working together to create a high quality of life. Today I unveiled my proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2020. The budget is lean, sensible, balanced, and fiscally responsible, and it delivers results, including outstanding schools, safe communities, efficient services and a high quality of life. Income and property tax rates remain unchanged.
The budget reflects modest growth. One-third of new revenues goes toward paying the bills and sustaining existing service, and half of new revenues support employees across all agencies. New spending accounts for an increase of less than 1% of the total budget, with most directed toward public safety.
The budget also continues my strong commitment to public education, with an additional $12.2 million for Frederick County Public Schools to support the new pay scale to ensure the best teachers in the classroom and high-achieving student outcomes. There is also an additional $1 million for Frederick Community College to keep tuition affordable.
In the coming year, you will see the opening of two new parks, the Myersville Branch Library, construction of Urbana Elementary School, and numerous road and bridge projects.
New initiatives for the upcoming budget year include:
- Composting. I added funding through the solid waste enterprise fund for a composting demonstration project to incentivize the private sector to offer composting, and to support composting within our schools.
- Branding. The next step for our Growth Opportunities strategy is to develop a branding and marketing plan, which will support emerging businesses and help to retain existing employers.
- Affordable Housing. I will be introducing legislation to the County Council to dedicate a portion of existing recordation tax revenues to affordable housing. Last year I set aside funds from these revenues for the Housing Initiative Fund. This legislation would codify the funding commitment.
The new fiscal year begins July 1, 2019. The County Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, in Winchester Hall.
Detailed copies of the proposed budget can be viewed on the County’s website at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/Budget.
A video of today’s presentation is available for viewing at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/FCGTV.
Life is good in Frederick County! Our quality of life is comprised of a wide variety of puzzle pieces including outstanding schools, safe communities, exceptional employees, beautiful parks and libraries, a top-notch health department, excellent roads, water and sewer, and citizen services. Our economy is vibrant and Frederick County is a great place to do business.
I am proud that Frederick County lives within our means while providing outstanding services. There is plenty of good news to share! The future of Frederick County is bright.
Contact Me
Email: CountyExecutive@FrederickCountyMD.gov
Website: FrederickCountyMD.gov/Executive
Location: 12 E Church St, Frederick, MD, United States
Phone: 301-600-1100
Facebook: facebook.com/JanGardnerExec
Twitter: @JanGardnerExec