Chairman Bartenfelder, members of the County Council, county employees, friends and fellow citizens, I am pleased to present to you today Baltimore County's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2006, which begins July first of 2005.
Over the past two years, we have used the budget and the resources entrusted to us by our citizens to lay the foundation for the renaissance of Baltimore County.
We have promised to put families first, to safeguard our communities, and to ensure that Baltimore County works as effectively and efficiently as the citizens we serve.
Baltimore County has a legacy of sound fiscal management, and that legacy will continue. Our renaissance does not depend on how much we spend, but on how we spend.
Thanks to careful financial management, Baltimore County has not raised the property or income tax rates in over a decade, and we continue to protect homeowners with a 4 percent property tax cap. The money we do spend immediately enhances Baltimore County's quality of life.
In our schools, academic achievement is up. Last year, 52 percent of Baltimore County high school seniors took the SAT, compared to 48 percent nationwide. The number of African-American students enrolled in AP courses has nearly doubled in just three years.
In our communities, crime is down across the board.
Quality schools, safe neighborhoods, parks that are easily accessible for everyone, and efficient government are things that create an environment conducive to economic opportunity. The numbers prove that our public investment has spurred private investment, and driven economic growth.
Through the Department of Economic Development, Baltimore County has worked with 139 businesses in the last 12 months, helping companies relocate to the County or expand their current County operations. All totaled, this assistance has helped businesses create and keep more than 4,200 jobs right here in the County. By the end of this year, the extension of Maryland Route 43 will be complete, opening land for a 1,000 acre business park in eastern Baltimore County. We are working to attract quality companies to this new economic engine for the entire region.
Since we began our renaissance two years ago, the value of the average home in Baltimore County has gone up by 32 percent . As our business community continues to grow, the vacancy rate for office space has declined from 12 percent to 10 percent. Vacancy rates for flex space and industrial space have declined by more than 2 percent as well.
Along Liberty Road, the last two years have brought the redevelopment of the County Market site, the nearly completed renovation to Marriottsville Shopping Center, and the impending redevelopment of Liberty Plaza and Brenbrook Plaza. The health of the retail community has never been better.
The new buildings, new neighborhoods and the roads we pave are a fundamental part of our renaissance. But they are the means, not the end.
I would like to introduce you to a young woman I met earlier this year, Alicia Fales. Like me, and like many of you, Alicia grew up in Baltimore County. She went to Victory Villa Elementary, then to Perry Hall Middle School, which we will renovate next summer, and then to Kenwood High, where we will build a technical education addition this year.
Alicia stayed in Middle River, near where she grew up, and she teaches at Towson High School. Last year, as she and her husband and son looked for an affordable new home, they worried about finding a place in Baltimore County, and they were looking across the border in Pennsylvania.
But the Fales, and hundreds of other families like them, found that home in a wonderful neighborhood in eastern Baltimore County - the renaissance development of Hopewell Pointe. Alicia, thanks for being here.
This is what our renaissance is about, preserving the values of Baltimore County's past, and helping young families build our future. Alicia's story plays out every day in communities all around the county. But it can happen more often, with more families.
How many more bright, young people will choose to teach in our schools if we provide them with quality facilities, and a salary that can support a family? How much safer will our neighborhoods be if our police officers can live in the neighborhoods where they work, and if we have more officers on the street? How many seniors - the people who made this county what it is - how many of them will be able to stay in the homes and communities where they built their lives, if we give them the help they need?
Our budget is more than numbers and equations. It is a promise, to give our citizens the tools they need to build stronger communities and put down deeper roots.
We have had successes, but we will continue to build momentum. This budget reflects our unwavering commitment to an ongoing and permanent renaissance in Baltimore County.
Ensuring that people raised in Baltimore County stay in Baltimore County to raise their own families, and having new families move into our established neighborhoods, is essential to our renaissance.
For parents to feel comfortable raising families, they have to know that their children will go to good schools, that they will have good teachers, opportunities to pursue culture and sports, and that children with special needs will have those needs met.
Under the leadership of Superintendent Joe Hairston and School Board President James Sasiadek, our school system continually rises to meet new challenges, and our budget this year supports their efforts.
This year's budget includes over $655 million for our schools, a $55 million increase over last year. This includes a $38 million increase for contributions to capital projects and other one-time items.
We know that quality schools begin with quality teachers. I see Cheryl Bost, the President of TABCO, here this morning, and I am delighted that we are able to include a 4 percent raise for teachers in our school system. With the increased pressure of state and federal mandates, our teachers are working harder than ever. We must do our part to make sure that salaries in Baltimore County are competitive so that we can not only retain our high quality administrators, teachers and staff, but also be sure that we can continue to attract the best and the brightest to Baltimore County.
Assistant principals will see a pay increase of 2 percent, in addition to the 3 percent salary and wage enhancements for all other school system employees.
This budget includes funding to create an assistant principal position at six elementary schools as well, which means 100 percent of our elementary schools will have at least one assistant principal.
For elementary schools to be effective, we need children who are prepared to learn, and that preparation must begin even earlier. We are adding additional pre-kindergarten cluster programs, and we are providing 29 more teachers and 18 more para-educators to expand our full-day kindergarten program to 10 more schools.
Every child, no matter what their circumstances, deserves a chance at a quality education. To help children with special needs, I am proposing an additional 22 special education teaching positions for 2006. This budget will also fund personal assistants for our special education students, and additional speech, occupational, and physical therapists for the Infant and Toddler program.
In today's global economy, it is more and more important to ensure that every student leaves our schools ready to compete. Our budget includes 12 new teachers and two administrative staff to expand the Advancement Via Individual Determination - or AVID - Program, which supports students who have not, but should consider a rigorous college prep curriculum.
Last year, during the celebrations for Michael Phelps and at our Community Waterfront Festival, we all had the chance to see some incredible young musicians from our public school system. Music education is essential to building well-rounded young people, and Baltimore County does music education very well. Several years ago, the county spent a significant sum of money to replace musical instruments that had been neglected for far too many years. We made a commitment to our schools, a promise that instruments would never again fall into disrepair. Today, we are making good on that commitment. The budget includes $300,000 to establish a musical equipment replacement fund to ensure that our young musicians have access to quality instruments.
This fall, several hundred students will begin the school year at the newly constructed Woodholme Elementary School. Our budget provides for 22 positions to open Woodholme this fall and one principal who will spend the year preparing to open Windsor Mill Middle School in 2006.
In many of our elementary schools, the libraries do not meet our own standards. I am proposing $1.1 million to improve the quality of our elementary school libraries, and bring 100 percent of them up to county standards. The budget also includes $500,000 to replace the old and worn out furniture in many of our schools.
In 1997, Baltimore County embarked on a systemic program to renovate all our existing schools. We completed our elementary schools and special schools, and then began work on our middle schools. In this year's budget, we will begin renovations at 11 more middle schools, and by the summer of 2006, all of our middle school renovation projects will be completed or underway.
For Baltimore County to remain competitive, our commitment to education and training must continue beyond age 18. We have a tremendous facility for continuing education, the Community College of Baltimore County. For many years we have been fortunate as well to have Senator Frank Kelly as Chair of the Board of Trustees. As the Community College has grown and become more important to our community, Senator Kelly's leadership has been vital.
This summer Senator Kelly will take on new responsibilities as a member of the Board of Regents at the University of Maryland. I thank him for his leadership and his commitment to the Community College of Baltimore County, and I wish him well.
As we begin the search for a new Chancellor, we are fortunate to have CCBC Vice-Chair Tom Lingan leading the Board of Trustees.
We need to make sure that the education and training our community college provides is accessible to county residents. I am proposing that we restore $605,000 to maintain class size at its current level, and the budget includes $804,000 in order to eliminate the need for a tuition increase for in-county students. Our budget also provides $395,000 to replace classroom furniture, and an additional $500,000 to renovate bathrooms on all the campuses that are showing some serious signs of wear and tear.
As our schools continue to excel, our neighborhoods must continue to be vibrant and inviting. Our budget includes $80,000 to accelerate the implementation of Playground Safety and Graffiti Removal programs. We will also expand summer programs at the PAL centers in Dundalk, Scotts Branch, Hillendale and Woodmoor.
With our capital budget, we are proposing $750,000 for athletic facility improvements at Northwest Regional Park, as well as $1.1 million for school recreation centers around the county, including stadium projects at Randallstown High and Milford Mill Academy. We are also including $3 million for a soccer and lacrosse facility in the northeast.
Our commitment to families extends to those who have finished raising their children as well. This spring I have been fortunate to attend the opening of two senior fitness centers. They are fantastic facilities, and they reflect the needs of today's senior population. Thanks to a $75,000 grant from the Weinberg Foundation, we will renovate the Bykota and Parkville senior centers to create two more fitness centers for seniors.
This year's budget also provides 19 heart rescue devices for Senior Center Councils, to ensure immediate assistance in a medical emergency in any of our senior centers.
There are many things that contribute to a successful renaissance, but we owe a great debt to the skilled and dynamic officers of the Baltimore County Police Department. Under the leadership of Terry Sheridan, crime in Baltimore County is at its lowest level in 20 years. We will continue to give Chief Sheridan and his officers the resources they need to safeguard our communities.
In December of 2005, construction of the new Pikesville Precinct will be complete. The budget includes $945,000 for additional supplies and personnel to fully staff that precinct.
I am also proposing $513,000 for 14 additional officers and equipment to put more patrol cars on the street in the Woodlawn and White Marsh precincts. Captain Lee Russo in White Marsh will have eight new officers, Captain Lisa Hannon in Woodlawn will have six.
Equipment and precinct houses are only as useful as the officers on the street. Our police officers are some of the most committed, most skilled police officers in the state. This year, we negotiated a new agreement with our sworn officers, which provides a longevity increase of 4.8 percent for every officer with 11 or more years of service on July first of this year, and effective January 1, 2006, every sworn officer will receive $2,000 raise.
As our communities continue to grow, Baltimore County must always have the equipment and personnel required to meet increased demand.
In September of this year, we will add four emergency medical technicians and two medic units to the day shift at fire stations in Parkville and Randallstown. Currently, those two stations have just one medic unit each. If two calls come close together, a medic unit has to come from a different service area. Adding these medic units will cut response time in Parkville and Randallstown, which can save lives in an emergency.
In addition to the new medic units, I am proposing $2.6 million for a new fire station to serve northern Baltimore County.
Every time a fire engine leaves a station, the men and women inside are prepared to risk their own lives to save others. It happens everyday, but it is far from routine. In fires, car accidents, medical emergencies, and even as part of homeland security, firefighters are putting our lives ahead of theirs. We can do more for those who do so much for us, and this year we will.
We worked with President Mike Day and Fire Chief John Hohman, and together we are proposing salary increases and additional holiday and certification pay for uniform firefighters, the equivalent of a 3.5 percent average pay raise.
Alicia Fales and her family were able to find an affordable home in a good neighborhood, and so they stayed in Baltimore County. But keeping more young families here means providing them with opportunities as well.
The Office of Economic Development is working hard to bring new businesses to Baltimore County, and to help the ones already here to grow.
One of the most effective tools for helping business has been the Business Growth Loan fund.
Baltimore County's Business Growth Loans partner with private capital to fund real estate and equipment purchases and building renovations. Over the past year, the Department of Economic Development has made loans to small technology firms such as Technigraphics, IntelliTrak, and Enabling Technologies to help them expand operations.
Loans have helped Medifast purchase new equipment at its manufacturing plant in Owings Mills; Boordy Vineyards added a bottling line in Hydes. County loans are spurring private investment in the renaissance of our older commercial areas: the long-vacant Finkelstein's storefront in Towson is now the thriving Greene Turtle restaurant; McDowell Chimney has renovated its building in Catonsville's downtown. And just a month ago, a $2,000,000 aid package from the county was announced that will help return the historic Dundalk Village Shopping Center to a vibrant mix of market-rate apartments, shops and offices.
To capitalize on the tremendous success of this program, and to continue building a strong business community, I am proposing an increase of $8.2 million, bringing the loan fund to $11. 8 million.
Our business community and our citizens have adapted quickly to the changing world, and they have embraced our renaissance. They demand a government that is equally dynamic, efficient, and responsive to the needs of our communities.
In response to the increased demand for road resurfacing, I am combining bond funding with recommended and programmed paygo money to spend $21 million on resurfacing in fiscal years 2006 and 2007. This represents a 50 percent increase over the previous two years.
The capital budget includes $3.8 million to begin construction of an agricultural resource center in northern Baltimore County, which will house an educational component administered by the Maryland Department of Education. I have also proposed $4.5 million for a library in Perry Hall, and funding for senior center renovations in Parkville.
We are also including $12.8 million for countywide renaissance programs, including improvements to the Back River Neck Road, a pocket park in Randallstown, engineering for streetscape enhancements on the Back River Bridge to Woodward Drive, and other projects in communities around the county.
Baltimore County government continues to be a driving force behind the renaissance of our communities. Working for Baltimore County means committing yourself to service, and finding new and better ways to get the job done. Our employees are efficient and effective, and we need to keep good people in public service.
In this budget, general county employees will receive a 3 percent pay increase, and 172 general county employee classifications will receive an upgrade and salary restructuring. Library employees will receive a 4 percent salary restructuring.
This is an exciting time for Baltimore County. The cornerstones of our renaissance are in place, and on them we are building a secure future. The proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2006 fulfills our essential obligations, improves the quality of our schools, helps guarantee new opportunities for citizens of every age, and keeps tax rates low.
Putting families first as we prepare for the future ensures that Baltimore County will always be home to the kind of hard-working, committed citizens who have made this county great.
By safeguarding our communities, from crime, disaster and sprawl, our citizens can pursue their goals secure in the knowledge that what they build will be protected.
And our efficient, effective county government is proof that Baltimore County works.
I look forward to working with the County Council over the coming weeks to pass this budget and continue the Renaissance of Baltimore County.
Revised April 14, 2005
Courthouse 