HCPS Leaders Cancel Summer School In Light Of Harford County Budget Unveiling

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — The fiscal year 2025 budget for Harford County doesn't include an increase in government spending and no increase in tax rates, officials announced.

“Coming into office last year, we faced a very troubling financial picture. Excessive spending by the prior administration had been financed with $90 million from our savings. We responded with a fiscally responsible budget that met intense opposition from those determined to continue irresponsible and unsustainable spending above levels recommended by the Harford County Spending Affordability Committee and other independent financial advisors. Time has proven our critics very wrong," Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly said in a statement.

"Our prudent fiscal policies have been vindicated and the continuation of those policies is essential to our county’s long-term success. A year later, we are once again undertaking the difficult yet necessary task of creating a county budget. We now face a new and unanticipated fiscal challenge. While last year our focus was on reducing excessive spending, this year our new challenge is a substantial reduction in tax revenue available to operate the state and county governments. The reasons for our state’s current predicament are open to debate but the fact of the reduction in revenue is not," he said.

Cassilly said state leaders should reconsider increasing Maryland's minimum wage to become the highest in the nation.

"Such policies are a serious drag on our economy. At the same time, unrealistic state spending mandates for the Blueprint education plan are straining local budgets statewide and should be paused and revisited," he said.

Cassilly noted that while he can "hold the line" on government spending and increase government efficiencies - or raise taxes, which he doesn't support.

"Our county’s long-term fiscal success depends on retaining and attracting good businesses and taxpayers. Burdensome tax increases would do neither. They would produce only short-term revenue gains, but at the expense of long-term fiscal strength. Just as you all do, the government must live within its means and my recommended budget for fiscal year 2025 continues on the path of fiscal responsibility and long-term financial health," he said.

The proposed $773,608,000 general fund operating budget is flat with an increase of 0.67% and no change in tax rates. Areas where the budget is increased are offset by reductions and efficiencies elsewhere, including line item cuts within county departments, leaving some open positions unfilled and eliminating positions through a retirement incentive. A salary increase comprised of a 1% COLA and $1,000 for county employees is funded through such measures, Cassilly said.

"We are still using our savings to supplement ongoing operations, but we are using less of it each year. The $60 million structural deficit my administration faced coming into office is cut nearly in half in FY25. Our unassigned fund balance is proposed to be down to $2.7 million as of June 30, 2025," he noted.

Operating budget increases are mainly for public safety as leaders try to continue strengthening emergency medical services, funding competitive salaries for law enforcement and providing critical resources for the health department, Cassilly said. The budget for information and communication technology increases due to the rising cost of software, which is necessary to improve overall operational efficiency, Cassilly added.

"Other notable changes in county departments reflect internal reorganizations that have a nominal or net-zero effect. Major agencies that we help to fund - the public schools, libraries and community college – have each accumulated reserves from prior years of taxpayer funding. They can use these funds and find efficiencies to pay for spending they believe is necessary above the amounts provided by this budget and by the state. County operating funding for these agencies is flat in FY25," Cassilly added.

At $314,852,402, funding for Harford County Public Schools is the largest component of the county budget and "exceeds the maintenance of effort amount required by the state under the Blueprint."

"As we have been doing all year, we will continue working with the school system on ways to share and/or reduce costs so that savings can be directed to the classroom," Cassilly said.

Major capital projects for schools include continued funding for the new Homestead Wakefield Elementary School; planning for a new combination elementary school/Harford Academy, which serves children with severe disabilities; and upgrades to C. Milton Wright and Harford Technical high schools. Our other major capital projects include planning funds for a Joppatowne activity center and planning for a 1,200+ acre regional park on the Oakington Peninsula between Aberdeen and Havre de Grace.

Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson spoke about Cassilly's budget Monday at the county board of education business meeting.

Superintendent Dr. Sean Bulson addressed the significant impacts of County Executive Bob
Cassilly's budget announcement at the Monday, April 15, 2024, Board of Education Business meeting.

“The Blueprint funding framework relies on formulas and calculations, yet in HCPS, we firmly believe that our students' education funding should be tailored to meet their diverse needs," Bulson said. "Our students are not mere figures in a formula; they represent the future of our county."

In Harford County, the community expects reasonable class size, transportation services, safety and security, world languages, athletics/extra-curriculars, clubs, field trips including Harford Glen, small historic schools, employee benefits and arts and music programs to be provided to our students, Bulson said. Without local support, funds previously utilized to make these programs available to students must be diverted to the requirements set forth in the Blueprint, he noted.

To counterbalance the funding shortfalls, Bulson said elementary and middle school summer sessions have been canceled.