House Bill Calls for Steering More Roads Money to Bel Air, Harford County

The Maryland House of Delegates has proposed changing Gov. Martin O'Malley's budget to significantly increase the amount of highway repair money awarded to Bel Air.

Harford County would also benefit under a House bill that calls for doubling the cost of vanity plates and title fees for most vehicles, a proposal that could generate more than $50 million in revenue. The state's counties would split $4.5 million of the money and municipalities would carve up $8.4 million.

Bel Air's share would be between $125,000 and $150,000, said David Carey, chairman of the town's Board of Commissioners. First, though, the Senate must also approve the measure.

"That’s a pretty good deal for us. It’s about 20 percent of what we would get fully-funded. But it’s a big leap over what we’re getting this year and last year," Carey said.

The town received about $48,000 for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Harford County would likely receive a modest increase above the $748,000 it received for the current fiscal year. 

Bel Air Town Administrator Chris Schlehr said the potential increase is a welcome surprise.

"That certainly takes a lot of the pressure off me as far as the budget is concerned," Schlehr said.

Carey agreed.

"It will make this budget year a little bit easier," Carey said.

Schlehr plans to unveil his proposed budget to the commissioners by the first town meeting in April. He expects a decrease of $700,000 to $800,000 in property tax revenue due to lower assessments after .

"These are basically the taxes our citizens pay at and the Motor Vehicle Administration every year that are supposed to come back," Carey said. "This is going to reduce the burden on the taxpayers."