Coronavirus Expenses Top $4M So Far In Howard County: Officials

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — In the past few weeks, Howard County has incurred nearly $4 million in costs related to its response to the new coronavirus and officials say that number is growing weekly. Howard County officials estimate a revenue loss of more $35 million in the current fiscal year with major losses noted in income tax, recordation and hotel tax. A significant revenue impact is also anticipated for fiscal year 2021.

These revenue losses don’t qualify for any known federal aid, which usually only covers expenses related to emergencies. It is also not clear if there will be any state assistance, which normally reduces funds to counties during recessions.

“We’re feeling the impact on both sides – revenues and expenditures, and we’re not alone in facing a much more challenging outlook than we could have anticipated at the beginning of this year,” said Holly Sun, Howard County’s budget administrator. “We know this is going to stress our finances, but we are working to minimize severe actions and ensure our core services are supported.”

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In a 12-minute video, Sun explains the revenue and expenditure impacts, notes fiscal actions already taken, and highlights the challenges and risks ahead. Sun also addresses challenges in neighboring jurisdictions who are taking similar mitigation steps, including hiring freezes or cut backs in capital projects. Last week, the State of Maryland reported a 15 percent revenue loss, $2.8 billion, a major contributor being a loss of income tax revenue. The National League of Cities also emphasized that local governments that rely on income taxes will experience and immediate and strong shock to their fiscal systems, while governments that rely on property taxes will have a more mid- to longer-term impact.

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