Local Voices
Councilman Marks Votes for $41 Million in Budget Cuts
The efficiencies were identified by the nonpartisan Auditor's Office.
At the Baltimore County Council meeting on May 18th, I supported more than $41 million in cuts identified by the nonpartisan Auditor's office.
Republicans on the Council were outvoted by the majority party, which settled for $14 million in cuts across the Departments of Public Works, the Office of Information Technology, and in the Insurance Fund.
In other areas, I voted to cut:
Find out what's happening in Perry Hallfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
- More than $16 million to the county public school's laptop computer program;
- About $2 million from the school system's administration budget;
- An additional $8 million to the Insurance Fund; and
- About $72,000 to create a diversity coordinator.
I agreed with my Republican colleagues on numerous cuts, particularly in the expensive laptop computer initiative which has produced few results. At the same time, I broke with my party to support programs such as professional opportunities and travel for educators. I will continue to look for ways to make county government more efficient and focused on public safety, education and infrastructure.
