'Not Much Room For Extras': Olszewski On FY 2021 Budget Proposal

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — County Executive Johnny Olszewski presented his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year Tuesday, one he said was not what he envisioned. Amid the new coronavirus, he said he could not propose making all the investments he hoped to make.

"Baltimore County, this is not the budget that I hoped to present to you this year. But it's the budget that meets the moment," Olszewski said.

"In the blink of an eye, this pandemic has created a new reality. And in this new reality, there's not much room for extras," Olszewski said, speaking through a YouTube broadcast, as Marylanders have been ordered to avoid crowds and maintain social distancing. "Our circumstances are challenging, and the longer this pandemic continues, the longer it takes for economic stabilization to begin."

Revenue will be more than $40 million below what projections called for fiscal year 2021, according to county officials, who updated their forecasts in early April to reflect this new reality.

The FY 2021 budget "focuses on the basics: educating our children, keeping our neighborhoods safe and supporting the county's workforce, our most valuable resource, so we can continue providing the essential services that residents expect and deserve," Olszewski said.

Three new elementary schools will open in the fall as planned, he said. Teachers will receive step increases, and a 1 percent cost-of-living increase will take effect July 1 in Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS).

More than $1 million will go toward hiring BCPS counselors and support staff because "we know this crisis will impact our children in many ways, and we want to ensure we have the resources in place to respond to their needs," Olszewski said.

"I would have liked to provide BCPS with more of the resources they requested, to hire more teachers and invest more in our classrooms," he said, but: "this time of crisis requires difficult decisions."

Construction of two new PAL centers will be funded to "offer a place of refuge for young people who might otherwise turn to the streets," Olszewski said. "By investing in them now we are serving our collective future. It's an area where we want — and need — to expand further in the future."

As far as public safety in 2019, he reported burglaries, robberies, motor vehicle thefts and carjackings were down. "But last year's increase in homicides was unacceptable, and it required immediate action," he said.

The Baltimore County Police Department forged partnerships with Baltimore City and regional law enforcement agencies to reduce violence; the chief increased patrol areas from two to three; and a night commander position was added, he said.

In the year ahead, he said he was asking the County Council to allow cameras on school buses to catch people passing buses on the road; revenue from tickets would, along with other revenue sources, fund two new strategic police squads and a real-time crime center.

An additional $1 million was put toward the fire department to allow for a second set of turnout gear.

County employees, whom he called the "heartbeat of our government," will receive a 2 percent cost of living adjustment June 30, in accordance with a previously established agreement with labor unions.

Last week he announced a hiring freeze in county government. "But we remain committed to investing in our employees and doing everything within our power to avoid furloughs or layoffs," Olszewski said Tuesday.

He also said he included in his budget proposal funding for resuming glass recycling, distributing parks and recreational resources more equitably in the county and moving forward the circulator project in Towson, for which the county received a $1.6 million federal grant.

"Today we're focused on responding to an immediate and evolving crisis. We're focused on making sure our first responders and public health workers have the personal protective equipment they need to safely do their jobs. We're focused on making sure every resident has enough to eat. We're focused on ensuring we have the health and hospital capacity to respond when the number of cases spikes," he said. "As part of our response to the crisis, we are also planning for the recovery. We are focused on making sure our businesses can access the resources they need to sustain. We are focused on helping our residents find new jobs. We are focused on making sure we are prepared for when this virus returns, or when the next one arrives."

Said Olszewski: "It's become clear that we have needed to largely put aside the everyday business of Baltimore County to focus instead on protecting our residents in response to this unprecedented crisis. I know this is hard, but we will get through this — and we will get through this together."

See Also:

• MD Coronavirus: Baltimore County Freezes Non-Essential Hiring
• Baltimore County Coronavirus: More Than 1,300 Cases Confirmed

Watch County Executive Johnny Olszewski give his briefing on the budget:

The budget presentation was livestreamed at 10 a.m. Tuesday, and the full text of Olszewski's remarks is posted here.