The Frederick County Government’s Budget Committee released the recommended operating budget for the fiscal year 2015 on last Friday with an overall increase of $2.5 million, or .5 percent, from fiscal year 2014.
Budget increases were attributed to factors such as merit and cost-of-living adjustments for Frederick County government employees, the hiring of five new deputies by the Sheriff’s department and a 17 percent increase in the Department of Aging budget.
Revenue from county property taxes is expected to increase 1.74 percent, or roughly $4.6 million.
Despite the budget increase, head county commissioner Blaine Young said that the budget committee made cuts to trim the budget without adversely affecting citizens.
“We are presenting a balanced budget to the citizens of Frederick County. Instead of reducing the deficit by making cuts that would affect our citizens, we went back to our directors and they came up with almost one million dollars in additional savings,” Young said.
A substantial budget increase requested by the Board of Education was denied by the Board of County Commissioners which Young explained is why this year’s budget has increased less than one half of a percent.
The Board of Education education’s request for a 7 percent increase in county funding would have been a $17.5 million expense for the county. Instead their budget has increased by .04 percent, or roughly $90,000.
Joy Schaefer, President of the Frederick County Board of Education, called the budget increase a “critical expense” for the county’s schools. Schaefer says the budget increase is vital for providing staffing for special needs students, updating technology in classrooms, and offering competitive salaries for teachers.
“We’re at the point where we don’t have anywhere else to cut,” Schaefer said, in regard to cutting its budget several needs including staffing and technology. She argues that the demands for the school system are going up, and standardizing the budget in regards to the number of students attending public schools is no longer adequate.
“So far, people haven’t felt the cuts in the classrooms, but if we don’t get full funding this year, kids will start to see it [the cuts] in their classrooms,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer said she will be attending the budget’s public hearing along with the Superintendent and Vice President of the Board of Education to make an appeal on behalf of the budget increases.
Several other appeals for the operating budget have been made including 17 additional deputies being added to the Frederick County Sheriff’s department, contracted services for the department of aging, and a $250,000 provision for pothole repair in light of the recent, severe winter weather. Commissioner Young also recommended restoring a $1 million cut from Frederick Community College and aid to them in hiring full-time professors.
Several cuts and budget increases also reflect the shift to a charter system of government. The Board of Commissioners and county manager funds are being cut by about 50 percent and funds for a County Executive and County Council have been added. Funds for the County Executive and County Council amount to under $950,000.