Members of the Harford County Council could get the power to reallocate funds to any part of the county’s annual budget, should a proposed charter amendment be passed by council members and county voters.
Currently, the county charter allows the council to remove funds from only parts of the budget. The council can essentially “redistribute” removed funds, but those funds can only go to public education, per the State Code of Maryland.
The charter amendment, introduced by District A Councilman Aaron Penman Tuesday night, would allow council members to increase, decrease or delete any items in the proposed annual budget.
Penman, a Republican, said since the council holds numerous budget hearings with departments whose funding is included in the budget, and also with constituents, the council should have the power to “improve” the budget to better meet county needs.
“We have days of budget hearings where we listen to every organization and entity affected by the budget,” Penman said. “So, we do all of that, meanwhile we have no influence to actually improve the budget and the county executive does not hold these meetings yet has almost complete authority of the entire budget.”
County Executive Bob Cassilly stated in a news release Wednesday that he “urges members of the council to promptly reject” Penman’s proposed amendment because it “makes irresponsible spending promises on the backs of taxpayers.”
“This legislation is a back-door attempt to increase government spending which will ultimately lead to higher taxes on Harford County citizens and businesses,” Cassilly said, adding that he believes the proposed amendment would allow the council to increase funding for areas of the budget that would lead to “runaway spending” – which he said his administration has worked hard to control.
Penman said Cassilly’s statement is inaccurate.
Penman said that if the proposed amendment is passed, he would ensure that the council evaluates areas of the budget that are “over budgeted.” The funds would then be used to fund areas Penman said have been “flat funded,” year over year.
“There are areas of the budget now that have a certain amount of money they receive, but if you look at the ‘actuals’ of what they spent over the years, they are budgeting more than they have actually spent and those are areas we can pull from,” Penman said.
Penman did not cite exact areas of the budget that he thinks are over-budgeted. He said as his amendment progresses through the council, he will release a report showing over-budgeted sections.
At the end of each budget year, unspent funds are transferred back into the county’s general fund. Penman said that with this amendment, the council will be able to reduce the amount of unused funds at the end of the year, adequately fund all parts of the budget while maintaining a balanced budget and improve dialogue among county leaders.
“I believe what this would do is improve things to where we would have a conversation with the county executive,” Penman said. “This is all about compromise and progress, because that is democracy.”
The proposed amendment is scheduled for a public hearing June 11, at 6:30 p.m., in the Harford County Council chambers.
If the amendment is approved by the council, it will be added to the 2024 presidential election ballot in November for Harford County residents.
