Harford County Executive Barry Glassman released his fiscal 2016 budget this week. The $732 million budget is nearly $3 million lower than the current fiscal year, does not raise taxes, funds education at record levels, and provides merit-based pay increases.

From the county press release,

In his first budget as county executive, Mr. Glassman proposes the smallest capital budget in ten years to halt the trend of yearly increases in new debt and to allow the county to retain the highest-possible Triple-A bond rating. In addition to proposing salary enhancements for county employees, made possible through ongoing efficiency measures, the county executive’s budget also provides additional funding to raise salaries for employees of outside agencies, including the Board of Education and the Sheriff’s Office. Half of the county’s new revenue is directed toward K-12 education. The FY2016 budget, which totals $732 million overall, also includes county funding earmarked for treatment of heroin addiction for the first time ever.

Fiscal 2016 budget documents can be found on Harford County’s website. The County Council will hold public hearings on the budget during April and May, and must give final approval to the budget by June 15.