During a recent legislative session, the Harford County Council approved supplemental appropriations to cover $900,000 for unexpected snow-related expenses from the January blizzard and $1 million to cover unanticipated costs from employee retirements.

According to The Baltimore Sun,

…county Treasurer Robert Sandlass said the county is trying to recoup some of the snowstorm funds and is eligible for up to 75 percent reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency but would not get it this fiscal year.

The second appropriation covers $1 million for unanticipated retirements, most of them employees in the Sheriff’s Office, which County Attorney Melissa Lambert said is also requested of the council each year as a final reconciliation if the amount budgeted for retirements does not come up even.

The county budgets a little more than $500,000 in payouts, Sandlass said at the May 3 public hearing on the legislation.

The total actually needed for payouts is $1.35 million, leaving a deficit of about $800,000, he said. The administration asked for a cushion of about $200,000 in case more people make retirement decisions.

“Most of the payouts are related to [Sheriff’s Office] personnel, because if you think about it, last year most of the county employees that were retirement-eligible took advantage of the retirement incentive program,” Sandlass said.

As for the snow removal appropriation, the county budgeted $1.7 million for weather-related emergency costs but spent about $2.5 million, mostly on cleanup from the record blizzard Jan. 22-23, leaving a deficit of about $750,000.

To read the full article, please visit The Baltimore Sun online.