County Executive Schuh’s budget provides tax relief and increases spending on teachers, students, and schools.
From The Capital-Gazette,
Schuh touted the positive economic landscape – more jobs than ever in the county, unemployment at 3.8 percent, AAA and AA bond ratings, median income close to $90,000, the 29th highest of any county in the country and the fourth biggest economy in the state.
Here are a few highlights:
Total Operating Budget
- $1.5 billion, and increase of 4.9% over last year’s operating budget
Education Funding
From The Capital-Gazette,
- “The $1.2 billion operating budget for schools is the largest ever and a $32 million increase over the current year. It is $20 million more than the maintenance of effort levels required by state law.”
Taxes
From the Budget-In-Brief:
- Over the last two years, the Schuh Administration has enacted more than $64 million in tax and fee relief. The FY2018 budget continues this initiative, by eliminating unnecessary taxes that hurt working families like:
- The movie tax: a nearly one dollar per person nuisance tax that hits our citizens as they enjoy a night out with the family.
- The athletic facility tax: a $36 per year tax that adds to the cost of exercise. We should be encouraging our citizens to embrace a healthy life style, not creating barriers.
- The mobile home tax: a $300 per year tax that places an unnecessary burden on residents of mobile home communities.
Government Employee Salaries
From the Budget-In-Brief:
- The FY 2018 budget fully funds a $15.6 million teacher salary step increase. . .
For more information, see Schuh unveils $1.5B Anne Arundel budget heavy on school spending from The Capital-Gazette, and the proposed operating budget for Anne Arundel County.
