2019 Brings 7.2% Increase State Aid for County, Municipal Governments

The Department of Legislative Services publication, Effect of the 2018 Legislative Program on the Financial Condition of the State, shows a 7.2% increase in state aid for the “county/municipal” category for fiscal year 2019 as compared with the prior year.

This month the Department of Legislative Services published its review of the 2018 General Assembly Session and the effect of the legislation passed on the fiscal condition of the State of Maryland. The report includes a high-level analysis of the changes in funding to county governments and other local government entities. Subchapters in Chapter 4. Local Government include:

  • State Aid to Local Governments
  • Summary of State Mandates
  • Legislation Affecting Local Government Revenues
  • Legislation Affecting Local Government Expenditures

There is a breakdown of the legislative appropriation for the “county/municipal” category, which includes the municipal share of police aid, highway user revenue, and fire aid.

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County/municipal aid, which includes highway user revenues, increases for fiscal year 2019.

Direct state aid for the fiscal 2019 year in the county/municipal category is $741,783, according to the Department. This is an increase from fiscal year 2018, but still only represents less than 10% of total state aid for local governments. As may be seen in the chart below, most of the State’s aid to local governments is provided to public education programs.

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County-municipal aid represents a fraction of aid provided to other local sources.

For more information, see Chapter 4 of the Effect of the 2018 Legislative Program on the Financial Condition of the State.