Budgeting to maintain local infrastructure is an essential function of county government. You must understand your infrastructure needs and maintenance schedule, establish project priorities, and develop sustainable funding mechanisms. Attendees at the MACo Winter Conference session, “Dollars & Sense: Building a Capital Budget,” learned best practices for planning and financing capital projects to meet public infrastructure and facility needs.

Jenifer Ellin, Director, Fiscal and Administrative Services, Charles County, provided an introduction to the capital budgeting process. Ellin also discussed strategies for working with local boards of education to developing and financing infrastructure and facility needs.

Jonathan Seeman, Director, Budget, Finance, and Information Technology, Queen Anne’s County, detailed the differences between the capital budget and the operating budget. Mr. Seeman also stressed the importance of developing funding priorities in line with debt affordability, the six-year nature of the capital budget, and syncing capital budgets with operating budget forecasts.

Ted Zaleski, Director, Management and Budget, Carroll County, shared best practices for developing and maintaining infrastructure. Mr. Zaleski shared a multimedia presentation developed by the Carroll County Department of Management and Budget, designed to educate elected officials and the general public on the importance of maintaining the county’s bridges, as well as a revolutionary, long-term forecasting model for maintaining the county’s infrastructure.

The session was moderated by Senator Adelaide Eckardt and held on Thursday, January 3, 2019.

The MACo Winter Conference was held January 2-4, 2019 at the Hyatt in Cambridge, Maryland. This year’s theme was “Charting the Course.”