County Executive Pittman’s supplemental budget provides pay increases for teachers and library staff, increases public safety funding, and addresses infrastructure needs.

This week, Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman submitted a fiscal 2024 supplemental budget to the County Council. The supplemental includes additional funding to raise teacher starting salaries, hire more police officers, raise library staff pay, and improve infrastructure.

“This supplemental makes a good budget better,” said County Executive Pittman. “It reflects the priorities brought to us by County Council members from both sides of the aisle, as well as those of our administration and the public. I am particularly pleased to be making additional investments in teacher starting salaries, police, library pay, and school nurse pay.”

The County Executive’s supplemental budget reallocates $3.1 million in cuts proposed by the County Auditor to address the urgent need to staff the almost 200 vacant teaching positions by raising teacher starting salaries to $58,161, which aligns with surrounding counties. The supplemental budget also includes $530,000 in additional funding for Anne Arundel County Public Library staff salary enhancements and $130,000 in additional funding for increases to school nurse salaries.

The supplemental budget also moves the needle forward with much-needed investments in public safety by adding ten new police officer positions, a new captain position in the Sheriff’s Office, and additional support for the County’s Police Accountability Board.

In the Capital Budget, the supplemental budget adds almost $3 million to address critical infrastructure needs, including road reconstruction and resurfacing. The supplemental also provides $250,000 of additional funding to expedite the renovation of the Anne Arundel Community College Glen Burnie Town Center Tutoring Center.