County Budgets Archives

Your Road to MACoCon Podcast Playlist, Powered by The Briefing Room

Heading to MACo’s Summer Conference? Of course you are, and The Conduit Street Podcast's The Briefing Room has your drive covered. As county leaders, partners, and policy professionals make their way to MACoCon this week, The Briefing Room is trading a new episode for a chance to catch up on our latest deep-dive series. Over the last six episodes, MACo’s Dom Butchko and Baltimore County Director of Housing & Community Development Terry Hickey have taken…

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August 10, 2026

County Budgets / County News / Economic Development / Environment / Information Technology

Special Bonus Episode: Frederick County’s Data Center Playbook

Following the response to The Briefing Room's energy series, we're revisiting one of the topics that generated the most listener interest: data centers. In this special bonus episode, Dom Butchko is joined by Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater to discuss why Frederick County has become one of Maryland's leaders in developing local data center policy. Tune in to the Conduit Street Podcast weekly, wherever you get your podcasts! Subscribe to the Conduit Street Blog and…

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August 7, 2026

County Budgets / County News

Calvert County Adopts FY27 Budget, Expands School Safety Investments

The Calvert County Board of County Commissioners has approved a $420 million Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget that maintains current tax rates while increasing investments in education, school safety, transportation infrastructure, and employee compensation. The budget keeps the county's local income tax rate at 3.2% and property tax rate at 96.7 cents per $100 of assessed value, although officials note some homeowners may still see higher tax bills because of increased property assessments conducted by…

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August 6, 2026

County Budgets / Education

Garrett County Commissioners Add Nearly $2M in Discretionary Funds for School System

Recent budget approvals in Garrett see a $4M increase in school operating funds from the county government, including nearly $2M above the statutory requirement. The Board of County Commissioners in Garrett approved a budget of $38,405,016 for the FY27 operating expenses of Garrett County Public Schools (GCPS). This is about $1.8M more than the state mandated requirement for FY27 and just shy of $4M more than the prior year. This brings the total increase over…

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August 5, 2026

Board of Public Works / County Budgets

Nearly $4.8M Goes to Counties This Week from the Board of Public Works

The Board of Public Works approved just shy of $4.8M for county projects this week including watershed improvements and enhancements for outdoor recreation. Three counties this week were granted funding approvals by the Maryland Board of Public Works for various projects. $3.7M came from Program Open Space funding and is to be distributed to Prince George's and Washington. Prince George's received the primary share of that allocation with $3.6M coming their way, and $150K going…

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August 5, 2026

County Budgets / County News / Summer Conference

#MACoCon: Counties Face Growing Costs, Tougher Budget Choices

At the 2026 MACo Summer Conference, county leaders will examine the fiscal pressures reshaping local government budgets and the difficult choices many counties now face. Rising education costs, infrastructure needs, inflation, State cost shifts, and uncertainty surrounding future federal funding are all placing additional pressure on county finances. At the same time, counties have few broad revenue options available when significant new expenses arise. Funding the Future: Counties Confront Growing Costs, Limited Flexibility County budgets…

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August 3, 2026

Read more about the article Revenue Task Force Convenes: Counties Shoulder 96% of Local Spending, But Revenue Tools Haven’t Kept Pace

County-level entities accounted for 95.5 percent of Maryland local government spending in fiscal 2024. Source: Department of Legislative Services.

County Budgets / Feature / General Assembly News / State Budget and Fiscal Issues / Taxes and Revenues

Revenue Task Force Convenes: Counties Shoulder 96% of Local Spending, But Revenue Tools Haven’t Kept Pace

Counties face growing costs for education, transportation, infrastructure, and other core services, but State law offers relatively few ways to generate additional local revenue. For most local governments, the property tax remains the only practical tool capable of addressing a significant budget need. That reality framed Friday's first meeting of the Task Force to Modernize County and Municipal Revenue Structures. The Department of Legislative Services began with an overview of local government finance before representatives…

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July 31, 2026

County Budgets / County News / Economic Development / Health and Human Services / Taxes and Revenues

News or Noise: Redistricting, Revenue, and NBA Hot Takes

Kevin Kinnally, Michael Sanderson, and Karrington Anderson separate the headlines from the hype, discussing Maryland's potential congressional redistricting special session, local health department funding challenges, and a new task force examining county and municipal revenue structures, all before closing with a lively NBA debate. Tune in to the Conduit Street Podcast weekly, wherever you get your podcasts! Subscribe to the Conduit Street Blog and stay in the know!

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July 31, 2026

County Budgets / Education

Baltimore County Posts Another Record Year for Education Funding

For the coming fiscal year, the Baltimore County Council and Executive approved another billion dollar budget for Baltimore County Public Schools saving more than 144 positions that were in danger of being cut. The FY27 budget allocation for the Baltimore County Board of Education operating expenses was approved by the County Council in late May and totals $1,035,771,751. This is about $30M over the prior year allocation of $1,006,619,953 and $50M over the amount required…

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July 30, 2026

County Budgets / Education

Somerset County Increases Discretionary School Funding for FY27 by Almost $1M

For the FY27 budget the Somerset Board of County Commissioners approved just over $13M of local government funds for the local school systems operating budget. In an early summer vote by the Somerset County Board of Commissioners, county leadership approved an appropriation of $13,065,071 to the Somerset Board of Education for FY27. This is just shy of a $1M increase over the prior year budget of $12,100,404 and is considered the maintenance of effort (MOE)…

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July 28, 2026