Monday, April 15, 2013
The Baltimore County executive praises county employees but asks employees to "stay the course" because the proposed budget contains no cost of living salary increases.
UPDATED (10:29 a.m.)—Baltimore County residents will not have to dig deeper for local taxes again this year under a budget proposed by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. Kamenetz is expected to introduce his third county budget to the Baltimore County Council at 10 a.m. The proposed $2.8 billion operating budget will contain no increases in property or income taxes for the budget year that begins July 1. The county has not raised property taxes in 25 years. The county income tax rate has not been raised in 21 years. The council's Spending Affordabillity committee in January set the limit for ongoing costs subject to spending guidelines at $1.675 billion. Kamenetz said Monday that his plan meets the revised spending guideline. Kamenetz's …
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Council raises concerns about future spending and revenues.
The Baltimore County Council gave unanimous approval to County Executive Kevin Kamenetz's second budget, which totals more than $2.9 billion. Council members called the budget bare bones, but at the same time raised questions about the future trajectory of increased spending over the next three years as revenues decline. Final approval was a foregone conclusion after the council cut $208,000 last week from Kamenetz's proposed $1.6 billion general fund budget. Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond said the cuts were relatively small because "this was a bare bones budget." During the two weeks of budget hearings, the council noted projected future spending would outpace revenues by nearly $200 million over the next three years. That projection …
Monday, April 16, 2012
Four Baltimore County Council members accused County Executive Kevin Kamenetz of cutting off their access to department heads and of intentionally delaying projects in their districts.
Four members of the Baltimore County Council say County Executive Kevin Kamenetz is retaliating against them by delaying projects in their districts after they voted to table the administration's pension bill last month. Council Chairwoman Vicki Almond, Councilman Ken Oliver and Councilman Tom Quirk—all Democrats—and Councilman David Marks, a Republican, said their access to county department heads to address constituent concerns has been greatly diminished since the day after they voted March 19 to table the bill. All said they believe the executive is further penalizing them by withholding money for projects in each of their districts while providing funds to council districts whose members voted to pass the pension bill. Oliver said …
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
No layoffs, furloughs or increases in property or income taxes are expected when county executive releases second budget Thursday.
County residents and employees can expect some good news Thursday when Kevin Kamenetz releases his second budget as county executive. Kamenetz will deliver his budget message before the Baltimore County Council Thursday at 10 a.m. Sources familiar with the budget say it will contain no tax increases for residents and no furloughs or layoffs for county employees. The focus of the budget will remain on schools, which make up more than 50 percent of the county's total budget, and public safety. The county executive will also announce the results of a early retirement incentive program that officials hoped would save $15 million through the retirement of at least 200 employees. Sources said the county will surpass those expectations with the …
Monday, September 19, 2011
Officials hope to eliminate 200 positions, save as much as $15 million through a voluntary process, but hint at layoffs if goals fall short.
UPDATED (7:59 a.m.)—Baltimore County officials say 1,100 current employees will be offered voluntary early retirement as part of an effort to deal with ongoing budgetary woes related to a slumping economy. Don Mohler, a spokesman and chief of staff for County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, said the county is hoping to eliminate 200 positions from a workforce of about 8,000 through what he called a "voluntary, humane and evaluative process." "Clearly this is an attempt to right-size government," Mohler said. County Administrative Officer Fred Homan said the county hopes the early retirements will save the county as much as $10-$15 million in salaries. A bill creating the early retirement program is expected to be introduced to the County Council…
Buzz Beeler
7:43 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Thanks Kevin. They just never figured on the cost, training, liability or the other details needed for an operation this size. This issue was no secret in the department. Everyone on the job knew about it. It's hard to keep a secret among 2,000 employees. No bang for the big bucks after the horse left the barn. more ›