Howard County Executive Calvin Ball on Monday unveiled a $2.3 billion budget for fiscal 2026, as the county faces the challenge of maintaining essential services while balancing costs with economic turmoil.

Fiscal 2026 starts July 1, and Ball’s proposed budget represents a 1.6% decrease in spending compared to the current fiscal year due to economic uncertainty sparked by changes at the federal level and fewer available one-time funds.

Before his budget presentation, Ball announced cost-saving measures and cuts within the county government to put forward a plan that didn’t raise income or property taxes. As decisions from the White House continue to impact the economy and the livelihood of residents, the county will need to reevaluate its budget, Ball said.

“As a local government, we have a duty, obligation and requirement to propose a balanced budget,” Ball said. “My team has worked incredibly hard to develop various strategies to support strategic priorities without increasing taxes on our residents, laying off county employees or compromising essential services.”

Despite the decrease in spending, Ball said funding for the Howard County Public School System remained a top priority. The school system would be allotted a total of $800 million from the county in fiscal year 2026 under Ball’s proposal. This investment includes about $39 million in recurring revenues above the required Maintenance of Effort funding.

The county also assumed a cost of about $6.7 million for educator pensions, which is not included in Maintenance of Effort funding, after changes at the state level shifted costs to the county. A total of about $45.7 million in new revenue would go toward the school system, Ball said, and another $1.5 million in one-time funding would be used for school safety and security measures, if approved by the state Department of Education.

In March, the Howard County Board of Education approved a budget request of $1.257 billion, seeking $107.3 million above the Maintenance of Effort. Ball had called the request “unattainable and unaffordable” in a March letter to the school board.

It was challenging working with the board on its request while knowing the county would only receive about $70 million in new revenue for all services, Ball said. The challenge will remain while working to ensure other areas under education, such as the library system and the community college, and items adjacent to education, like childcare, receive proper funding, he said.

“In a county like Howard County, where we see stagnant school enrollment growth, but through the last census, an explosion of people who are older adults, we want to make sure that everyone has the investment in the best quality of life possible,” Ball said. “And navigating the limited resources, the level of uncertainty from the federal government and ensuring that we’re making the right investments is challenging, but we’re up to the challenge.”

Under the proposed budget, the Howard County Library System would receive $794,000 and Howard Community College would receive $1.3 million, a 3% increase for both entities, according to Ball.

Other tough areas of the budget included a decrease in the health care contributions for county workers from 90% to 85%, Ball said. While the decrease brings the county in line with the contributions paid in other jurisdictions, it was hard to make the cut, he said, as he wants workers to know their efforts are appreciated.

The county has also been met with $8 million in unanticipated costs due to changes made during this year’s legislative session, which will “eat directly into” new revenue growth, Ball said. There is about $68.5 million in new general fund revenue in the budget.

The Howard County Police Department would receive $162.8 million, a $4.6 million increase, in addition to one-time funds for equipment upgrades and a School Resource Officer at Guilford Park High School, which opened in 2023. The Department of Fire and Rescue Services is allocated $163.4 million and a one-time transfer of $5 million for capital projects.

Investments for several other projects are included in Ball’s proposed budget, such as transportation improvements and a new observation unit in the Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center’s Emergency Department.

Among other areas of investment are agriculture grant programs, environmental initiatives and public spaces, such as the North Laurel Pool and the renovation of the Historic Circuit Courthouse in Old Ellicott City. Homelessness prevention, homeownership and housing rehabilitation programs would receive $10.7 million while funding will also be allocated for the new Office of the Inspector General the the Department of General Services.

As the county grapples with the impacts of state and federal-level decisions, Ball provided $14.3 million for Community Service Partnership grants to support nonprofits, as many are affected by federal funding freezes. Another $1.07 million in one-time funding would go to the Howard County Economic Development to help business growth.

Howard County has been particularly hard hit by cuts to the federal workforce, with about 11,000 to 15,000 residents directly employed by the federal government and even more employed by federal contractors, several of which have had to downsize staff, Ball said.

Many of the county’s federal workers come from higher-earning or dual-income households, Ball said, so federal workforce changes would “have dramatic impacts.” Ball proposed putting away $2.5 million in current revenues, known as Pay-As-You-Go or PAYGO funding, to be used if needed to handle any challenges that may arise from future federal decisions.

“I think because of the great uncertainty at the federal level, we’re seeing court cases and judges overturning different things from the Trump administration to allowing different things, we recognize that there will be changes,” Ball said. “We’re building this budget at one point in time based upon the best information that we have, and we want to make sure that we continue to evaluate and we will adjust as needed.”

The budget rests with the County Council for approval. The council will hold a series of public hearings and work sessions on both the operating and capital budgets before a final vote on budget legislation is scheduled for May 21.

Have a news tip? Contact Kiersten Hacker at khacker@baltsun.com or @KierstenHacker on X.