Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman unveiled his $1.5 billion operating budget this week for the coming fiscal year.

The plan, a 2.6 percent increase over last year, does not include tax increases, layoffs or furloughs.

The budget would allocate $562.2 million for the school system — $50.4 million less than the $612.6 million the Board of Education requested from the county, but $7.2 million above the minimum amount the county is required to fund by state law.

Compared to last year, the school system could receive $18.1 million more than last year, allowing the county to meet requests for special education funding, negotiated teacher salary increases and 56 new teacher positions to match enrollment growth, Kittleman said.

Roughly half a million for a new nonprofit center would avoid “service silos” by housing human service organizations under one roof, Kittleman said. The county also plans to shuffle $166,880 out of community service partnership grants to the Department of Community Resources and Services to secure permanent funding for key organizations, which otherwise are subject to a yearly grant review.

Under the proposed budget, Howard Community College funding will increase 4 percent over last year, or roughly $1.2 million, including costs for a new science, engineering and technology building. The library system funding increased by 3.7 percent over last year, coupled with a 3.5 percent increase from the state.

In order to address “a backlog of projects,” Kittleman said $2 million from “unexpected savings” will be used for road resurfacing projects along with $3 million in the proposal capital budget. The county also plans to begin the process of replacing 11 buses through the Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland in response to “numerous complaints from riders” about the “aging fleet,” Kittleman said.

Kittleman has also earmarked $1.2 million for a new snow tracker to replace an outdated system he said has not worked properly for several years. The county took down the tracker during a blizzard this year after it stopped functioning.

Kittleman is also proposing $40,000 for an agriculture innovation center to bring new technologies to farmers, $150,000 for an economic development investment fund that provides capital for companies with “promising” technologies, and one-time funding for an overhaul of the Economic Development Authority's marketing campaign.

The proposal also includes funding for a new veterans memorial, a program that repairs homes of low-income homeowners for free and $2 million for rehabilitation loans to renovate or improve aging housing.

Kittleman's capital budget proposal totals $315.7 million, reduces spending by roughly 8 percent and includes slight increases in funding for the school system.

Expanding last year's focus on mental health initiatives, Kittleman included $312,500 for the renovation of Howard County General Hospital's emergency department. A pilot program to investigate body cameras for police will also begin this year.

The budget plan now goes to the County Council for review.

Learn about managing money at annual fair

MakingChange will hold its annual Money Matters Fair, which includes free financial education opportunities such as workshops and one-on-one sessions with professionals, on Sunday, April 24, at Wilde Lake High School. The fair, which takes place between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., includes information on identify theft, home budgeting tips, long-term financial planning and money-saving tips for college.

An interactive simulation, Y-Fi Personal Financial Challenge, will test middle and high school students' financial skills. Other features include a “Cashinator” booth that participants can enter to catch a raffle ticket and win a prize.

The Wilde Lake High School PTSA will provide food for sale. Exhibitors include Howard Community College, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the county Department of Social Services and the Community Action Council.

— Fatimah Waseem, Baltimore Sun Media Group

Speed cameras raise record amount of revenue

Speed cameras in school zones in Howard County brought in around $872,000 from paid citations and a record $251,000 in revenue last year, according to county police officials.

Revenue from the program has increased sixfold between 2013 and 2015, according to police data. The increase is in part due to the addition of two portable camera units in late 2013; between 2014 and 2015, revenue rose 52 percent. Police officials indicated that the two additional cameras, and a reduction in the third-party vendor's processing fees, resulted in the increase.

Collisions in school zones have dropped by 24 percent and, since the program began in late 2011, speeds have fallen on 69 percent of school zone roadways based on a calculation that takes into account any speed reduction, even if it is by 1 mile per hour, police officials said. An analysis of the county's school zones shows many areas saw speeds reduced by 1 to 3 miles per hour.

“I know some people are not happy with that program because they believe it is a revenue-generator. However, I will state that we all know that most of the speeding that occurs in these areas around schools are local people,” Howard County Police Chief Gary Gardner said. “Local people will change and modify their behavior when they know that the devices are there.”

After program costs are covered, revenue from the speed cameras is earmarked for school, traffic and pedestrian projects. In 2015, roughly $135,000 went toward two projects to improve school crosswalks and reduce traffic speeds in residential areas.

Meanwhile, the county has seen a 32 percent reduction in cars running red lights since its red light camera program began in 1998, according to Gardner.

The red light camera program has brought the county $1.4 million in revenue, after $1.3 million in operating costs is deduced from an overall revenue of $2.7 million, according to police data. Revenue from the program is pooled in the county's general fund.

Gardner said the county had taken down cameras at intersections where collisions and speed decreased significantly. Over the course of the program, the department has deactivated 22 cameras.

“We don't want to keep these up forever,” he said.

— Fatimah Waseem, Baltimore Sun Media Group