FY 25 Harford County Approved Operating Budget

HARFORD COUNTY MARYLAND FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET SUMMARY

State law imposes a tax on every instrument of writing recorded or offered for record with the Clerk of the Circuit Court (liens, deeds, mortgages, etc.) at the rate of $6.60 per $1,000 of the actual consideration to be paid for property transferred or of the principal amount of the debt secured. Harford County splits the proceeds from this tax: 2/3 to fund school debt and/or school construction, 1/6 to fund Parks and Recreation capital projects, and 1/6 to fund local watershed protection and restoration projects. Recordation revenue is budgeted to flatten out in FY 25 as interest rate hikes have ended, but any significant reductions in them seem unlikely due to persistent inflation. The effect of the relatively high interest rates on the County is one of limited inventory as homeowners are reluctant to sell their homes and lose the low interest rate mortgages that they locked in a few years. With few homes available on the market, sale prices have held strong. For recordation the number of transactions has fallen off, even while the value of each transaction has not.

Fund Balance/Unrestricted Net Position FY 24 Approved Budget

93,204,973 9.56% of the Total All Funds FY 25 Operating Budget 121,371,434 12.57% of the Total All Funds FY 24 Operating Budget

FY 23 Approved Budget

$ Decrease % Decrease

(28,166,461)

-23.21%

Fund Balance has been appropriated in the General Fund at $74,072,089. This funding will be utilized for one time operating cost as well as Paygo for FY 25 capital projects. Highways Fund Balance of $11,159,603 will be used for resurfacing and other road projects. The Watershed Management Fund will use $4,659,000 of Fund Balance, Parks and Recreation Special Revenue Fund will use $206,000, and Ag Preservation - County will use $6,000,000. Net Assets - Appropriated for Water and Sewer Enterprise fund is appropriated at $12,704,000.

EXPENDITURES

General Fund FY 25 Approved Budget FY 24 Approved Budget

780,108,000 79.98% of the Total All Funds FY 25 Operating Budget 768,496,000 79.59% of the Total All Funds FY 24 Operating Budget

$ Increase % Increase

11,612,000

1.51%

Significant changes contributing to this increase include four (4) new SRO positions added during FY 24 and a step increase plus a 1% COLA for law enformcement and correctional deputies; in Emergency Services - eight (8) new EMS positions added during FY 24 for an additional ambulance crew, and additional overtime; a decrease in one time funding in FY 24 for school site acquisition; investments in Information & Communication Technology for software programs to support efficiencies; and a 1% COLA and $1,000 merit increase for eligible county employees, as well as for employees of the State's Attorney and Circuit Court.

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