FY 25 Harford County Government Proposed Operating Budget

· The County aims to maintain a level of debt not to exceed $2,500 per capita. Projected FY 2024 level is expected to be $1,839and $1,927 for FY 2025.

· The County aims to maintain a debt level under 2.3% of the full cash value of assessable property in the County. Projected level for both FY 2024 and FY 2025 is 1.5%.

· The County aims to have debt service not exceed 10.0% of budgeted general fund expenditures. Projected FY 2024 level is 7.4% and 7.3% for FY 2025.

The Committee believes the proposed level of debt for FY 2025 is reasonable. Care

should be taken to revisit theguidelines periodically to make sure they are still relevant,

prudent, and allow the most reasonable use of debt for proper public

purposes. Since most of the County debt is publicly issued, additional consideration needs to

be given to the requirements of the public debt rating agencies and bond investors. The

Committee finds additional comfort in the recent reaffirmation of the County’s strong public

debt ratings as a testament to the sound fiscal policies implemented by the County. Harford

County is in a select group of government issuers with the highest ratings from the three major

rating organizations. The Committee recognizes this as a significant achievement and believes

it stands as a testament to the strong fiscal policies employed by the County.

While the Committee recognizes the County’s obvious strength in the management of

the debt service levels with regard to the General Fund, the Committee would be remiss in

ignoring potential impacts to the General Fund from other sources such as Enterprise Funds.

The Water and Sewer Fund was established as a self-sustaining utility to provide water and

sewer services for Harford County. Revenue from users covers the costs of providing these

services. The County has taken steps to set rates at appropriate levels to ensure the General

Fund will not have to bridge any shortfall in the Water and Sewer Operating Fund.

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