FY 26 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 26 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 26 Approved Budget

106,111,000 10.21% of the Total All Funds FY 26 Operating Budget 93,204,973 9.56% of the Total All Funds FY 25 Operating Budget

FY 25 Approved Budget

$ Increase % Increase

12,906,027

13.85%

Fund Balance has been appropriated in the General Fund at $50,565,000. This funding will be utilized for one-time operating cost as well as Paygo for FY 26 capital projects. Highways Fund Balance of $9,372,000 will be used for resurfacing and other road projects. The Watershed Management Fund will use $6,280,000 of Fund Balance, Parks and Recreation Special Revenue Fund will use $43,000, and Ag Preservation - County will use $8,000,000. Net Assets - Appropriated for Water and Sewer Enterprise fund is appropriated at $31,851,000.

EXPENDITURES

General Fund FY 26 Approved Budget FY 25 Approved Budget

816,565,000 78.54% of the Total All Funds FY 26 Operating Budget 780,108,000 79.98% of the Total All Funds FY 25 Operating Budget

$ Increase % Increase

36,457,000

4.67%

Significant changes contributing to this increase include full funding of the Board of Education's FY 26 county funding request, plus a state-mandated cost shift to County government for teacher positions; Law Enforcement Deputies & Correction Officers receive a merit step plus a 3% COLA equalling 6%; eligible civilians receive merit increase of $1,000 & 3% COLA; an EMS retention incentive for eligible employees, full funding of the Volunteer Fire Companies' annual allotment request & staffing incentive program; a merit increase of $1,000 and COLA of 3% for eligible county, State's Attorney, and Circuit Court employees; an increase in personnel funding for State's Attorney prosecutor raises and additional body worn camera staff; a 3% increase for the Libraries to provide a COLA for eligible employees; and a state mandated cost shift to County Government for Harford Community College employee pensions.

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