Pittman proposes modest tax rate cut, more police and fire personnel in final Anne Arundel budget

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman says his final budget is about leaving the county “in good order.”

The $2.58 billion budget, he said, invests in county services and schools, and will help residents weather uncertainty trickling down from federal spending cuts. It also includes a small decrease to the county property tax rate.

“Some people think being fiscally responsible means spending less money in government, but it also can mean investing in a responsible way, and we have invested big time,” Pittman said in an interview Thursday.

The budget announcement comes days after a survey from the Center for the Study of Local Issues at Anne Arundel Community College found just 40% of respondents viewed economic conditions in the county as “excellent” or “good.”

The survey found Pittman had an overall approval rating of 37%, his lowest since fall 2021. Thirty-two percent said they strongly or somewhat disapproved, while 29% said they were unsure. Anne Arundel has historically been a purple county, though it has been trending Democratic in recent elections. Pittman, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection this fall because he’s term-limited.

A majority of survey respondents — 53% — said the county should lower taxes.

The survey of 1,902 Anne Arundel County residents was conducted during April 6-16. The overall survey had a margin of error of about 2.6%.

Here are six takeaways from Pittman’s final budget.

A lowered property tax rate

In what will certainly be welcome news for homeowners in Anne Arundel County, Pittman’s budget proposal includes a modest reduction in the property tax rate from 97.7 cents to 96.8 cents per $100 of assessed value.

The county’s income tax rates remain the same, Pittman said, and the 2% homestead exemption remains. The exemption limits the increase in what homeowners pay for increased assessments to 2% a year to prevent large increases.

More money for schools

More than half of the county budget, or about $1.2 billion, goes to fund the school system.

Pittman’s spending plan includes funding for union-represented employees to get their contractual raises, plus a 2.25% salary increase (which, Pittman said, matches what other county employees are getting).

The school system asked for a budget increase of about $139.7 million; Pittman’s proposal would give about $72.8 million more than in the current fiscal year.

The budget also provides funding for 26 of what Pittman called “desperately needed” special education positions.

The county can’t fund everything in the school system’s request, county budget director Chris Trumbauer said Thursday, so officials crafted a budget to pay teachers more, meet state requirements and then work down the system’s priority list.

Investment for the development moratorium

A development moratorium put in place in the northern part of the county earlier this year means projects there are frozen because of issues with sewage capacity. County officials have been working on ways to lift the moratorium — and Pittman’s budget includes about $60 million for new infrastructure to address the issues.

It’s money for literal “pipes and pumps” to move wastewater to other county treatment centers, Pittman said.

Another positive for the county coffers: Pittman said he does not expect the moratorium to be in place for so long that it starts to negatively affect property tax revenues, because stalled projects will be built soon enough.

“Never did believe that” would happen, Pittman said. ”We always knew we could fix this — we just needed to do our due diligence."

Trump impact

Part of the budget proposal is a category of spending that Pittman refers to as protecting the county’s people.

Pittman wants to increase funding for the county Food Bank from $1.5 million to $2 million, and boost spending on the Family Protection Initiative, which helps households where someone has been deported.

He also funds the county’s Federal Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Program at $5 million. Last year, the pot of money, intended to fund programs where federal dollars fall short, had $10 million. Pittman said the program did not spend all the money, so officials reduced this year’s contribution.

The program’s fund can be allocated with approval from the County Council.

The budget also includes money for new staff members to help county residents navigate Medicaid, and staff to help connect uninsured residents to volunteer and/or low-cost medical providers amid Trump administration cuts to Medicaid and Obamacare.

Firefighters and public safety

The county police department would get nine new positions, with six going to staff a third shift at its Real Time Information Center. The budget provides funding for 21 firefighter positions, which Pittman said will complete staffing for fire trucks on the Annapolis Neck and in South County.

During recent budget town halls, the local fire union mounted an advocacy campaign, saying the county needed an additional 350 firefighters. Pittman said the proposal was not financially feasible, especially given that the Trump administration paused grants that local governments could use to hire firefighters.

Other capital projects and staffing

In addition to 26 new school positions, Pittman’s budget includes funding for 63 total staff positions, such as police, firefighter and social service jobs. Public Works and Recreation and Parks are among the other departments that would gain positions.

Other budget proposals that Pittman highlighted include:

• $458,000 in the road repair fund, to deal with the aftermath of this past winter’s snowstorm.
• $530,000 for the design of a new animal shelter.
• $4.8 million for the first of two field houses at Arundel and Chesapeake high schools.
• $545,850 for volunteer fire station repairs and improvements.
• And $9.1 million in design funding for recreation facilities and housing at Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park, including $4 million in state grants.

The council will hold public hearings on the budget on May 13 and 19, with a final vote set for June 15.