Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier proposed a $5 billion budget Thursday for fiscal year 2027 that includes a nearly 4% increase in spending and no tax increases.

“I promised when I got into this position, I wouldn’t raise taxes, so that wasn’t on my radar,” the Democrat said in an interview.

Klausmeier unveiled the budget during an address in Towson to the County Council, which must approve a spending plan by June.

The council may cut spending in her proposed budget but cannot add to it. A public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 28. A final vote is expected May 21. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

With the council chambers undergoing renovations, Klausmeier, dressed in a sequined jacket patterned after the Maryland flag, delivered her remarks in the historic Courtroom Number 5. The visual was striking, with the county’s first female executive giving a major policy speech in a room lined with portraits of white male jurists from years past.

Here are five things to know about Klausmeier’s proposed 2027 budget:

No new taxes

Citing mounting affordability concerns, Klausmeier said she didn’t want to raise taxes and add to residents’ financial burdens.

“Families are feeling more and more pressure at the grocery store, at the gas pump, and in their monthly bills,” Klausmeier said. “I feel this, too.”

“We are not going to add an additional burden on our residents,” she said.

The county’s real property tax rate will remain at $1.10 per $100 of assessed value — though homeowners will likely see their bills go up because property values have increased. The income tax rate stays at 3.2%.

Over half the money goes to the schools

Consistent with practice in recent years, around 56% of the county’s budget will go to schools, colleges and libraries.

The county’s public school system is receiving an additional $34.7 million. A late $9.3 million funding boost saved nearly 150 school jobs that had been slated for cuts and prevented increases in elementary class sizes.

Other major education expenditures include $2.5 million for special education, which would allow for hiring more speech-language pathologists, as well as $2.7 million of county and state funds for Owings Mills High School’s turf field and track.

Klausmeier described funding education as “very personal to me.” She is a former PTA president, a mother of a teacher, and the grandmother of public school students.

New investments in public safety

Klausmeier’s budget includes additional general funds of $14.6 million for the police department and $12.6 million for the fire department. In all, the public safety budget would increase by 6.3% over 2026.

The police department’s budget includes launching a drone-as-first-responder program, constructing a new Wilkens Avenue precinct and $9 million for a new Police Support Operations Division facility.

On Wednesday, Klausmeier announced she included $3.4 million for the fire department to hire 12 new battalion chiefs, more than doubling the number of senior officers available to oversee on-scene emergency responses.

The budget also funds the creation of a crisis stabilization center, enabling people with mental health or substance use emergencies to receive immediate specialized care and reducing the burden on emergency rooms.

A new library for Essex

To the delight of a number of east-side politicians in the audience, Klausmeier announced more than $58 million in bond funding for a replacement library in Essex. The proposal must be approved by the council before it can be placed on the ballot for voters this November.

The funding would support additional planning and design for the site, which has already been acquired and cleared, library board President Yara Cheikh said.

“It demonstrates a recognition of the importance libraries play in every community,” Cheikh said in an interview. “For our Essex community, in particular, we know that we have many socially vulnerable residents, and we are so excited to be a landmark in that community. This could be a transformational project.”

Renderings for the planned 35,769-square-foot building on Old Eastern Avenue include a community garden, outdoor play and programming space, food pantry, tool library and auditorium.

A bridge to the future

Appointed in January 2025 to finish the final two years of Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s term after his election to Congress, Klausmeier is in her final months in office. She will step aside in December after opting not to run for the post, as she had promised.

She said she crafted her budget proposal with future administrations in mind.

“I stepped into this position at a time of transition,” Klausmeier said. “My focus has been simple. Do the work, make the tough fiscal decisions, and leave Baltimore County in a better place.”

Though county law requires 10% of the budget’s general funds to be set aside as rainy-day funds, County Budget Director Kevin Reed said his team decided on almost 22% — about $642 million — to buffer against geopolitical instability from the war in Iran and the federal government’s retreat from Maryland.

It also helps maintain the county’s AAA bond rating and allows the next county executive to start from a position of strength.

“We really are ensuring the beginning ingredients for solid financial footing for the next administration to be successful,” Reed said in an interview.