Harford County Executive Vows Not To Raise Taxes Despite Budget Shortfall

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly announced Thursday that he will not raise taxes to balance the county's budget despite a shortage.

Cassilly said leaders estimated in January that county revenue would grow by about 5%. Based on this estimate, the county's preliminary plan was to increase funding for public schools and the sheriff’s office by the same percentage.

However, county leaders received income tax revenue distributions from the state for this year that were $13 million less than the prior year. While unexpected, the decline mirrors what's happening in other counties, too, Cassilly noted.

"Last week, the state reduced their own revenue estimates by about $255 million for this year and next. Folks, we cannot ignore our state’s economic reality. If your household income dropped unexpectedly, you wouldn’t keep spending as usual. Likewise, county government must not spend more than we take in," Cassilly said.

"I will not raise taxes to balance this budget. Dipping further into savings is no longer an option - we won’t have enough to cover the shortfall. This means we’ll be re-evaluating the budget for next year across all agencies. We all wish it were different, but I will not create a budget based on wishful thinking. I’m responsible for facing the difficulties presented by the national and state economies and protecting our taxpayers from government overspending. And that is exactly what I will do," he added.