Frederick County Council Considers 21 Budget Amendments Tuesday Night

Several dealt with where to get the revenue for fully funding the School Board’s request.Frederick, Md (KM) The Frederick County Council on Tuesday voted down 17 budget amendments. Two were meant to show citizens how much it would take for the county to fully fund the Board of Education’s budget request for fiscal year 2026.Councilman Steve McKay introduced an amendment that would cut $24,125,860 from the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget to help pay for all of the School Board’s budget request. “I took this as an exercise than, and determined that okay six-and-a-half percent, this is a meat cleaver, this a bludgeon approach. Six and a half percent across the board county department’s budget. That how you come up with $24-million,” he said.He said county government services would be affected, including the Division of Fire and Rescue Services, and the Sheriff’s Office. “We’re talking about 69 fire fighters. This isn’t a decrease in the increase, These are people who are let go in order to accomplish this. 45 to 50 deputies,” said McKay.The Council voted down that amendment, including its sponsor Steve McKay. But he said the Council needs to have discussions about how to fully fund the School System’s budget requests.The panel also defeated an amendment to raise the property tax rate from $1.11 per $100 of assessed value to $1.25 per $100 of assessed value. It was sponsored by Council Vice President Kavonte Duckett, who said this would also show how much was needed to fully the Board of Education’s budget request. “The amendment is just to demonstrate the significant hike needed to fully fund the Board of Education’s request.,” he said. “I’m the first to tell you that implementing this increase now would add an additional financial burden on many of our residents many of whom are already experiencing economic hardships.”Council President Brad Young noted that Frederick County is the fastest growing county in Maryland; and as its school population continues to grow, the need for additional teachers, classroom space , school buildings and other needs will grow.  He said additional funding is needed, but raising the property tax rate is not the answer. “We need additional revenue, but I’d like to see it by attracting more businesses here to support that than putting it  on the backs of residential taxpayers,” he said.The Council also voted down an amendment to reduce the negotiated cost of living adjustment for fire fighters from 2.5 percent to 2 percent.Several amendments proposed by Councilman Mason Carter were defeated as well. One would remove $394,697 in funding from the Office of Equity and Inclusion, and place the Director of that agency within the County’s Division of Human Resources. That person would have a salary of $95,000 annually. “Inherently, the work of the Office of Equity and Inclusion is also the work of HR,” he said. “And I think by moving forward with this cut it will  eliminate redundancies in our system in moving this amendment forward.”But Council Vice President Duckett said the Office of Equity and Inclusion is still needed in Frederick County. “If HR was doing the job, these offices wouldn’t be needed,”  he said. “Clearly, there’s a disconnect in our system. And until we are ready to address the inequities that exist, these conversations continue to happen.”The Council must adopt  a budget for fiscal year 2026 by May 31st of this year.By Kevin McManus