Frederick County To Face Challenging Financial Times In Preparing Its Fiscal Year 2026 Budget

County Executive says it’s due to actions on the federal and state levels.Frederick  County Executive Jessica FitzwaterFrederick, Md (KM) Frederick County is expected to face to difficult financial times this year, according to County Executive Jessica Fitzwater. During a public information briefing on Monday, Fitzwater said Frederick County is not immune to what’s happening on the federal level with job cuts and funding reductions.”There’s also little doubt that impacts from federal actions will be felt in Frederick County’s F.Y. 26 budget,” she said. “The uncertainty has compounded and complicated the F.Y. ’26 budget discussions at a time, as you may know, the State of Maryland is also facing fiscal challenges.”The County Executive noted that the state is facing a nearly $3-billion deficit for the next fiscal year. “And just last week, the State Board of Revenue Estimates wrote down the state’s revenue estimates by $280-million, only increasing the gap. This directly is being impacted by decisions at the federal level.”Going along with that deficit, Fitzwater said some responsibilities the state  takes on might  devolve down to the county level.. “These includes things like state pension costs for Frederick County Public Schools and Frederick Community College employees and costs for the state–again state—Department of Assessments and Taxation,” she said. “Should these shifts occur, it will have a very devastating and direct impact on our budget.”Locally, Fitzwater said not all the news is bad. She said the county is still seeing income tax growth, although that growth has slowed in recent years. “I will say we are lucky that Frederick County has a diverse and thriving economy thanks to our small business owners and many in our community which does help us to be in a better position than some of our neighboring counties,” she saysThe County Executive says she will present a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget to the County Council on April 15th.When it comes to drafting the budget, Fitzwater says some hard choices will need to be made. “But between now and April 15th, I will be weighing hard decisions about the county’s expenses. i will be utilizing conservative budgeting to balance our budget because that is the only fiscally responsible thing to do,”  she says.Meanwhile. the County Executive says she will be holding another public hearing on the budget on Wednesday, March 19th at 7:00 PM at Winchester Hall.By Kevin McManus