TOWSON, Md. — Cost of living increases across the board for county employees, including fire and police personnel, and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski has also stepped up to meet the additional costs now mandated to enhance the public schools in his proposed budget, and in some cases, he’s exceeding them.
“This budget also raises the starting salary of an educator in Baltimore County to $60,000—-fulfilling that obligation to the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future—-two years ahead of schedule,” said the county executive.
As a candidate for Congress, this could be Olszewski’s last county budget, but he says he’s proud of the progress he’s made over the last five years.
That includes opening seven brand new schools with two more on the way this year, but to keep those plans on track, as well as catching up with other long overdue investments in infrastructure, voters must approve a referendum granting $600 million worth of borrowing authority to be paid back over time.
“Because of inflationary pressures and to simply meet needs, this is $244 million more than originally anticipated,” said Olszewski, “Without those dollars, much needed and demanded services and projects—-senior centers, police stations, firehouses and any number of schools, would be delayed or deferred for years, if not outright cancelled.”
They are needs that have gone unmet for decades, and now, the bills are coming due.
“This budget does not have any additional taxes or fees in it,” said County Council Chairman Izzy Patoka, “It’s allowing for debt service to be part of the budget for 20 years to provide infrastructure that we so sorely need in Baltimore County."
