Harford's Glassman to deliver State of the County Address Jan. 10

Harford County Executive Barry Glassman will present his State of the County Address to the County Council and the public on Tuesday, Jan. 10, the county executive's office announced.

The annual address will stream live on the county website at www.harfordcountymd.gov/411/Video-Gallery and on Harford County Government's Facebook page. Rebroadcasts will be shown on Harford Cable Network Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. and Thursday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. Video of the address will also be archived on the county website.

"I invite all of our citizens to watch my State of the County Address outlining Harford County's progress on our new path forward and the journey that lies ahead," Glassman said in a statement.

Glassman has reached the midpoint of his four-year term and will be giving the state of the county for the third time. He used the first address to call attention to the county's growing heroin abuse epidemic and pledged again in last year's speech to keep working with the community to stop it.

The 2016 speech also highlighted his efforts to reduce county debt, preserve historical structures and boost the economy.

Virtual town hall

The county executive will also host his third "virtual town hall" budget planning meeting on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 19. The virtual town hall will stream live on the county website from Harford Community College's Darlington Hall, beginning at 6 p.m.

"Our virtual town hall meetings are an efficient and convenient way for citizens to tell me what they most care about for the upcoming budget year," Glassman said. "Attendees are always welcome at the live event, but thanks to social media and modern technology, participation is just a click away on a computer or smart phone. Citizens who are working, caring for children or otherwise busy in the evening shouldn't have to come to a meeting to participate in their local government."

Options are available for residents to share their comments and priorities for the 2018 fiscal year budget via social media, email or U.S. Mail.

The county executive will review all incoming messages, some of which will be read aloud during the live event, which will also include public comments from attendees and messages relayed from callers to dedicated phone lines.

Contact information is as follows:

Email: iGovHarford@harfordcountymd.gov;

Facebook: Harford County's Virtual Town Hall;

Twitter: @iGovHarford;

Mailing address: Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, 220 S. Main St., Bel Air, Md., 21014;

Dedicated call-in number: 443-412-2700 (activated only during the live event).

On Jan. 19, citizens may also watch the live event from the county Web page www.harfordcountymd.gov/VirtualTownHall. Again this year, the Web page will scroll some incoming social media, email, and phone messages.

School budget

The Harford County Board of Education is continuing its review of the superintendent's proposed budget for the 2017-18 school year.

Work sessions and public input sessions are held in board's meeting room at the A.A. Roberty School Headquarters Building, 102 S. Hickory Ave. in Bel Air, beginning at 6 p.m., unless otherwise noted:

Monday, Jan. 9 – Work session where budget staff presents second section of budget book to board, followed by public input; a brief board business meeting will follow at 7 p.m.;

Wednesday, Jan. 11 – Public input session on budget;

Thursday, Jan. 19 – Work session, board discussion, followed by public input. This will be the last session for input prior to the board voting on the budget.

Monday, Jan. 23 – Beginning at 6:30 p.m., a regular board business meeting during which a final vote on the budget is scheduled to be taken.

--Compiled by Allan Vought