Harford County Executive Barry Glassman is expected to outline how he expects to change the direction of the county's budget, when he delivers his first state of the county address this Tuesday night, Feb. 3.
The address will be delivered at 7:30 p.m. before the Harford County Council in the council chamber at 212 S. Bond St. in Bel Air. Members of Glassman's cabinet are also expected to attend.
According to his spokesman, Glassman plans a 15-minute presentation.
Although Glassman has previously announced plans to curtail capital spending and cut the government's payroll through a retirement incentive plan, he hasn't said exactly how much money he expects to save and how much could then be redirected to achieve another goal: providing enough funding for raises for the remaining county workers, sheriff's deputies, correctional officers and 5,000 teachers and other school system employees.
His plan to curtain capital spending means the county won't be going to the bond market this year or, most likely, next year, either. Directly affected are two major school projects, a new Havre de Grace High and Middle School Building and a major renovation of Joppatowne High School, and construction of a $10 million second phase of the new Department of Emergency Services Building. All three have been put on hold by Glassman until he has a better hold on the county's financial situation, he said.
While the county might not be taking on new debt in the early years of Glassman's term, the $68 million it is spending annually to service the $869 million it owes in principal and interest on its existing debt won't change markedly during the next four years, according to county financial reports. If the county keeps from borrowing additional large amounts during that time, however, the annual debt repayments would begin to show significant declines from 2020 on.
During the first few weeks of his term, which began Dec. 1, Glassman told a reporter to stay tuned for more developments as his financial plan emerges, saying the state of the county address would be a good place to begin.