Promising steady progress despite the state's grim fiscal outlook, Howard County Executive James N. Robey was sworn in for a second term last night, along with a new County Council that will see Democrats dominating county government for four more years.

With a weak economy and looming state budget deficit, Howard's leaders likely will have a more difficult term than in the first four years of Robey's tenure.

At the Howard High School ceremony, Robey, at times emotional, spoke of successes of his first term - such as pumping $178 million more into county schools - and promised, "Folks, it's not going to be spectacular, but progress will be steady."

Referring to the tight fiscal picture, he said, "I will not slip backward and sacrifice the gains we have made." He added that "we must not allow our valued education system to fall victim to state cuts as it did in the early 1990s."

Robey, a former Howard County police chief, choked up momentarily at the end of his six-page speech. "This is tough," he said, as he struggled through saying, "I am as committed today to public service as I was when I took my first sworn oath as a patrolman 36 years ago."

The 90-minute program included remarks by Soha Galal, representing the Howard County Muslim community, which Robey has taken pains to include in county affairs since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 last year.

Although two of its five faces are new, the County Council remains composed of three Democrats and two Republicans, with Ellicott City's Christopher J. Merdon and the western county's Allan H. Kittleman returning as the GOP minority.

Guy J. Guzzone, a North Laurel/Savage Democrat who is the only returning Democrat, was chosen as council chairman for the next year. David A. Rakes, an east Columbia Democrat, is the new vice chairman, and Kenneth S. Ulman, a west Columbia Democrat, is the new Zoning Board chairman.

Ulman replaced Mary C. Lorsung, who retired after two terms, and Rakes replaced C. Vernon Gray, a 20-year member forced out by term limits.

Courtney Watson was sworn in as a member of the county's elected school board.

All the council members pledged to work together.

"We have made commitments to great schools, safe streets and an ever-improving quality of life, and we must live up to those commitments in very tangible ways," the new chairman, Guzzone, said. Creativity, determination and the ability to make good choices will make it possible to move forward, he said.

"The campaign is over," Kittleman said in the cooperative theme. "Amen."

Merdon warned against raising taxes as something that "comes too easily and too quickly," but pledged his support for more affordable housing and a home for the proposed consolidated crisis center.

Rakes said he is so excited to begin work that "I can't wait," and pledged to follow Gray's example on the council.

Ulman promised to continue Columbia's commitments to "acceptance, diversity and opportunity."

The county executive's salary increases 27 percent to $125,000, though the council pay stays the same at $33,800 - second-lowest in the metropolitan area after Harford County.

Robey is facing record-high requests for school construction - including $41 million to build a 12th high school, to be finished by the end of his term, and dozens of new rooms for all-day kindergarten by 2007 - at a time when state funding is shrinking, and double-digit county cash surpluses are but a fond memory.

Balanced against a cautious Robey's reluctance to raise taxes, the requests may create a severe financial squeeze after a year when the executive barely managed to avoid using the county's Rainy Day Fund for the first time. A combination of belt-tightening cuts and a slightly improved revenue picture eliminated a projected $18 million deficit for the year ended June 30, but the fiscal picture is not expected to brighten much for the foreseeable future, officials say.

The first comprehensive rezoning in a decade is expected to be the new administration's focus next year, though officials have said they do not expect any major changes, except along U.S. 1, where a revitalization plan may prompt some zoning changes.