Howard County Council approves nearly $2 million in year-end appropriations; adopts salary changes and transfers

The Howard County Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance adding $1,964,860 in year-end appropriations across multiple county funds and passed companion budget transfers and a salary ordinance to close fiscal-year gaps.

Madam Auditor read Ordinance 2025-HCCO-53 into the record, detailing line-by-line changes that included corrections to Kinsey Youth Center payroll lines, $25,000 from the Clerk Perpetuation Fund for document-storage service contracts with Document Mountain, a $75,160.80 appropriation tied to the county’s inspection costs for the project on County Road 3300 East, and a request to cover initial invoices for a previously approved jail heat-pump project. "The money’s there — it just needs appropriated," the auditor said while presenting grant-funded items that must be authorized before year end.

The Community Corrections director, Stephanie Cole, told the council those requests largely reallocate existing grant funds and vacancy savings to cover part-time probation officer salaries and to correct where payroll expenses were charged. "I'm using part of [the grant funds] to cover the rest of our part-time salaries for probation officers," Cole said, noting the adjustments are intended as…