Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the State Legislation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County’s lobbyists describe wins, warn of state’s structural budget shortfall
Summary
Jonathan Carpenter of GreenWill Consulting and Leslie Police briefed Kent County commissioners on Annapolis developments, saying a $4 billion projected structural deficit persists while the legislature made changes to school-construction formulas that benefit small and rural counties.
Jonathan Carpenter of GreenWill Consulting told Kent County commissioners that Maryland’s latest budget still leaves a projected $4,000,000,000 structural shortfall and that the state is largely moving money between accounts rather than making long-term spending changes. "They're moving money from one place to another," Carpenter said, adding that the gap remains a continuing problem for counties.
Leslie Police, identified by Carpenter as the GreenWill team lead, credited local advocacy for a change to the state’s school-construction funding formula that she said will benefit small and rural counties. "Because you repeatedly came to Annapolis ... that formula was corrected," Police said, urging continued engagement before the fall budget cycle.
Carpenter and Police outlined a list of bills they flagged as relevant to Kent County, including HB 461, which creates an annual $100,000 technical-assistance fund for rural economic-development projects; HB 1279, which expands the catalytic revitalization tax credit to workforce housing; and HB 243, which revises comprehensive-plan requirements. Police told the commissioners the consultants can provide full summaries on request.
Commissioners praised the consultants’ work and asked the team to return within the next month or two to help set Kent County’s priorities ahead of the September state budget process. The board did not take formal action on any of the bills at the meeting; Carpenter and Police’s presentation was an informational briefing.
The presentation concluded with commissioners expressing appreciation for GreenWill’s Annapolis advocacy and thanking the consultants for tracking legislation that could affect local planning, economic development and school-construction funding.
