Harford County leaders warn state budget choices shift costs to local schools and roads

Harford County Executive Bob Casley told Inside Harford County that decisions in the Maryland General Assembly are shifting costs from the state to counties, affecting public schools, road maintenance and county finances.

Why it matters: Casley said the state collects major tax revenues and then returns portions to counties; recent policy choices, he said, have reduced state contributions for school construction, teacher pensions and highway-user revenue. "We have to either cut county services or raise taxes," Casley said on the program.

Specifics mentioned on the program included a state direction to raise teacher starting salaries to $60,000 without fully funding related expenses (special education, transportation and extracurriculars) and a reported transfer of roughly $3.5 million in pension costs to Harford County. Casley also said the share of highway-user revenue returned to counties has fallen markedly from prior levels.

Local impact and response: Casley said the county will press the state for policy changes and funding to offset the transferred responsibilities. He urged residents to stay engaged with their state representatives.

Next steps: County leaders said they will continue to monitor the General Assembly budget process and advocate for restored or increased state contributions to critical county services.