Following a year of making tough choices and cuts, the
County Commissioners say they are ready to offer some breaks.
During the State of the County address on Thursday, Commissioners President Blaine Young said he will look to reduce the property tax rate in the upcoming budget. The rate has been stable since a reduction in the fiscal 2005 budget, according to the county treasury department.
“I am committed that we have the ship pointed in the right direction,” Young said. “We believe that the tough, prudent decisions we have made over the past year have placed the county on solid ground.”
With the county’s workfoce doing more with less, Young said he recognized a need to make sure employees see some reward for their effort.
When the board took office a year ago, department heads were required to make deep cuts. The workforce has been reduced; staff levels are where they were seven years ago.
“We need to reward those who are getting the job done,” Young said.
The board reduced library hours and road maintenance projects, eliminated the Thurmont after-school program and made other cuts along the way.
“We’ve looked under every rock and tried to save as much money as possible,” Commissioner Billy Shreve said. “We’ll be looking at ways to make things better.”
Mandates and cuts from the state have made it tough for the county, Young said.
“The state needs to realize it has to stop laying it all on the counties and municipalities,” he said.
The commissioners said they have refused to stop the bleeding with gimmicks or one-time measures.
“We’re not neglecting or robbing Peter to pay Paul to balance our budget,” Young said. “We are delivering the same amount of services to our residents.”
Bright spots have included no cuts to K-12 education and improved bond ratings for the county, he said.
The county’s unemployment rate dipped to 5.7 percent in September, down from 6.6 percent in January. Even with numbers way below the national average, the county is not satisfied, according to Commissioner Paul Smith.
“I think we all need to recognize that jobs is still the No. 1 issue in Frederick County,” Smith said.
Commissioners identified several companies that either made a commitment to move to the county or to stay. The Banner Life corporate headquarters moving to Urbana means 400 new jobs,; 250 jobs were created by moving the Social Security Administration data center to Frederick, and 50 jobs were created by an expansion at Life Technologies.
The way to keep job growth on the front burner is to follow the board’s motto of being open for business, Commissioner Kirby Delauter said.
“Businesses mean a lot to this county,” Delauter said. “I want to help businesses come to Frederick County and stay in Frederick County.”
