Baltimore County Council Public Hearing on FY2027 Budget and Property Tax Rate - April 30, 2026
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Baltimore County Council Public Hearing on FY2027 Budget and Property Tax Rate - April 30, 2026
The Baltimore County Council held a virtual public hearing on April 30, 2026, to receive public comments on the proposed county budget for fiscal year 2027 and on Bill 38-26, which would levy a property tax rate of $1.10 per $100 of assessed value (the current rate). The budget and tax rate are scheduled for adoption on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (corrected from an earlier announcement of 3:00 p.m.). Four speakers registered, with three testifying; one registered speaker (Nicole DeBorac) did not appear.
Public Comments & Testimony
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Paula Wolf, President, Southwest Visions Foundation – Expressed appreciation for operational funding included in the executive's budget, noting that operating support is the most difficult type of funding for nonprofits to access. She requested the council support a $50,000 allocation for operations. In response to Councilman Patoka's question, she elaborated that grants typically cover capital projects but not operating expenses, and that paid staff would accelerate volunteer-driven projects such as the proposed veterans memorial in Arbutus.
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Gloria Razimolu (representing Baltimore County Arts Guild) – Thanked the council for past support and requested reinstatement of a $20,000 operating grant that was reduced to $10,000. She stated that the Arts Guild's mission is to make arts accessible countywide, beyond the Catonsville arts district, but that capacity constraints limit expansion. She noted that funding is being directed to non-arts organizations or those not primarily operating in Baltimore County, and argued that arts organizations must be resourced to lead arts engagement. Councilman Patoka and Councilman Young asked follow-up questions about the funding history and the current request. Ms. Razimolu confirmed the $20,000 grant was promised but not received in the current fiscal year. (Note: The registered speaker list showed the name Gloria Razimolu, but the speaker appeared on the call and was also addressed as "Ms. Ivy Molu" by staff; the council later referred to her as Gloria.)
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Linda Sinansky – Appeared late due to a family emergency. She urged the council to have the law department allocate more of its budget to supporting permits and licensing to help inspectors understand and implement county code correctly. She also called for greater accountability from Baltimore County Public Schools, asking that the school system produce more data to justify its funding requests, rather than receiving a "carte blanche" appropriation.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken; the hearing was for the purpose of gathering public input.
- The budget and property tax rate adoption is set for Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (virtual).
- The council's budget hearings continue on Tuesday, May 5, 2026, as posted on the council website.
Meeting Transcript
Six. We have a quorum. All right. Mr. Secretary here. Ms. Bill Castro here. I'm here, but the council secretary is not here, and I don't think everyone is on yet. Okay. Mr. Secretary is on now. See. Councilman Marks is here. Councilman Young's here. Councilman Grand or Councilman Patoka. Yeah, five. We have five. All right. We'll we'll proceed. Good evening, everyone. Uh this pub, Miss Bill Cashner, do you need to record? I hit the button that says it's recording. Okay. Good evening, everyone. This this public hearing of the Baltimore County Council will now come to order. We are holding this virtual public hearing pursuant to Section 708 of the county charter to public comments on the proposed county budget fiscal year 2027. The budget is available for inspection on the Office of Budget and Finance page of the county's website. We are also holding this hearing pursuant to Section 11-1-102 of the county code in order to hear comments with respect to Bill 3826 to levy and impose a property tax for the taxable year beginning July 1, 2026, and to fix the rate of county taxation for such a taxable year at a dollar 10 for each 100 of assessed value, which is the current uh property tax rate. The county budget and property tax rate are tentatively scheduled for adoption at 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 21st, 2026. The rules of procedure for tonight's public hearing are as follows. Using the speaker registration form, council virtual sessions and hearings webpage prior to the hearing. Each registered speaker will be permitted up to three minutes to speak. And this is really uh a hearing for speakers. So uh Miss Bel Castro, I know we have a few speakers. Do you want to call the first speaker? Mr. Mr. Chairman, I'm sorry to interject. It's actually 10 a.m. I I uh I'm sorry that you had to say 3 p.m. Um that was last year's uh that my apologies. What it's 10 a.m. All right. Sorry. No spearment leaves for you, Mr. Secretary. Our first speaker, registered speaker with Gloria Razimolu. Um I do not see her on the meeting yet. Um, I will go to the next speaker who is Paula Wolf.
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