November 20, 2020
Media Contact:
Mark Miller, Administrator Office of Public Information, 410-313-2022
Residents can sign-up to testify or give budget testimony online
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball will hold his first Resident’s Budget Hearing for the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) budget cycle on Wednesday, December 9th at 6:00 p.m. This year’s budget hearing will be held virtually and can be watched live from the County Council’s streaming website; the hearing will be listed under “Upcoming Events.”
"This year has been unprecedented in many ways, and our upcoming budget season will be no exception. The ongoing pandemic has caused serious economic consequences and challenges for our fiscal outlook," said Ball. "Especially now, we want to hear from our residents. This is a wonderful opportunity to make your voice heard, share your concerns, and provide input on priorities for the upcoming fiscal year."
Beginning Wednesday, November 25th, residents will be able to sign-up ONLINE to speak at the hearing by going to www.howardcountymd.gov/budgettestimony. Speakers must sign-up individually, and one person may not sign-up for several testifiers. Additionally, individual testimony is limited to three minutes and group testimony is limited to five. Speakers who have a document or record they wish to submit with their testimony are asked to email the file to budgettestimony@howardcountymd.gov, with “BUDGET TESTIMONY” in the subject line.
From the same link, residents will also have the option to provide online budget testimony; however, residents are reminded that internet testimony is considered public information and, as such, is subject to the Maryland Public Information Act.
Earlier this month, the County Executive announced the launch of the Spending Affordability Advisory Committee (SAAC) for FY22 ahead of previous years to allow the committee more time to digest, discuss and offer constructive advice to the County amid the pandemic. The SAAC is a non-partisan body charged with providing policy advice to the County Executive on fiscal planning.
If you have any questions and/or problems registering for the Budget Hearing, please contact the Budget Office at 410-313-2077 (voice) or use Relay at 7-1-1, between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.