State Of The County

HoCo Exec Ken Ulman delivered his state of the county address. Read it here.

Some excerpts:

WE ARE FACING THE POSSIBILITY OF ZERO REVENUE GROWTH IN NEXT YEAR’S BUDGET. THIS IS IN COMPARISON TO MORE THAN 8½ PERCENT AVERAGE ANNUAL REVENUE GROWTH OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS. FOR ONLY THE SECOND TIME SINCE 1964, WE FACE THE PROSPECT OF A DECREASE IN INCOME TAX REVENUE FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT. REVENUES FROM BOTH RECORDATION AND TRANSFER TAX ARE DOWN MORE THAN 40 PERCENT FROM THEIR PEAK JUST THREE YEARS AGO. NEW PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS WERE JUST RELEASED FOR THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY, AND AS WE EXPECTED, THEY ARE DOWN.

IN PREPARATION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2010 BUDGET, WHICH I WILL SUBMIT TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL IN JUST A FEW MONTHS, I HAVE ASKED ALL DEPARTMENT HEADS TO PUT TOGETHER FLAT BUDGETS, BUT AS ANYONE WHO HAS EVER PREPARED A BUDGET KNOWS, WHETHER FOR YOUR HOUSEHOLD OR YOUR BUSINESS, A FLAT BUDGET IN THE REAL WORLD MEANS CUTS. BASIC COSTS OF DOING BUSINESS ARE STILL RISING, AFTER ALL. I HAVE ALSO ASKED DEPARTMENT HEADS TO SUBMIT TO ME BUDGETS WITH 5 PERCENT REDUCTIONS, AND ALTHOUGH WE HOPE TO AVOID DOING SO, MAKING SUCH DRASTIC CUTS MAY BE NECESSARY.

....IN ECONOMIC TIMES LIKE THESE, MORE PEOPLE TURN TO GOVERNMENT FOR SUPPORT AND SERVICES. WE HAVE ALREADY SEEN EVIDENCE OF THIS, AS PARTICIPATION HAS GROWN DRAMATICALLY IN OUR HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAMS. FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE SEEN A 66 PERCENT INCREASE IN FAMILIES RECEIVING EVICTION PREVENTION ASSISTANCE, AND A 55 PERCENT INCREASE IN ENERGY ASSISTANCE SUPPORT.

OUR TOP-RANKED AND WELL-USED LIBRARIES, TOO, HAVE GROWN MORE CROWDED, WITH A 26 PERCENT INCREASE IN VISITS AND A 15 PERCENT INCREASE IN ITEMS BORROWED.

AND HOWARD COMMUNITY COLLEGE HAS WITNESSED TWICE THE ENROLLMENT GROWTH PROJECTED FOR THIS YEAR, AS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE DISCOVERING THE HIGH QUALITY, AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE EDUCATION AVAILABLE AT HCC.

He also called on the county to approve a plan for downtown Columbia:

ONE OF THE AREAS WITH THE GREATEST POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT THE FUTURE OF HOWARD COUNTY IS DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA. FOR TOO LONG, COLUMBIA HAS LACKED THE TYPE OF VIBRANT, WALKABLE, LIVABLE DOWNTOWN THAT WE DESERVE.

OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, AS WE HAVE LISTENED TO EACH OTHER AS A COMMUNITY, WE HAVE ENGAGED IN A CAREFUL, DELIBERATIVE PLANNING PROCESS FOR DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA, AND WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. THOUGH THERE MAY NOT BE AGREEMENT ON ALL THE DETAILS, I BELIEVE WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY.

I WANT TO SHARE A QUOTE FROM JIM ROUSE WITH YOU, AND ALTHOUGH THIS QUOTE IS FROM MARCH 10, 1964, I BELIEVE TODAY IT IS MORE TIMELY THAN EVER. ROUSE SAID:
“WE HAVE IN OUR HANDS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE OUR CITY—IN OUR GENERATION—THE MOST LIVABLE, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, AND THE MOST EFFECTIVE CITY IN AMERICA.”

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY BEFORE US. LOOKING BACK AT THE ROUSE COMPANY’S PROPOSAL TO THE COUNTY FIVE YEARS AGO AND COMPARING IT TO GENERAL GROWTH PROPERTIES’ CURRENT SUBMISSION, IT IS HARD TO MISS THE REMARKABLE IMPACT THAT THE PUBLIC DIALOGUE HAS HAD SO FAR.

THERE IS STILL MUCH TO BE REFINED AND IMPROVED IN THE CURRENT SUBMISSION, BUT WITH CONTINUED COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION BEFORE THE PLANNING BOARD AND COUNTY COUNCIL, WE WILL ENSURE THE REALIZATION OF THE COMMUNITY’S VISION FOR DOWNTOWN BY PUTTING A PLAN IN PLACE THAT EMBODIES OUR HOPES, OUR IDEALS, AND OUR PRINCIPLES.

HOWEVER, I AM TROUBLED BY THE FALSE NOTION THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE UNKNOWNS ABOUT THE ECONOMY AND GGP’S FUTURE, WE SHOULD PUT THE PLANNING PROCESS ON HOLD. I COULD NOT DISAGREE MORE.

WE MUST COME TOGETHER TO APPROVE A PLAN.

UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE ONLY STRENGTHENS THE CASE FOR HAVING A COUNTY-APPROVED PLAN THAT REFLECTS COMMUNITY CONSENSUS FOR THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN COLUMBIA. SUCH A PLAN WILL ENSURE THAT NO MATTER WHO ULTIMATELY OWNS LAND IN DOWNTOWN, ANY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT WILL BE GUIDED BY THE COMMUNITY’S VISION.