HoCo Council Adopts Budget

The Sun reports the only vocal disagreement was how much money to set aside for Healthy Howard, a program that seeks to provide access to health care for the uninsured.

Howard County taxpayers will see slightly higher property tax bills and higher water and sewer charges, but no increases in local tax rates with a $1.4 billion operating budget approved Wednesday. The budget, approved by a 4-1 vote, also calls for employee furloughs and nine layoffs.

Healthy Howard gets a grant of $500,000.