Politics & Government

Libraries, Social Services Take Center Stage at Howard County Budget Hearing

At the second of two budget hearings, Howard County residents came forward to discuss what was important to them for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Despite Howard County’s status as the , it still has big financial challenges, County Executive Ken Ulman told those who came to make their cases for library, community college and other funding in the 2011-2012 budget.

“We’re going to be in a tough situation for at least a few more years with the way property tax revenue is going,” Ulman saidduring the second of two hearings in which citizens could weigh in on the county’s budget. The  was in December.

On April 26, Ulman will present his proposal to the County Council for review, and by May 25 it will be finalized and adopted.

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Whatever sacrifices are on the horizon, Ulman agreed with those who came to speak on behalf of library funding, specifically with the president's statement that the library system has become "synonymous with high-quality public education."

The Howard County Library had 2.6 million visits last year, according to Valerie Gross, who testified at the March 16 hearing in Ellicott City’s .

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Just last year “we had more than 200,000 participants in our award-winning classes and signature events,” Gross said.

Two avid library users, Tracey Tracy and Katy Huggins, said it helped ease their transition in the two years since they moved to Howard County. 

After arriving from Indiana – where the government was forced to close most of its libraries due to lack of funding – Tracy said she was shocked by the opportunities the Miller Branch in Ellicott City presented to her and her children.

Huggins, a mother of four, echoed that sentiment.

“Little did I know when I walked through those doors for the first time how many doors in Howard County would soon be open because of the library,” she said. “There were programs, programs, programs. And, it was through these programs that we met our new neighbors.”

The Huggins family frequents the Savage branch, which she said helped her children make the transition to the school year.

“The ‘Moving up to Middle School’ program was especially helpful to our child, who has a disability,” Huggins said. “She was able to meet a supportive friend or two to help ease her fears – and mine – as the first day of school approached

“As a taxpayer, I wanted to say I support keeping those doors wide open and fully funding the library,” Huggins said.

Stacie Hunt, chair of the library’s board of directors, said the system needs additional space due to the success of its programs. She called for re-purposing areas in the East Columbia and Central branches, as well as adding parking to the Central branch.

She said that a $1 million grant from the state Department of Education has been approved, though not yet finalized by the General Assembly.

In addition to the Miller branch opening by December 2011, Ulman said he's “made sure there’s money in our public works budget to refurbish the areas in our Savage branch, too.”

He explained that other operations it houses – like a senior center – will move into the North Laurel Community Center, freeing up space for library expansion. The North Laurel Community Center is slated to open June 1.

The Elkridge branch may be next. Ulman said that plans for renovations to the Elkridge library were in the budget for this year or the following year.

“In a time when other parts of the country are closing libraries, we’re opening them,” Ulman said after the hearing.

Social services, Howard Community College, residential needs

Several agencies that attended the December hearing returned.

Harry Schwarz, president of the Association of Community Services (ACS), which represents more than 125 service-oriented agencies in Howard County, said he wanted to make sure his group stayed at the top of Ulman’s mind as the budget process continued.

“We need to support social service [agencies]… as they face increasing caseloads and reductions in funding from the state,” Schwarz said in his testimony. “There continues to be over 3,000 on the waiting list for public housing vouchers and rental assistance.”

One of the agencies ACS supports, Grassroots, also presented testimony for funding its shelter and crisis intervention services.

ACS, Grassroots and the Foreign-Born Information Referral Network (FIRN) all urged Ulman to remember those who were not so fortunate in an overall prosperous county.

FIRN’s Executive Director Young-Chan Han requested funds “to help FIRN bridge cultures and bridge a strong and vibrant community.”

According to the latest census data, one in six people in Howard County is an immigrant, and there is a need for services like English classes that FIRN provides, Han said.

FIRN’s office has .

Others in the audience included about 20 supporters of Howard Community College who sported yellow buttons saying “Support HCC.”

Three testified in support of a 3 percent increase in funding for the college, which had to raise tuition this year due to increased enrollment, according to HCC President Kate Hetherington.

Responding to a request to fund the second phase of the , Ulman said: “We’ve already come this far.”

Hetherington chimed in: “The die is cast.”


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