Do you have suggestions about how Baltimore County should spend its taxpayer dollars? A series of town hall meetings have been scheduled to hear from constituents about their ideas and priorities for the county’s budget for the 2023 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2022.
The seven meetings, one for each councilmanic district, will provide a forum for public discussion focused on future budget priorities and ensure that community members have the opportunity to provide input into the budget planning process. All will be live-streamed on the county’s You Tube and Facebook pages starting at 6:30 p.m. Those most relevant are:
District 2 (Pikesville, Lochearn, Reisterstown, Owings Mills): Tuesday, Jan. 25, 6:30 p.m. See viewing info here.
District 1 (Catonsville, Woodlawn, Windsor Mill): Wednesday, March 16, 6:30 p.m.
District 4 (Randallstown, Owings Mills, Woodlawn): Thursday, March 24, 6:30 p.m.
Residents can sign up to testify or submit their ideas and priorities for the FY23 budget in advance by emailing [email protected].
The meetings have engaged community members in the budget planning process, and made county government more open, according to County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “Creating the accountable, responsive government that the people of Baltimore County deserve requires hearing directly from the residents we serve.”
Olszewski often reminds constituents that from 2016 to 2017, only two people testified on the county’s budget, and that since he began his first year in office in 2018, over 2,000 have attended the budget town halls. Last year they were held virtually.
Amid the concerning spike of the omicron variant, this year’s budget town halls also will begin virtually. Based on public health metrics, in-person options may be announced in the coming weeks. The schedule of the 2022 budget town hall meetings is available below.
For the latest information, visit baltimorecountymd.gov/townhalls.