Supplemental budget provides pay increases for teachers and library staff, increases public safety funding, and addresses infrastructure needs
Annapolis, MD (June 7, 2023) - Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman today introduced the FY24 supplemental budget to the County Council. The supplemental includes additional funding to raise teacher starting salaries, hire more police officers, raise library staff pay, and improve infrastructure.
“This supplemental makes a good budget better,” said County Executive Pittman. “It reflects the priorities brought to us by County Council members from both sides of the aisle, as well as those of our administration and the public. I am particularly pleased to be making additional investments in teacher starting salaries, police, library pay, and school nurse pay.”
The County Executive's supplemental budget further increases investment in the future of education in Anne Arundel County. It reallocates $3.1 million in cuts proposed by the County Auditor to address the urgent need to staff the almost 200 vacant teaching positions by raising teacher starting salaries to $58,161, bringing them in line with surrounding jurisdictions. The supplemental budget also includes $530,000 of additional funding for Anne Arundel County Public Library staff salary enhancements, and $130,000 of additional funding for increases to school nurse salaries.
“I want to thank the County Executive, the Auditor, and my colleagues on the Council for working together to identify funding for these much-needed investments,” said County Council Chair Pete Smith. “Filling teacher vacancies, hiring more police officers, and improving our county roads will have a real impact on the quality of life of our residents.”
The supplemental budget also moves the needle forward with much-needed investments in public safety by adding 10 new police officer positions and a Captain position in the Sheriff's Office, as well as additional support for the County’s Police Accountability Board.
In the Capital Budget, the supplemental budget adds almost $3 million in funding to address critical infrastructure needs, including road reconstruction and resurfacing, and a study on sidewalks on Shore Acres Road. The supplemental also provides $250,000 of additional funding to expedite the renovation of the Anne Arundel Community College Glen Burnie Town Center Tutoring Center.
“This investment in increasing teacher starting pay will allow Anne Arundel County to compete with our neighboring jurisdictions to fill our teacher vacancies and provide our students with the quality education they deserve,” said County Council Vice Chair Allison Pickard. “I’m pleased we could increase our investment to speed up the renovation of the community college’s Glen Burnie campus as a part of our larger plan to revitalize the Glen Burnie Town Center.”
The County Council will meet on Wednesday, June 14 in the Council Chambers for the final vote on the FY24 Budget. For more information on the budget, go to www.aacounty.org/fy24budget. The supplemental budget letter and amendments will be available on the County Council website.