The below remarks are available to watch here and the full Virtual Town Hall is available to watch here.
By Steuart Pittman
Thank you for tuning in to our fifth weekly COVID-19 Virtual Town Hall.
Passover began on Wednesday. Tomorrow is Easter. The air is warming, the grass is growing, and the trees are in full bloom.
No virus has the power to block the rebirth of our spring. And no virus has the power to weaken the spirit of the good people of Anne Arundel County.
I will report to you today on our work to slow the spread of COVID-19, on how our communities are being impacted by that effort, on how your local government is being impacted, and close with some predictions about the rebirth of our economy on the far side of this battle.
Globally, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of 100,000. In our country 494,000 have tested positive, 2 million have tested negative, and 18,562 have died. Modeling suggests that we should prepare for 100,000 deaths, or five times the number we have lost to date.
Maryland has 7,000 confirmed cases and has lost 171 lives. Anne Arundel County has 724 confirmed cases and has lost 29 lives.
For those interested in tracking the data here, our county health department posted a COVID-19 Dashboard with charts and a map showing cases by zip code. Some argued that the public should not view that data. That people in zip codes with low numbers would disobey stay at home and social distancing orders, and that people in areas with high numbers would be stigmatized.
I disagree. The battle to slow the spread of this virus is in the hands of our people, and our people deserve to know where we stand. You will notice that my peers in our neighboring counties will be posting similar data in the coming days.
You may remember me noting in recent weeks that Dr. Kalyanaraman and I were pressing the state for access to their modeling efforts, so that we could work with our hospitals to plan for a surge of patients.
I can’t overstate the importance of that planning, and am very glad to report progress on that front. Dr. Kalyanaraman is one of two county health officers now participating in the state’s surge planning, and he and his peers in other counties are working directly with researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere to monitor the trends as we move forward.
We have said all along that we need far greater testing capacity to effectively fight the battle. We need to know not only the strength of our enemy, but exactly where it is hiding.
We have the delivery systems to do testing, but we are still suffering from early inaction both at CDC and in the private sector to produce the test kits we need. We continue to prepare for the testing capacity that is promised, so that we can conduct the tests at drive through sites and elsewhere.
Finally, I want to address equity. One of the things that nurtures our spirits as human beings is when we act on our deep respect for life. Nothing in this world gives us a greater sense of purpose than saving lives, and when we recognize that all lives have the same inherent value, we truly fulfill our potential as communities.
In the field of public health all kinds of data exists to show that in our country and in our county, access to healthcare, general health, and even life expectancy depend largely on census tract, race, and household income. The limited data that exists tells us that loss of life to COVID-19 is greatest among African Americans and people with lower incomes.
On Monday afternoon Anne Arundel County will hold its first meeting of the COVID-19 Health Equity Initiative. Its stated purpose in the words of our Health Officer is to “Make sure that health equity stays on the table during our outbreak response, and that our collective work aims to protect vulnerable and marginalized communities from COVID-19.”
The battle to slow the spread is of course impacting our communities. Last week over 10,000 of our residents filed for unemployment insurance, putting us over 22,000 in a three week period.
The weekly report I receive from our team at Anne Arundel Economic Development tells me that the 150 businesses that they’ve been in touch with are struggling with access to the federal stimulus funds, frustrated that the state has had to close applications for its small business grant and loan programs due to depletion of the funds, and are very concerned about their ability to reopen once the closures are lifted.
Anne Arundel County Food Bank reports a 200% increase in families receiving food at local pantries. Our schools and senior centers are distributing meals in quantities never seen before. Applications for SNAP benefits, or food stamps, are at an all-time high.
Teachers are adapting to a new way of teaching. Students are acquiring Chrome Books from the schools and logging in to their classes.
People are hunkering down at home, getting to know their families better than ever, and maybe getting to know themselves in a slower paced environment.
And more and more, people are doing the right thing by wearing masks of one sort or another when they go out in public.
Anne Arundel County government continues to function. It must. People need our services now more than ever. This is where I give thanks, to all of the public servants who wish they could stay home with their families, but go out every day to pick up the trash, clear the roads, operate the landfills, respond to emergency calls, or go to an office where social distancing is being practiced, but the risk of infection is present.
While local government must function, it also must pay its bills. I’ve spent recent weeks poring over spreadsheets with our budget team and senior leadership putting together the pieces of a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Revenue projections are down $63 million from what we expected when we began budgeting a month ago. Most of that loss is from income tax revenue. Amusement tax, real estate transfer tax, local sales tax, property tax, and investment income are also declining.
The budget we present on May 1 will be fiscally responsible and fair, but it will be lean. Our priorities will be saving lives through public health initiatives and protecting our residents from the impacts of the coronavirus battle.
One thing that we will not do to balance the FY21 budget is to raise the tax rates you pay. Your county income tax rate will hold steady, and your property tax rate will drop slightly. I wish I could lower taxes more, but we are relying on local government during this time to meet critical needs in our communities. We can’t do that without revenue.
I spoke in recent town halls about the federal CARES Act. Anne Arundel County will receive an estimated $100 million in direct assistance for COVID-19 response. We can’t use that money to balance our budget, but it will be very useful as we pay bills associated with battling the virus and protecting our residents from the economic pain.
I have been in regular contact with all of our Congressmen and both of our Senators, advocating for additional assistance for our communities, and positioning our county to get every bit of federal help that is authorized.
That brings me to the part of this battle that we discuss the least but worries us most. How will we rebuild our economy after this? What will it look like? Those are the questions I ponder at the end of each day.
Let’s look at what we know will exist as we begin the rebuilding process.
1. Infrastructure. Unlike a hurricane, a flood, or a war, COVID-19 does not destroy the buildings, the factories, the roads, or any of the property that is essential to operating businesses. Ownership could change, but the tools do not.
2. Workforce. The economy that we rebuilt after the Great Recession of 2008-9 eventually employed all but three percent of our workforce locally. These are skilled workers who are ready to start producing as soon as businesses start hiring. That is a huge asset.
3. Capital. With help from the federal treasury, money exists. I worry about too much of it ending up in the hands of very few, but that is a problem that can be fixed, just as it was after the Great Depression when America came together and built a middle class.
4. Entrepreneurial Spirit. We have creative people, in this county and in this country. We have people who know how to start a business and know how to run a business. We also have people ready to learn those skills.
But here’s the part that gives me the greatest optimism.
5. We have a Renewed Sense of Community. Think about it. All of us, not only in America, but everywhere on this planet, will be coming out of our homes, reconnecting with each other. It won’t even matter if you were friends before. We will be glad to be alive, and glad that we saved lives. Every one of us will know that we helped by sacrificing for the greater good, for the one thing that matters more than anything else to all of us, to our health, to staying alive.
We will rebuild our economy with less greed, more care for our neighbors, more equity, and greater respect for the natural environment that embraced us in our loneliest times. Voters will elect leaders who reflect those values, and business that reflect those values will succeed.
I got a call from a very forward-thinking business person last night. He told me that he has a lot of potted flowers that might bring some pleasure to people who are having a rough time, maybe to the seniors when they pick up their meals at senior centers, or maybe to kids to take home to their parents when they pick up their meals at our distribution sites.
Wow. Thank you Brian Riddle and Homestead Gardens. Let’s grow some flowers.
It’s now my pleasure to introduce our next three speakers. We have our County Health Officer, Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, Our Fire Chief Trish Wolford, and our Police Chief Tim Altomare.
The Capital Gazette wrote in a recent editorial that I pick good people. These three are not only good people, they are really, really good leaders.
It is absolutely essential that the people in these positions have the respect of the people who work under them and the communities where their people work. All three have done that, and their leadership is a big part of why we will come out of this stronger, and more united than ever