It’s 2025, year seven of my eight years of service as Anne Arundel County Executive. Here are five things I’ll be paying a lot of attention to this year: money, politics, land use, poverty, and good government.
1. Money. The good news is that we expect to be entering the next fiscal year (starts July 1) with a healthy fund balance and a solid increase in revenues, thanks to increased property values and personal income. The bad news is that most of that new money will be spent on increased costs, leaving very little for growth in services.
But there’s a layer of uncertainty that our budget office projections don’t account for. If the new administration in Washington is able to deliver on its campaign promises, our county will be confronting a major decrease in revenue from layoffs of our large federal workforce, deportation of immigrant labor, and decreased federal spending on education, social services, housing, Bay restoration, and more. We also purchase products that will be subject to the proposed tariffs, so county costs could rise.
It feels a little like the budget year when COVID hit. We tightened our fiscal belt then, and we may have to do it again.
2. Politics. It’s always present, and the closer to home the more intense. All seven members of the County Council, the body that passes our budget and all county legislation, can run for re-election or for higher office in 2026. Five would have been term-limited but for the charter amendment approved by voters in 2022.
I have the luxury of being term-limited, with no pressure to build a war chest or campaign apparatus, but I pay attention because government works best when the legislative and executive branches operate in an environment of trust and transparency. I’ll be carefully balancing my own beliefs about what I think is best for the future of the county with the need to maintain the collaboration that has delivered on the progress we have achieved to date.
3. Land Use. Managing our county’s growth in a smarter, greener, more equitable way is a big part of the reason that I ran for this job. I am proud of our award-winning Plan2040, am committed to completing the Region Planning Process, and will continue to honor the engagement of our residents and their Stakeholder Advisory Committees.
But implementation is harder than planning, and there is work to be done - legislative work, land preservation work, and new initiatives to preserve and grow the housing that our essential workers depend on.
Land use isn’t partisan. There is a different coalition of interests on each side of every issue, and on every parcel of land that is targeted for development or preservation. That’s why engaging stakeholders is hard work, but I’m convinced that it’s our only path to success.
4. Poverty. A third of our residents are, according to United Way, Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed (ALICE). The path from there to poverty can be as short as a health crisis, a job layoff, a home foreclosure, a deported relative, or a jail sentence. In the face of potential state and federal budget cuts, we will need to be creative and intentional about where we invest our time and money to protect our most vulnerable residents.
Our health and human service agencies, in fact, all of our county agencies, will be asked to collaborate with one another, with our nonprofit sector, and with our business community to step up and protect people in new and creative ways. Our economic, moral, and spiritual health demand it.
5. Good government. The machine of government has to work, and the gears are the staff. From department heads to custodians, the public servants have to know their jobs and take pride in their work. That’s why I will do all that I can to honor them, encourage them, and ensure that they are trained and managed well. If we accomplish that, I know that we can meet the challenges that come our way.
If we all strive in twenty-five
Our county will most surely thrive.
Until next week…