The Harford County Council will hold two public hearings on the fiscal 2026 budget to give residents and organizations the opportunity to advocate for funding initiatives before the budget is finalized on June 15.

Both budget hearings will be held in the Harford County Council chambers at 212 S. Bond St., in Bel Air. The first public hearing will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. and the second will be May 15 at 7 p.m.

Attendees can speak at the hearing, submit comments via email, or attend the meeting virtually.

For fiscal 2026, which begins July 1, County Executive Bob Cassilly has proposed a $1 billion operating budget that shows a 4.8% increase — or $37.5 million — in the county’s general fund amid stagnant state and local economic growth.

One of the highlights of Cassilly’s budget is his proposed “full funding” of the Harford County Public School system’s $26.2 million budget request. The school system’s request would reduce staffing by  more than 150 positions, eliminate summer school sessions, reduce salary packages and impose other cost saving measures.

Going into the budget season, Harford schools faced a $60 million budget deficit due to the school system’s prior use of “one-time money” in its reserve fund to cover recurring expenses. Rising costs and state mandates also influenced the $60 million deficit.

More than 100 residents addressed Cassilly directly at his budget town hall in February — many of whom urged him to allocate more money to public education. Some residents asked Cassilly to increase taxes to generate revenue to fund the school’s $60 million deficit and avoid the position cuts, but Cassilly has said he will not raise taxes because it would not “send the right signal” to residents and local businesses.

Instead, Cassilly has urged all departments to live within the county’s “fiscal reality” that is rooted in low revenue projections. Many areas of the budget are getting little to no funding increases.

The fate of Cassilly’s proposed budget lies with the Harford County Council whose members can only redistribute money within the budget. However, any money that is moved must be given to the public school system, per the state Code of Maryland.

Former County Council member Aaron Penman introduced legislation last year that aimed to expand the council’s budget power to allow council members to increase, decrease or delete any items in the proposed budget if five of the seven council members voted to do so. The legislation was passed by the council in a 4-3 vote and would have appeared as a ballot question during last year’s presidential election, but the bill was vetoed by Cassilly due to fear of special interest groups influencing council members.

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