This meeting is being recorded. Good morning. This is the council's public hearing in which we will hear testimony for the fiscal year 2026 executive proposed budget presented to the council on April 21st, 2025. This morning is a hybrid meeting which is being conducted in person and via WebEx teleconference. It is also available to the public through live stream on the county council website and broadcast on channels 44 if you're Verizon 99 and 1071 if you're Comcast. The council will hold additional work sessions for the FY26 operating budget on Monday, May 12, beginning at 10, Wednesday, May 14, also beginning at 10, and Friday, May 16, beginning at 10. Wednesday, May 14th, also beginning at 10. And Friday, May 16th, beginning at 10. Agendas for these work sessions and all other budget sessions can be found on the Council's website. Please check our website regularly for updates of the various budget sessions taking place in May. At this time, I will do a roll call of our council members, Dr. Jones, Ms. Yom, Ms. Rigby, and Mr. Youngman. Here. We will now recite the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States, America, for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with our public hearing for the fiscal year 2026 executive proposed budget. I'm reading all this. Signing up to testify in legislation that is the subject of this public hearing was done online were in person prior to the start of this session. The cut off for testimony sign up was at 9.30 this morning. Please note that while we are receiving testimony in this morning, we continue to receive written comments which will be fully considered by the council prior to us taking action. Anyone who signed up to testify at this hearing will be called to testify. Anyone who signed up to testify at this hearing will be called to testify. When you are called upon to testify, please state your name and the city or town of your home address. Representatives from nonprofit organizations will have up to five minutes to speak. Individuals and other organizations have up to three. Individuals who have indicated that they are testifying through an interpreter Maybe allowed a total of five minutes with interpreter translation you may not yield your time to another speaker You will be notified at the 32nd mark to please begin wrapping up by the administrator and then you will be notified when your time to speak is up You must conclude when your time is up if you have written testimony You may also email it to us at councilmail at howardcountynd.gov. Are there any students here to testify? Okay, please come forward. You get to go first. Oh, too, we have two, okay. But we'll go in person first. Before you begin, please state your name and the legislation that you're testifying about. This is, what does that mean? This is the budget. You're testifying about the budget. OK. I'm Angela from Centennial High School from Ellicott City. Maybe again? Yes, please go ahead and chill. Good evening, county council members. My name is Angela and I'm a junior attending Centennial High School. I currently serve as junior liaison for our SGA and I'm active in the sports, clubs, and theatre departments. I know our budget is tight. It always is, and we need to allocate a large chunk of our money to things like wages and emergencies. But emergencies, our school building has reached its breaking point, becoming an emergency and we need renovations now. Think of a food item passing its best by date. It might be safe to eat. But emergencies, our school building has reached its breaking point, becoming an emergency and we need renovations now. Think of a food item passing its best by date. It might be safe to eat for a few weeks, but soon it will spoil, mold and become unsafe. That's what's happening at Centennial. Our ceilings are falling in, becoming unsafe. Flooding classroom and destroying student art. Yes, you heard that right. her sleepings are falling piece by piece and thankfully no one has been hurt yet but visible cracks are spreading across our walls and ce student art. Yes, you heard that right. Our savings are falling piece by piece, and thankfully no one has been hurt yet, but visible cracks are spreading across our walls and ceilings. Not one day goes by, and I'm not scared about piece of my ceiling is gonna fall on my head. Our toilets either won't flush or leak constantly. Mice run everywhere, and mode is growing in every corner in every classroom. Triggering allergies, eczema, and respiratory issues that students and staff have never had them before are getting them now. Our lights are so harsh that people like me will have migraines and light-headedness nearly every day. And how often does building get power outages? Maybe once or twice a week? Well, at Centennial, we've had five power outages in one week, one label bursted backstage and caused a small fire during a theater production and another got a stuck in the dark without AC, without internet for an hour. Our sports departments face equally unsafe conditions. There are no outdoor bathrooms. The only bathrooms are inside the main building which require people to go up steep rims that aren't ADA compliant. Forcing athletes and visiting families to wander through Unlock hallways, an obvious shooter and security risk. Our wrestling team practices in our cafeteria, yes our cafeteria where all our students that I've eat, our softball fields are full of holes that lead to twisted angles and our track is so damaged that we haven't been able to host a whole meet. You might say that Centennial test scores are usually strong, so why renovate? But academics alone don't define our school experience. We are dealing with broken bones from uneven fields to severe eczema from moan and heat, and migraine's fire hazards and safety concerns every single day. This doesn't feel like a healthy learning environment. So please, allocate even a portion of our year's budget to renovation tenure. Our students in staff deserve a safe, functional building where we can learn, teach, and create without the fear of our walls collapsing on us. So on behalf of the Centennial, I trust that you will cure us and finally the budget and the renovations we need. Thank you. Thank you, great job. All right then we have one student online. I say okay. Hi good morning I share you now have been elevated feel free to unmute yourself and begin your testimony when you're ready. Are there Isha? Yes okay yes we. Please go ahead. All right. Good morning, esteemed council members. My name is Isha Ande and I'm a current junior at Mount Hebron High School. Today, I'm here to testify against the proposed operating budget that the County Executive has presented to the County Council due to its lack of a menstrual pilot program. At the March budget hearing, I, alongside girls from Mount Hebron, Howard, Marriott's Ridge, Longreach, and Centennial Period Clubs advocated for a program to be initiated in Howard County, calling for an implementation of free menstrual products in all community centers, athletic complexes, and public libraries in the county. Girls can't be here with me today. They stand by me in my test, Monee this morning. When the cost for this program was calculated, our club found that decision initiative would cost $4,964 and 84 cents for a three month pilot program. And a one time fiscal year cost of $8,309 and 36 due to a one-time purchase of official funds. After the purchase of this capital, the annual cost to continue this program would be $4,459.36, an incredibly small percentage of Howard County's $1.219 billion budget for the fiscal year of 2026. To be specific, the fiscal year costs for 2026 would come out to a mere 0.006068% of the county's budget. However, the low cost of this program is not the only upside. At the March 20 budget hearing, we heard from girls from all walks of life. Some were forced to use toilet paper as a last resort substitute for mental products and others who lived in homeless shelters, which lacked necessary access to supplies when needed. The use of mental products should not be a luxury and this program aims to change that. By implementing free products and bathrooms across the county, for some woman, the difference between staying home from work and earning their weekly salary may be a five minute walk away from their nearest public library. The STEAM Council members, it is your responsibility to protect your constituents. So I implore you, please consider this program to protect the health and dignity of women in Howard County. Thank you Thank you, Isha So I'm going on to the regular list now, right? Okay, I'm diminished capacity today Just to be in develop is up first. What? No? Oh, I'm sorry. Where? Oh, Angela's. I don't have my glasses on. So I thought that said Angela. Oh, Amanda. Yeah, can I just to mean can come up? I'll get to Amanda for the love. There's only three. It's not like a two-hour consequence here. Stop peckling me. I'm Jessam and Duval. You guys ready? OK. Good morning. My name's Jessam and Duval. And I'm here representing the Columbia Housing Center, a Howard County Nonprofit Organization with the Mission to Champion and Sustain Thriving, racially integrated communities in and around Columbia. We currently receive grant funding from the county for two housing support programs that are currently changing lives. I'm here to ask the county council to adopt a budget that includes all grant funds recommended for local nonprofits, including Columbia Housing Center. I just want to take a moment to share the impact of the two CHC programs that the county supports. For the past year, thanks to community renewal funds from the Department of Housing and Community Development, we have been able to make Howard County affordable for 50 low and moderate income students attending Howard Community College. Through our student rent subsidy program, qualifying students are eligible for a rent subsidy of up to $800 a month for up to two years while they are attending HCC. I'm thrilled to report that this program is at capacity and has a waiting list. In fact, our first two students are graduating this May. The feedback we've received from students about the impact of this program is truly heartwarming. One single mother told us, I'm extremely grateful for not only this opportunity to save money on rent, but also the resources to help me budget and establish like long goals. Thank you for this program and the assistance it has provided to me and my son. Another student shared, I really appreciate this this program I wouldn't have been able to finish my clinicals without this assistance. So as you may know many HCC students are not fresh out of high school. More than 90% of our program participants are women and about half of them are single parents. Almost all of them are working while attending school. More than half the students now receiving a subsidy were already living in Howard County, but were rent burdened when they applied for assistance. About two thirds of our students plan to continue their education at a four year school after graduation about a third of them plan to work full time. Many of our students are studying nursing and over 80% of them want to continue to live in Howard County after they graduate. This program is not only making higher education more attainable for women in our community, but it's also directly impacting the nursing shortage that we have here. Our second program is smaller and less well known, but it really is making a difference. funding from an ENO grant last year. We launched a pilot program designed to provide case management and financial support to Howard County Housing Velture recipients, guiding them through the process of finding a rental home from the time they received their voucher to the day they get their keys. We call it voucher to keys. According to current housing commission data, about 79% of voucher holders identify as single female heads of household. Unfortunately, the current success rate for voucher holders seeking housing in Howard County is only about 50%, which means about half the voucher is granted are used before they expire. This is often because people who've been waiting for years to get a voucher are not rent-ready when their name comes off the list. They may have a low credit score, they may lack funds for a security deposit or a move, or they can't navigate the competitive rental market here in the Coward County. As you know, new voucher holders who don't find housing before the deadline lose their voucher and their place in line. So that's their shot at stable housing. This is a problem we want to solve. So when a client comes to us with a voucher and a deadline to find housing, we first identify her financial barriers and help her find a unit. We then guide her through the application process, acting as a liaison with the landlord in the housing commission, and then we provide funds like a security deposit or renters insurance or moving fees that would help her sign a lease before her voucher expires. We recently helped a single mother named Mary move into an apartment in Columbia. She came to us with six weeks left before her voucher expired. She'd been looking for a place but she didn't have money to pay for a security deposit or a move. So we were able to help her find an apartment complex that met her needs, pay her security deposit and cover the cost of a U-Haul for her move. She and her young daughter were able to move into their new home right before their voucher expired. Today we've helped three clients settle in health care and the public health and the public health care and the health care and the public health and the public health care and the health care and the public health care and Thank you. Mr. Vol, what is ENO stand for? Sorry, it's emerging needs and opportunities. It's one of the CSP grants through the county. Through the county. Okay. Mm-hmm. Okay. So we rented as a pilot program this year and we've requested in the budget recommends funding for another year for that program. Okay, and I assume the Howard Community College program there's information throughout the campus alerting students to the disability of that program, like how, how do your clients find you? Whether they're community college students or the doctor. We work directly with the financial aid office. So the way it works is the students have to qualify through FAFSA for financial assistance to attend HCC. Then the financial aid office gives us a list of eligible students on their end, based on like the credits that they're taking and their eligibility for financial assistance. Then we have them complete an application with us and then take them through the process from there. Oh, so who even reached out to qualified applicants? Oh yeah, okay good. We just get the list of the students who qualify and then we contact them and say, hey, you may be eligible for this program. Please complete our application. And then they have to verify their income and go through a few other steps and then we can help them find a place. Okay, good. And it's about 50-50. Like some of them came to us in a lease and they were like, ah, I can't pay my rent. And then the rest were folks that we sort of helped them find a place. Nice. And then how about the pilot clients, the voucher to keys? Um, that the housing commission refers people to us. Mm-hmm. All right, great. Okay. Go ahead. Sorry. So with voices for children, are you helping youth transitioning out of the foster care? Yes. That is really great because we have had such a hard time ensuring that they can stay in this community where their networks of support are. Yeah. Yeah. We found it a little more challenging to work with them. And yeah, I think it's because they don't, a lot of them don't have established credit histories. And that's a big problem when you're looking particularly here in Howard County because it's so competitive. But we've been able to, you know, at least provide some resources and help as well. But yes, I've been working with Eric. I had to try to make sure we can help more students. Yeah, that's great. I wonder about making changes ability to specifically work with them as a cohort. Like before they get to you. That's actually a good idea. We do refer to making change a lot. Yeah, well, thank you. Sure. Great work. Any other questions? Thank you. No thanks. Amanda Hough, executive. testify on behalf of Howard County Executive Balls FY26 Community Service Partnership Funding allocation for Howard County Tourism Council. I am Amanda Hoff, Executive Director for Visit Howard County, our offices and the Howard County Welcome Center are located at 82 67 Main Street in Ellicott City's Historic District. I am pleased to add that the Welcome Center is undergoing renovation to restore the historic post office buildings unique features and historical integrity. Freshly installed exhibits will honor Howard County's history and quality of life and orientate visitors and residents alike on all there is to see and do in Howard County. We anticipate the renovation will be complete in June and look forward to you joining us at the ribbon cutting. First and foremost on behalf of our board on board and staff and the 400 plus tourism businesses and organizations we serve thank you for your ongoing support. While the annual community service partnership funding is that we request is critical to our operation we also benefit from working in partnership with Howard County government. We are grateful to have leaders who realize tourism's positive impact on the community. Working in partnership with you and our colleague organizations, including economic development authority, the Howard County Chamber, the Maryland Office of Tourism Development, and numerous others. We can effectively respond to the needs of our tourism industry businesses by connecting them to the resources and opportunities and advocating on their behalf, all while keeping them in front of consumers through impactful marketing programs. We thank you. We, excuse me, we ask that you fully fund Howard County Executives FI, Executive Balls, FY26 Community Service Partnership Funding Allocation for the Howard County Tourism Council. With your support, our organization is uniquely situated to be part of the economic solution by inducing visitor spending in Howard County. Tourism plays a vital role in Howard County's economic landscape, driving revenue to four small businesses such as hotels, restaurants, retail outlets, entertainment venues, cultural attractions, and nonprofit organizations. Funding is essential in positioning our county as a premier travel destination and generating tourism spending to to benefit our local economy. According to the latest tourism economics study for Maryland tourism spending in Howard County was at its all time high. This is 2023 at $790 million, which is a 7% increase in the previous year, which was also a benchmark investing in tourism in tourism marketing has a proven return on investment. According to the Tourism Economic Study, every $1 invested in tourism promotion returns $34 in visitor spending. And saves every Maryland household $1,027 in annual taxes. Jurisdictions that invest in tourism promotion experience hotel occupancy growth, higher spending at local businesses, and increased tax revenues that support public services. Conversely, studies show that jurisdictions and states that reduce investment in tourism promotion have both immediate and long-term negative effects. Jurisdictions in states lacking adequate funding have seen declines in visitation and economic benefits, making competing with nearby other destination's difficult. Funding for tourism promotion ensures that Howard County remains competitive with neighboring destinations and states, thus safeguarding jobs and economic opportunities for residents and our businesses. We additionally acknowledge the current uncertainty in the economy while that exact outcome remains unclear. Businesses may require additional support. Drawing on the lessons and experiences from previous economic downturns, we are prepared to provide the necessary assistance By applying insights from past challenges we can help businesses navigate turbulent times with resilience and adaptability. While we recognize we are among many worthy causes that need your support we thank you in advance for fully funding. County Executive Balls FY26 Community Service Partnership allocation for the Howard County Tourism Council. With your support, our organization is uniquely positioned to increase tourism spending for the benefit of all who live, work, grow, play, and thrive in Howard County and visit. I thank you again for your time this morning. Thank you, Ms. Hough. Ms. Hough. So in the last economic downturn during COVID, well, good morning. And thank you for the great job that you've been doing. Philadelphia Inquirer, Inquirer article was wonderful to see that Howard County was highlighted as a destination close to Philadelphia where people should go visit and I know you had to have something to do with that placement of the article and it was very exciting to see Howard County highlighted like that. I'm concerned about restaurants in particular because they were hit hard during COVID and I'm wondering if you have any statistics on restaurants, how many new restaurants have opened since COVID, how many restaurants we have in Howard County, what percentage of the overall retail economy, our due restaurants make up. And if there's anything in particular that we're looking at to help restaurants and the event of a downturn because of the federal workforce. Absolutely. I'll need to get those statistics to you via email. I do have, I even have a chart here of local spending, but it will take me a few minutes to go through all of that. As far as what we're gearing up for is we are looking to, with the allegation that we have this year, we're hoping for more, but we can make it work. We're partnering with Economic Development Authority and Elecancelli Partnership on a platform that would be a rewards type program. And we can control where the spending or where the businesses that patrons would spend in. So it's like a shop or support local to businesses. So when patrons who have subscribed to the platform, they go to any of the businesses, which would be all of our Howard County local businesses, they don't have to visit Howard County members. They spend and then they rack up rewards. They get a, you know, in five dollar increments. They can earn much more depending on how much they spend. So behind that would be an aggressive marketing program because it's only going to work if people know about it. Right. Is there any place where people can see all of the restaurants listed in Howard County if they have a preference and so when they're coming in from out of town, they know all these Korean restaurants are here the Indian restaurants. We have a good number of them on the visit Howard County website but we do not have all the restaurants in Howard County. First we need to have that relationship with them and we do have the membership program but we do wave that for our Korea Town program because Because Korea Town, there's a nonprofit organization, and they partner with us so we cover all of their restaurants. But visit Howard County, we do have hundreds of restaurants listed. And then economic development authority has the full business directory. It's certainly not as sexy as you know, Autorism website, but there is a full listing of all registered businesses in Howard County and we direct from our website to their to the EDA's directory. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you, Miss Off. You're welcome. Thank you. Next, we have Brendan Murray. Hello, Councilor Brendan Murray, Elga City. Sorry, one second. Good morning. I am here today as a concerned parent and long time advocate for public education. I want to see a fully funded operating budget for this year. Before I speak to you on this matter, I want to establish my commitment to public education and public school funding. My commitment to education is not a political convenient one. It's a lifelong mission that shaped my experience. As someone with dyslexia, I have personally struggled through education systems that did not offer the students everything that they so rightly deserved. It drove me to run for, to serve my local school board in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, fighting tirelessly to improve the outcomes for all children. Later I worked with a nonprofit organization that organized parents committed to increasing budget for Massachusetts by $1.5 billion for low income families, black and brown communities, disabled children, and I worked with the parents and the community so that we could make sure the funding went exactly to where it needed to go. The sole reason my wife and I moved to Howard County was the school system. We made a choice to pay higher taxes to get services we wanted. Everyone in our country right now is on X-L's. We do not know what shoe is about to drop in DC. So we're asking you, our council, to do the right thing and to be a star work for education. I know you are faced with difficult choices in allocating resources and I appreciate the immense responsibility you shoulder. But please remember, and let me stress this. Please remember that the choices you make today regarding education funding will not be forgotten when the election comes time. I may, I and many in this community, will remember who stood with our kids and who did not. Those who prioritize our children's future will earn my support. And those who do not will face the consequences. Fully funding public education has been the heart of my life's mission. When I struggled with dyslexia, defiding for kids who need the money for working, who never got that chance. This is not a policy. It's my life. I implore you to make the right choice. Thirty seconds. I want you to, and I know that you will make the right choice. This isn't a threat. This is specifically to the fact that I have worked my entire life for this. And I want you to make the right decision for my son because it's no longer about what organization I work for or who I'm trying to get elected because I've gotten a lot of people elected. It's about our children and there is no other important thing than that. Thank you. Good question. Thank you, Mr. Murray. That's a question. Yes, Mr. Guadalaj. When you say fully fund, you're referring to the superintendent's budget that he put together or his budget plus the new effort addons that the Board of Ed. The Board of Ed, the add-ons, the Board of Ed. What of those things? What of those new efforts, those new things are most important, do you think? To be honest with you, I haven't looked at all the new things specifically, but I know that that the things that matter to me specifically are the special education funding. I know that with what is going on in DC, there's a very good likelihood that we could lose funding for disabled children or those who have learning disabilities, which of course would affect someone like myself. So those are the ones that I know that we in the last budget had issues when it came to funding teachers for special ed. So those are the ones that I would like to see. That in safety are my key priorities. I know that we haven't had any issues when it comes to gun safety in our community, but that they could come. And I want us to be prepared. Thanks. All right, thank you, Mr. Murray. That concludes our know what? Okay, but that was our public testimony. Oh, yeah, I'm sorry. She'll not fighting. Council members based on the general provisions article of the annotated code of Maryland, there's a need to meet and close session in accordance with section 3305-1 to discuss a personnel matter. I can't read the numbers. The topic is compensation appointment and assignment of one or more specific employees. Is there any discussion regarding the need for a closed session? I move that this meeting be closed in accordance with section 3, 3, 0, 5, be one of the general provisions article to discuss a personnel matter. The topic is compensation employment performance, and assignment of one or more specific employees. Second. Second. Second. Oh, second. Are there any objections to proceeding with a closed session in accordance with section 3305B1? No. Will the administrator please call the vote to close the meeting in accordance with section 3305B1? Chair Walsh. Yes. Dr. Jones. Yes. Miss Sean. Yes. Miss Rigby. Yes. Mr. Youngman. Yes. The motion to close the meeting passes. We'll now adjourn our special Meeting to go into closed session after the closed session. No further business will take place. This special meeting will conclude at the end of the closed session. This concludes our fiscal year 2026 executive proposed budget public hearing. For those of you watching us online, we will be ending our live stream now. Thank you. This meeting is no longer being recorded.