By John Lynch
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski has announced a series of aggressive efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, including activating the Maryland Army National Guard and freezing nonessential hiring in the county government.
“We are in uncharted territory,” Olszewski said in a press release Thursday. “While we do not know the full economic impact of this crisis, Baltimore County must take immediate and aggressive actions.”
The county executive activated the Maryland Army National Guard to support food distribution, which will be expanded to more sites around Baltimore County on Saturdays. Starting on Friday, National Guard troops will support weekday meal distribution at all seven Department of Recreation and Parks locations. And on Saturday, troops will support Saturday meal distribution at all Saturday distribution locations, including new locations.
This significant expansion to the Saturday meal distribution now includes 30 sights. Previously, the county was providing 11 weekend distribution sites.
“Ensuring every county resident has enough to eat during this crisis is a top priority,” Olszewski said. “Thanks to the Guard’s support, we can do even more for Baltimore county’s families and we’ll continue to work hand-in-hand to help provide food security, reduce the spread of the virus, and save lives.”
The county is purchasing 23,100 frozen, prepackaged meals to distribute to food insecure residents at sites across the county. Meals will be distributed on a first come, first served basis starting this Saturday, he said.
The National Guard will continue to provide planning and logistical support in the county’s emergency response, he said.
“These are neighbors from our communities here to help us in our time of need. We are so grateful for the Guard’s commitment as our county continues to respond to this unprecedented pandemic,” Olszewski said.
Olszewski has predicted that local revenues will decline by tens of millions of dollars in the next fiscal year. He directed the Office of Budget and Finance to implement an immediate freeze on all nonessential hiring in the county government. This includes all positions except for first responders, including police officers, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, 911 staff, sheriff’s deputies, correctional officers and public health and human services workers responding to the pandemic.
“This is not an easy decision, but a fiscally responsible one,” he said. “We will continue to prioritize our employees while continuing to provide essential government services for our residents.”
On Tuesday, Olszewski assured residents that school construction projects are still on track, although COVID-19 fears have shut down the casinos designated to fund the buildings.
“We were lucky enough that we partnered with our state legislature to pass the Built to Learn Act,” Olszewski told a virtual Town Hall meeting, “which equipped Baltimore County with over $400 million, additional state construction dollars.”
Olszewski hosted the meeting to address Baltimore County citizens’ concerns about how the coronavirus pandemic would affect the upcoming budget. Many residents took the opportunity to discuss priorities for the 2021 fiscal year, including how they will be affected and how money will be spent during the pandemic.
Many of the citizen questions concerned school construction funding, whether the county was still on track for school construction projects. Olszewski said he and the County Council had the foresight to prefund the balance of schools for the future.
The Maryland House of Delegates recently passed the Built to Learn Act to increase funding of school construction projects across the state by $2.2 billion. Officials said the legislation is designed to help Maryland counties struggling to keep up with repairs and other issues caused by aging school buildings.
“With the casinos closed in response to COVID, there is a question as to when that money will start flowing and if that delays the program at all, given the closures of our casinos,” Olszewski said.
Under the legislation, the $2.2 billion would be distributed to Maryland counties over five years from bonds issued by the Maryland Stadium Authority. The bonds would be paid back over 30 years using $125 million a year in casino revenues set aside in a so-called “education lockbox.”
Olszewski said he remains committed to the schools and thanked the council for recently approving a 10-year-plan that addresses overcrowding, infrastructure and capacity of elementary, middle and high schools.