1-29-2025 4:21am

Hunt Valley Discusses

Jeff Barto Editor

Hill Management Sponsors Hunt Valley Business Forum 2025 State of the State, State of the County

The Hunt Valley Business Forum’s Public Policy Symposium sponsored by Hill Management, a Platinum Sponsor Member of HVBF, was held at their Executive Plaza complex located at 11350 McCormick Road in Hunt Valley on January 16th, 2025

Baltimore County Councilman, Julian Jones: “Overall the State of Baltimore County is Good – with an asterisk”

This year’s Annual Public Policy Symposium opened with a question posed by a member to the 110 attendees, asking attendees to raise their hand if they felt positive about the business climate in Baltimore County. After a very small smattering of raised and “half-raised” hands, Baltimore County Councilman Julian Jones Jr took the podium. Jones acknowledged the lukewarm response saying, “Everyone didn’t jump out of their seats when asked about the business climate – I might have to adjust my speech”.

Councilman Jones launched right into addressing the County’s current business climate beginning with an overview of his role on the Spending Affordability Committee which is tasked with establishing a spending guideline that seeks to limit the rate of County spending on a level that does not exceed the rate of growth for the County’s economy. Jones said the Committee looks at revenues, economic forecasts, and obligations to come up with an achievable growth rate which they predict to be 4-4.5% this year. The County Executives then submit a budget based on what they predict it will cost to achieve this level of growth. providing detailed documentation on where they expect the taxes and revenue to come from to pay for it.

“Overall, The State of Baltimore County is Good – with an asterisk”. – Baltimore County Councilman, Julian Jones Jr.

Pivoting to the positives, Councilman Jones brought up the change in leadership taking place with Johnny Olszewski moving on to the United States Congress. The County Council selected his successor, Sen Kathy Klausmeyer, from the General Assembly who he believes will be “a calm and stabilizing force for her 2 year term”. Jones broke down the County’s budget on a high level saying that Baltimore County’s Budget is $5.2B, where half, about $2.6B immediately goes to the school systems. After the Community Colleges and Library 60% of the budget is accounted for, leaving the last 40% for “everything else”, for which Jones used the examples of police, fire and roads. “Overall, we are doing well, the asterisk represents some substantial clouds on the horizon.” stated Jones as pointed out these positives for Baltimore County:

● Baltimore County is 2nd largest in jurisdiction for jobs and homes
● Baltimore County is 3rd largest population-wise

Jones also brought up the major growth taking place in Baltimore County happening around Tradepoint Atlantic who, with the help of the County, is now embarking on its plan to bring in container terminals as well as wind turbines. Overall, they expect 18,000 total jobs will be created around Tradepoint Atlantic, with 10,000 already in place. “The reason I gave the asterisk is because of the budget dance”

Jones revealed that the Baltimore County School system submitted a 7% growth budget which he was quick to point out will be difficult to achieve with the overall county growth number expected to be only 4-4.5%. He praised Baltimore County schools who now have more Five Star Schools than any other jurisdiction in the state, but their budget request equates to “$7 million more than what the County had anticipated”. The majority of the increase would go to raises for the teachers, according to Jones.

“The State of BC is Good. The State of MD is $3B deficit and they are going to trim whatever they can, we’ll be ok for FY ‘26 but FY ‘27 leaves a big question mark, as we are not sure.”

“My biggest concern is that every business needs customers, who are people. We survive off of people who represent taxes to Baltimore County. I believe that a warning light is on, and many of my colleagues don’t share my concern. I believe when we see three years of declining population that is a serious problem.”

According to Jones 20,000 have left Baltimore County in the last three years equating to $64,000,000 in lost tax revenue. He fears that should this trend and declining tax base continue it will inevitably decrease the amount of services Baltimore County can provide residents and businesses while increasing their taxes. Jones believes the way to fix these issues is to “focus on growing our economy in Baltimore County”, going on to say “which will require leadership that are all focused on doing the right thing.”

He specifically mentioned removing some of the things he sees as growth impediments such as the antiquated County permitting process stating, “it should not take longer to obtain a permit than to build a building.”

Jones also specifically brought up the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, a bill which he also believes is impeding growth by preventing building in areas where it is determined schools are overcrowded. A bill that makes sense in theory but the feedback from the schools is that they are not overcrowded, says Jones. Councilman Jones was followed by a briefing by Grason Wiggins, VP of Government Affairs at The Maryland Chamber of Commerce. Wiggins took a break from the 2025 Maryland Legislative Session taking place in Annapolis to speak to the Hunt Valley Business Forum.

Grason Wiggins, VP of Government Affairs, Maryland Chamber of Commerce asks: “Is Maryland “Business-Friendly”?

Wiggins took the opportunity to immediately share the key legislative issues on the Maryland Chamber of Commerce’s radar, while making sure to address some of the same concerns raised by Councilman Jones, beginning with the declining tax base in Baltimore County.

“At the Chamber, we know where these people are going when they leave Maryland. They are going across state lines to states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina where they can achieve a lower cost of living and where small business owners can lower their cost of doing business.”

Wiggins poses a somewhat rhetorical question “Is Maryland Business-Friendly?” as he provides examples of some of the State’s policies that the MD Chamber is focused on that are acting as impediments to the success of small businesses in Maryland.

According to Wiggins these policies “all add up and contribute to the overall cost of doing business in Maryland”, for example:

1% Capital Gains Surcharge on High Earners (Effect on Small Business)

Wiggins touched upon Governor Moore’s proposed 1% capital gains surcharge on households earning more than $350,000 in Maryland. The surcharge is supposed to not directly affect small businesses. While the full impact on small businesses is yet to be determined, according to Wiggins it is clear that it will create additional tax considerations for high earning small business owners and may influence the state’s overall business climate which is already highly criticized as non-competitive compared to policies in neighboring states and could be contributing to the declining tax base.

Wiggins provided another example of a business impediment that is being debated in Annapolis that he believes could catch many Maryland Business off-guard.

The Maryland Heat Stress Standard is a regulation that became effective on September 30, 2024, to protect workers from heat-related illnesses. It applies to all employers in Maryland whose employees are exposed to a heat index of 80 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, both indoors and outdoors. Wiggins warned that this regulation is something that all Maryland businesses need to be compliant with, whether or not their business even operates outdoors or in dangerous heat.

For example, businesses are required to train employees on heat hazards and preventions, they must implement dedicated rest/break schedules, as well as providing at least 32 ounces of water for each employee. The regulations require that all Maryland Businesses put these specific and costly safety measures in place or else they can be hit with very steep fines that begin at $16,000 and go up to $160,000 for repeat offenses.

Wiggins shared that the Chamber’s position has consistently been that “we need to prioritize growth in Maryland”. “We need to attract businesses to retain jobs. People need incentives to come to Maryland for the opportunities it can provide. Some of the specific things he’d like to see Maryland do better with include:

Workforce Development
Providing More Apprenticeships
Privatizing Workforce Development

So Is Maryland business-friendly?

“It is hard to be business friendly when you subject people to these levels of liability and fees. It is the reality of what we are dealing with.” – Grason Wiggins, Maryland Chamber of Commerce

The Hunt Valley Business Forum is the fastest-growing association in Baltimore County and an advocate for businesses in the greater Hunt Valley area. For more information and a list of upcoming events, please visit www.hvbf.org