On April 15, the County Executive presented his Fiscal Year 2014 budget proposal to the County Council. I am pleased that the budget request does not seek an increase in property or income taxes. The budget funds projects for which I have advocated, from Towson to Perry Hall.
In Perry Hall, the budget includes $5.7 million to complete Gough Park at Honeygo Boulevard and Joppa Road. This 17-acre property was purchased by Baltimore County in 2000, but has remained undeveloped due to lack of funding. Thanks to a $1.5 million contribution from the Perry Hall Recreation Council, the county will proceed with improvements to the park and construction of a gymnasium. This will be the first new park to open in the Fifth District in about a decade.
The county will also complete a new trail at Indian Rock Park, the 16-acre wooded area west of Perry Hall High School. I have long advocated for this trail to make the park more accessible to walkers and bikers. It will provide a pathway from Ebenezer Road to the neighborhoods near Silver Spring Road. The county will also improve the lighting at the Perry Hall Elementary School athletic fields.
In Towson, the budget allocates $18.8 million for improvements at Dumbarton Middle School, with a request for $8.7 million from the state. Community leaders have long pushed for renovations at this school, which opened in 1956. With the Dumbarton Middle School announcement, improvements have advanced at several schools in the immediate Towson area, including Stoneleigh and Hampton Elementary Schools.