Harford County, just to the northeast of Baltimore County, is one of the 24 main, local jurisdictions in Maryland (its 23 counties and Baltimore City). The county seat is Bel Air, MD.
Harford County has three main incorporated municipalities.
These municipalities provide some services and levy some taxes in addition to Harford County's taxes and services. They each have their own governmental structure including a legislative body and, in Havre de Grace and Aberdeen, an executive branch.The other towns in Harford County are communities defined by history and tradition or other organizations such as the U.S. Postal Service, the U.S. Census or community associations.
Harford County Government Structure
Some of the government services provided by Harford County to its residents include libraries, public schools, public safety and county parks. See more on Harford County services.Like the federal and state governments, Harford County has three branches of government.
- Executive
Residents elect a County Executive, who oversees the executive branch of county government. The County Executive, who is elected every four years during the same election year as governor of Maryland, acts much like a mayor of a city. He is charged with implementing policies and administering County government and has veto power over legislation passed by the County Council. The current County Executive is Republican David R. Craig, former mayor of Havre de Grace. He assumed the post in 2005, when Executive Jim Harkin resigned to take another post, and was elected to the position in 2006.
- Legislative
The 7-member County Council is the legislative branch of the government. Residents elect a council member for the district in which they live as well as a County Council President in a county-wide election. Council members serve four year terms in an election cycle that is the same as the County Executive's. Find your County Council district.
- Judicial
The judiciary is the third branch of government. This branch handles marriage licenses and divorces as well as criminal and civil cases.
Residents are expected to serve jury duty. Harford County has one trial/one day system of jury duty, meaning if you are not chosen for a trial you only serve one day of jury duty. The average length of a trial is 2-3 days. If you have served jury duty within the last three years, you may request to be excused if you receive a summons. This includes jury duty served in jurisdictions outside Harford County. Citizens serving jury duty receive $20 a day for expenses.
The Harford County judiciary includes:
- Circuit Court - major civil and criminal cases, family law
- District Court - tenant-landlord cases, small claims, motor vehicle violations
Taxes in Harford County
Harford County's biggest source income is property taxes. While the state of Maryland does levy property taxes, most of the property taxes in the state are levied by local jurisdictions like Harford County. In 2007 Harford County's property tax rate inside municipalities was $0.926 per $100 of assessed value. More on property taxes in Maryland.Harford County's second largest revenue source, providing more than a third of its revenue, is income tax. In 2007, Harford County's income tax rate was 3.06 percent of a taxpayer's Maryland adjusted gross income. More on income taxes in Maryland.
Nearly half of the county's revenue goes toward education (this includes public schools up to grade 12 and Harford Community College), while about 20 percent goes to public safety.
