The Howard County Interfaith Advisory Council is established to address religious intolerance, enhance community support, and coordinate services for at-risk populations through interfaith collaboration and dialogue.

The Committee’s input will help ensure that the future vision for Gateway considers all the essential components of an innovation district.

The Graphical Information Systems (GIS) Division supports the creation, standardization, storage, and dissemination of geographical data for all County departments.

Local Boards are convened in qualifying jurisdictions to determine the highest need and best use of funds and to select Local Recipient Organizations that will provide emergency food and shelter services.

The Spending Affordability Advisory Committee presents its budget recommendations to the County Executive on or before March 1 of every year.

The Budget Office proposes spending levels to the County Executive based on revenue and expenditure analyses to ensure a balanced budget; prepares special management and financial reports, and monitors the purchasing, personnel and other spending requests of all county government agencies.

Engineering Great Communities

The Committee’s input will help ensure that the future vision for Gateway considers all the essential components of an innovation district.

The Bureau of Utilities administers and maintains Howard County's public water and wastewater systems. Serving more than 85% of the County's population with an average demand of over 22 million gallons of water each day, the Bureau provides County homes with the most comprehensive public water related services available.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball signed an Executive Order establishing a Howard County planning group to organize a celebration in honor of the U.S.’s 250th anniversary in July 2026.

We are a combination system of nearly 900 career and volunteer providers operating from 13 stations across Howard County. The department is located between Baltimore City and the District of Columbia and provides and receives automatic aid to and from our surrounding partners in Prince George's, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Montgomery and Frederick counties. The department is statutorily responsible for the administration of the affairs for the county in fire suppression and prevention, fire training, arson investigation, rescue services and emergency medical services.

The Howard County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) develops and maintains emergency management plans, which encompass response, recovery, mitigation, and protection. OEM also provides guidance to support agencies on the development of disaster management plans. Staff provides countywide planning as well as training and exercise programs to help the County prepare for natural, technological, and/or man-made emergencies. In addition, OEM staff manage and coordinate the County's Emergency Operations Center during times of emergency.

The Finance Department ensures that the County’s financial resources are collected, protected, invested and distributed in a fiscally responsible manner, and provides optimal financial services to a wide range of constituents, including citizens, taxpayers, businesses, agencies and County employees.