Voters decided to expand the Baltimore County Council from seven to nine members but that will come with a price. County officials are trying to find money for the expansion in what is already expected to be a difficult budget year.

It’s estimated it will cost around $12 million to renovate the council offices and council chambers in the Historic Courthouse in Towson to make room for the two additional council members who will be elected in 2026.

“I have to find money and space and reallocate some things because we know what the space looks like,” said County Administrative Officer D’Andrea Walker.

She recently told the County Council that she is working on next year’s budget and that there is not enough money coming in to pay for everything that’s needed, like the council expansion.

Walker pointed out that the federal money the county received for COVID-19 recovery has dried up.

“CARES is gone; ARPA is gone,” Walker said.

Meanwhile the cost of materials that are needed for construction have increased.

“We have stormy weather ahead of us,” Councilman David Marks, a Republican, said. “I think the administration and the council both recognize that.”

Dealing with that fiscal storm will fall to a new county executive who is expected to be appointed by the County Council on January 6. County Executive Johnny Olszewski is resigning January 3 to take his seat in Congress.

The next county executive will present an annual spending plan to the County Council in April.