With the dust now settling from the end of the fiscal year 2013 budget season, outgoing Anne Arundel Community College President Martha Smith had some positive words to share about next year's spending plan.

AACC's budget weighed in at $110.6 million and was balanced with the help of a tuition hike. 

Anne Arundel County contributes about 25 percent of the college's total revenue. The remainder comes from tuition, fees and state funding. In the fiscal year 2012 budget the county's contribution dropped from $33 million to $28 million.

This year's county contribution was more on par with fiscal year 2009's budget season—$32 million—which Smith said she was grateful for.

Smith issued the following statement to Patch regarding the ending of the fiscal year 2013 budget season:

“On behalf of the AACC Board of Trustees, faculty and staff, I would like to thank County Executive John Leopold and the County Council for restoring the county’s funding of the college much closer to 2009 levels.

"Clearly, County Executive Leopold and the members of the County Council recognize the value AACC brings to the community, and we are grateful for their continued support.

"This past budget season proved to be another challenging time for us all, and we can appreciate the many difficult decisions our county’s leadership had to make in adopting the county’s operating and capital budgets for FY2013.

"AACC looks forward to working closely with the County Executive and County Council and to their continued support of the college as we strive to provide the best possible education for our students and community.”

This was Smith's final budget year. She has announced she will retire in August after serving as president of the college for 18 years. She will be succeeded by Dawn Lindsay. 

At the Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, Smith received a rocking chair and some kind words from the trustees for her years of service to the college.