City staff briefed the City Council on expected revenue and expenditures in preparation for the City’s FY-25 annual budget to ensure spending priorities are in order and all revenues cover expended outlays. As currently proposed, the budget is balanced without the need to raise taxes.
The proposed General Fund budget calls for revenues of $8,052,296, of which $4,567,423 comes from local and state taxes. While the current property tax rate will remain unchanged from last year, tax revenue is expected to increase by $265,955 due to increases in property assessments. Town Manager Jim Wieprecht said that a home appraised at $300,000 would pay around $1,100 a year in City taxes at the current rate of 37 cents per $100.
County revenue sharing, estimated to be $644,518, will be finalized after the County Budget is adopted. Revenue from the State’s Highway User program is estimated to be $510,364.
The General Fund expenditures will be $8,052,296. Recurring expenses include big ticket amounts for Public Safety at $2,413,516 to cover the department being fully staffed for FY25 versus FY24. The Streets Department expects $1,598,981 in expenditures, including work that Carroll County completes and bills to the Town. This work includes street light repairs, line painting and repairs to the shop building.
General Fund Capital Outlay projects in the City include, but are not limited to, the Street portion of the West View Drive water main project, the Merry Go Round replacement, and the highly anticipated Splash Pad at Memorial Park, totaling $2,094,143.
Contributions to the non-police employee pension system will increase by $24,074 over the FY-24 budget. Contributions to police pensions are expected to increase by $132,500 as a result of the City anticipating the Police Department being fully staffed in FY-25. An anticipated 10.76% increase in health insurance benefits is also implemented in the draft budget.
The Utility Fund budget revenues are projected to be $6,068,806, of which $1,000,000 will be from water service fees and $1,975,000 from sewer service fees. The City does not plan to increase water or sewer fees in FY-25. Other Utility Fund revenues include late fees on water payments at $50,000 and interest on the City’s bank account at $150,000.
Capital outlays from the Utility Fund include $1,200,000 for the West View Drive water line replacement and $1,225,000 for a sewer replacement on West Baltimore Street. The City is also responsible for $138,000 for the water tower "standpipe," which is also used as a cell phone tower. Wieprecht explained the current lease agreement has the City responsible for the property taxes, which will likely be changed in the future.
Mayor Pro Tem James McCarron asked where the projected seven million dollars for the Public Works building would come from. "Worst case scenario, we have put the entire amount in the Capital budget split between water, sewer and streets," explained Wieprecht. He said the City does qualify for a loan with the State Infrastructure Program through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and he is also researching other grant opportunities. "We are committed to the design of the building which will yield a firmer construction price, however the construction phase will be determined by grant and loan possibilities." In April, the Council approved spending $331,700 to begin the complicated process of designing the site and construction plans.
A three percent salary increase for staff and a three percent Cost of Living pay increase were introduced with the draft budget, requiring re-allocation of the funds between the General Fund and the Utility Fund. Staff Salaries and fringe benefits are typically split in some fashion between the General and the Utility Funds.
"We have made adjustments to what we pay to try and be competitive to attract and retain our police officers, but we have not done the same for the other city employees," said Wieprecht when Councilwoman Judith Fuller asked about the salary increase.
"We’re not being fair to the employees that have been around longer," she said. Councilwoman Diane Foster agreed saying, "It would be nice to reward the loyal employees for once." Wieprecht responded, "Because of inflation, we still are not caught up with the rates from the last few years."
McCarron suggested having department heads evaluate their employees and reward the best performing ones accordingly, editing the increase given based on performance. Wieprecht said they can investigate doing that, but not everyone's role is the same, presenting a challenge.
