(3/4) The Thurmont Town Council approved a new fund balance policy at their February 25 meeting following a mid-year budget review.

Chief Financial Officer Linda Joyce reported that, regarding the current budget that the projected tax revenue for the period was "right on target."

The review addressed the first six months of the 2020 budget from July through December.

State and governmental funding, Joyce stated, was 38-percent of the projected amount, but that it will reach the 50-percent mark when all the funding applicable to the period of time being discussed was actually received.

"(Regarding) our local revenue, nothing really jumps out," she said, "A lot of that (revenue not included in the report), we get towards the end of the year." Regarding total income, she said, "We are at 44-percent... so, we're right on target."

Regarding previously projected expenses, "Our normal budgeted legal expenses are coming in under (within) budget," Joyce reported. "With regard to miscellaneous professional fees, we had budgeted $5,000 and we are at $2,690."

"We're going to have two budget amendments," she said. One of the amendments addresses fees related to the storm-water management annual report fees, while the other amendment would address Carroll Street improvements’ probable cost estimates. (EDITOR'S NOTE: See Board adjusts 2020 budget).

The commissioners also adopted the town's budgetary fund balance policy, as developed by the chief financial officer.

The policy establishes a minimum capital reserve fund of $1 million (increased at the meeting from an initial reserve of $250,000), a minimum fund balance reserve of 12-percent, and a process by which borrowing against the reserves is to be paid back to the fund accounts within two to five years, including the creation of a board of commissioners' approved plan to pay back the borrowed amount.

Regarding the work on the 2021 budget, the chief financial officer said, "Just met today for our first time with the water department, and tomorrow we'll be meeting with wastewater and electric, and then we'll meet with the police, and planning and zoning, streets and parks."

"March 31 will be our first mayor/commissioner workshop, and April 7 and 14, and then April 28, hopefully, we'll be introducing the fiscal year 2021 budget," she said.