Council Reviews FY 2015 Budget
The City has published the FY 2015 draft budget which is now available here on our website
Despite the challenging fiscal times we’re going through, the City Manager has proposed a few cuts. We’are also expecting the an increase in both income tax revenue and admissions and amusement tax (because of the UMD joining the Big 10). These will allow us to get through this year without any increase in the property tax rate.
The budget includes a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) of 1.75% plus merit increases. With the elimination of the Assistant to the City Manager position and the half-time Public Safety Officer position, the requested budget limits the increase in personnel costs to 3.3%.
The City Council reviewed the FY 2015 in a long marathon meeting this Saturday and added a few changes to the City manager’s requested budget. In the end we’ll be supporting these changes by drawing some $130,000 from City’s reserve funds. Please see them below and let me know if you have any questions. The numbers in braces show the way the Council voted.
| City Lobbyist (7-1-0) | $30,000 |
| Animal Shelter Feasibility Study (5-2-1) | $25,000 |
| CCTV Camera near College Park Metro (8-0-0) | $20,000 |
| Marketing / sponsorship event (8-0-0) | $10,000 |
| Public Works contract snow pre-treatment (8-0-0) | $ 6,600 |
| Hollywood Farmers Market (7-0-1) | $ 6,000 |
| Dues – US Conference of Mayors (8-0-0) | $ 3,489 |
| Council retreat (8-0-0) | $ 1,500 |
| Downtown business district promotion (flags by SGA) (8-0-0) | $ 550 |
| Mayor and Council – Other Dues (8-0-0) | $ 300 |
Budget | Fazlul Kabir April 7, 2014
