Category: budget

Jun. 7, 2012

The Garrett County commissioners unanimously approved the county’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget and related tax rates on Tuesday afternoon. About 25 local residents and county employees gathered in the commissioners’ public meeting room at the courthouse to hear the budget announcement.

At $73,441,985, the new budget is $13.2 million less than FY 2012’s, but the real property tax rate will remain at $.99 per $100 of assessed value in FY ’13. The new fiscal year begins on July 1.

“We talked about tax increases,” commission chair Jim Raley said about the months-long budget development process. “We talked about how to meet the needs, and the nice part is that we were able to do that [by] keeping the tax rate at the same rate and not going with the constant yield.”

The commissioners note in the new budget document message, however, that county officials faced many challenges during the development process, including a reduction in state allocations and a decline of $2 million in assessable property values and revenue. Raley indicated that more revenue losses are expected for FY ’14.

“The 2013 budget really does meet our needs, but I think we all know there are still some unmet needs in there, obviously the CARC (Community Aquatic and Recreation Complex), the library, and . . . other requests that come in after the year starts,” Raley said.

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He indicated that county officials and residents need to immediately plan for “tomorrow” by developing ways to grow the county’s population and job opportunities.

“It’s a must; we can’t wait,” Raley said. “I want us to think about the kinds of things that have somewhat separated us . . . because some of those are the very issues that are debatable as to whether they will grow our economy.”

That includes Marcellus shale natural gas drilling and wind turbines, Raley said.

Commissioner Bob Gatto expressed his appreciation to county staff and residents for their help in developing the new budget.

“I appreciate the trust and respect that all of you have given us during this process and also appreciate your continuing input and support that you provide as we move forward,” he said. “We remain creative in our thinking and our investment of your dollars. That process will continue in time as the dollars become less and the demands more. But with your help we’re up to the challenge.”

Commissioner Gregan Crawford noted some budgetary accomplishments.

“I have no doubt that we’re viewed by many jurisdictions throughout the state with awe and envy for what we do here,” Crawford said. “We’ve held the line on taxes for this year. We fully funded the Board of Education. We’ve incurred no debt service. We have attritioned five more employees this year. And we continue to fulfill our mission.”

At $32 million, the largest allocation in the FY ’13 budget is for education. This is nearly $1.4 million more than the FY ’12 allocation.

In the new fiscal year, $26 million will go to the Board of Education, including $664,714 to fund the teacher pension obligations, which was offset by a like amount from the state. About $4.5 million will go to Garrett College, $982,700 to the Ruth Enlow Library, and $450,00 to the Garrett County Scholarship Program. Garrett College will also receive an additional $250,000 for CARC operations.

Public works makes up 22.64 percent of allocations in the budget. The Roads Department will receive about $16.2 million, which is $434,000 less than the FY ’12 allocation. The department will use $2.3 million of its FY ’13 allocation for paving projects. Management will prioritize all road improvement and maintenance projects. Capital funds have been allocated to purchase a variety of equipment.

Public safety divisions, offices, and agencies will receive nearly $9 million, which is about $134,000 less than they received in 2012. The sheriff’s office and detention center will receive about $4.4 million, with the remainder of the allocation going to the Permits and Inspections Division, volunteer fire and require units, animal control, the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Management, 911 communications, and emergency medical services.

General government will receive more than $6.6 million, which is $121,133 less than was allocated for FY ’12. The funds will go to county administrative offices, the commissioners’ office, the maintenance of governmental owned facilities, and information technology efforts. The new budget contains no employee pay increases, excluding unionized county road workers.

To help fund its debt service, the Adventure Sports Center will receive $100,000 of the county’s hotel/motel tax revenue. The commissioners recently increased the hotel/motel tax from 5 to 6 percent to generate an additional $300,000 in the new fiscal year. The total expected revenue from this tax is expected to be $1.9 million in 2013.

In addition to ASCI, the tax revenue will be distributed to the Department of Economic Development, Chamber of Commerce, Deep Creek 2014, county trails, the development of countywide broadband infrastructure, municipal governments, parks, recreation, and culture.

The FY ’13 budget is available online at garrettcounty.org. Approved supplemental levies for 13 Garrett County sanitary districts as well as real property and public utilities taxes for Mtn. Lake Park and other areas area also listed in the document.

The commissioners’ next public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 26, at 9 a.m.

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Jun. 7, 2012

The Garrett County Board of Education has scheduled a public presentation of the interim superintendent of school’s proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget for Monday, June 11, at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Southern Middle School.

Then on the following Tuesday, June 12, the board will hold its regularly scheduled monthly meeting beginning at 4 p.m. at the same location. The public is invited to attend both events.

On Tuesday, following public comment at 4 p.m., the BOE will meet in closed session until 5:30 p.m., at which time public agenda topics will be action on the FY ’13 comprehensive maintenance plan for educational facilities of Garrett County, the educational facilities master plan, the student handbook, and discipline and the FY ’13 operating budget.

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Information items will include the special education staffing plan. Recognition will be given for student artwork. A second forum for public comment will be set aside at 7 p.m.

The superintendent’s proposed budget will be available on the Garrett County Board of Education web site, www.ga.k12.md.us, on Friday, June 8.

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Largest portion, 43 percent, allocated for Board of Education

Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

OAKLAND — The Garrett County commissioners approved the $73.4 million fiscal 2013 operating and capital budget in their Tuesday public meeting. Commissioners also approved a real property tax rate of $0.9330 for Mountain Lake Park and $0.99900 for all other areas.

“The total tax of $0.9900 remains but we gain additional revenue in the general fund,” said County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt in an email to the Times-News.

Revenues from income tax generated by county residents is estimated to increase by $800,000 in fiscal 2013, according to Pagenhardt. The largest portion of the budget is allocated for education ($31.9 million), which accounts for 43.54 percent of the budget. Of the funds for education, $26,023,714 was allocated for the Board of Education, which was deemed the county’s No. 1 fiscal priority, according to a news release. The amount alloted to the BOE includes $664,714 to fund the teacher pension obligations, which was offset by a like amount from the state. Education dollars also go toward Garrett College, Ruth Enlow Library and the Garrett County Scholarship program.

The county will face even more challenges with the fiscal 2014 budget and will likely result in further estimated de-clines in revenues, ac-cording to Pagenhardt. Legislative action by the Maryland General Assembly will transfer a substantial amount of teachers’ pension costs to all local governments, which will result in $1.2 million cost to the county in fiscal 2016. In addition, it is projected that the triennial property assessments will once again result in less revenue for fiscal 2014, according to Pagenhardt.

Commissioners also ap-proved a $0.0200 landfill bond and multiple Garrett County Sanitary District ad valorem taxes compared to the fiscal 2012 tax of $0.0400. There was little change in the sanitary district taxes, according to Pagenhardt. In 2012, Deep Creek Sewer Sanitary District was added. For fiscal 2013, the Deep Creek Sewer Sanitary tax is $0.0600.

On the revenue side of the budget, the largest amount of new funding comes from shifting the landfill bond to the general fund, according to a news release. About $794,000 will be generated from personal property from nonutility electric-generating companies, which includes wind projects.

Also approved were the public utilities tax of $2.3325 for Mountain Lake Park and $2.4750 for all other areas.

The recent approval of the hotel rental tax from 5 to 6 percent will generate $300,000, some of which will go toward the Adventure Sports Center International, which the county took ownership of in March.

The commissioners discussed the potential use of Kitzmiller Elementary School, which recently closed and contains a branch of the library and Head Start. The elementary school building has reverted back to the county. The parties involved will continue to work toward a cooperative effort to find the best viable and affordable use for the facility, according to Pagenhardt.

The commissioners also discussed the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fee structure, which will raise from $30 a year to $60 and will exclude properties not in the bay watershed from paying the additional fee. The fee structure passed in the 2012 Maryland General Assembly and it will be up to the county to determine where a qualifying boundary is located, according to Pagenhardt. Final de-termination and location will be finalized and made publically available.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

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Elaine Blaisdell Cumberland Times-News

— OAKLAND — The fiscal year 2013 budget was balanced without having to borrow money or change the tax rate, Garrett County Administrator Monty Pagenhardt said during a review of the budget on Tuesday at Garrett College.

“We have been able to keep the tax rate the same and are able to appropriate monies toward the board of education. It’s a really difficult job they (commissioners) have to balance everything. They spent a lot of time on the budget and know it from top to bottom.”

Even though the budget was presented, it is likely numbers will change due to pending state legistlation in the Maryland General Assembly, said Charmian Jim Raley.

The biggest block of funds the county appropriates is for education, said Pagenhardt.

The proposed budget includes an appropriation of $31.3 million to education for fiscal year 2013, with $25.3 million appropriated to the BOE.

“It is important to repeat that ($25.3 million appropriation) because that is the number the board of education has been told to count on for 2014,” said Pagenhardt. “The board of education knows their operating budget for 2013 and also 2014.”

The total appropriated to the BOE includes $500,000 the county put up to reduce the number of cuts to teachers from 40 to 28.

“The commissioners didn’t really usurp power of the board of education. They didn’t say, ‘Here is how you have to spend the money,’” said Pagenhardt. “But they are very cognizant of the closing of the schools and the loss of jobs.”

The board of education voted to close Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools during a special meeting in April.

Because of the school closings, the proposed budget also includes an additional expenditure of about $95,745 for operating expenses, utility expenses and contracted services.

“You will see an increase in operating expenses, utilities and contracted services. Those are almost solely a result of the county having to absorb maintenance and operation of Dennett Road and Kitzmiller elementary schools,” said Pagenhardt. “They do become the county’s responsibility.”

During the presentation, both Raley and Pagenhardt stressed that the real property tax rate would remain at $0.9900.

“Next year is the first year that probably anyone can remember that the constant yield is greater than the tax rate,” said Pagenhardt.

In the proposed budget, there is an estimated $975,000 decrease in expenditures overall for the Roads Division for fiscal year 2013, compared to a $17.6 million expenditure in fiscal year 2012.

“We took a long look at that what we were spending in the past,” said Pagenhardt. “That was attributed to having aging equipment breaking down. We feel that we can get by with $250,000 less for next year as opposed to this year.”

Most of the cuts to the budget were from the roads department, because it is the largest department in the county, according to Pagenhardt.

The total projected revenue for the county in fiscal year 2013 is $72,819,058 — about a $13.5 million reduction from fiscal year 2012.

Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.

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OAKLAND — The Garrett County Board of County Commissioners has announced that the fiscal year 2013 operating budget will be online at www.garrettcounty.org by the end of business hours on Friday.

Projected revenue and requested expenditures will be available for review. The board, county administrator and Department of Financial Services will present an informational budget overview to the public on May 15 at 7 p.m. at Garrett College auditorium.

Questions on the draft budget may be addressed to Monty Pagenhardt, county administrator, or Wendy Yoder, director of Department of Financial Services.

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Apr. 19, 2012

The Garrett County commissioners announced Tuesday afternoon that the Bloomington Volunteer Fire Department will purchase the former Bloomington Elementary School from the county. As a cost-saving measure, the GC Board of Education closed the facility at the end of the last school year.

Commission chair Jim Raley noted the county had advertised that the building was for sale, but no one expressed an interest in purchasing the 21,123-square-foot school building, situated on 1.25 acres.

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“So we approached the Bloomington Fire Department to see if there would be interest on its part,” Raley said. “And at this point the department has expressed an interest in purchasing the facility, with the condition that the county raze the facility in some agreeable manner.”

Based on recent discussions between the commissioners and fire department, the BVFD would pay the county $50,000 over a 10-year period for the property and the expense of razing it.

“The county would pick up any additional amounts to that,” Raley said about the razing cost. “That would give the property’s full rights and ownership to the fire department.”

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Without tax and pensions plan, spending cuts begin July 1
by Jeff Newman and Jason Babcock, Staff writers

Still reeling from the implications of an approved budget that includes $512 million in budget cuts, state Democratic lawmakers expect Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) to call for a special session in the coming weeks to finish work on proposals to raise income taxes on higher earners and shift teachers’ pension costs to local jurisdictions.

Each winter, the Maryland General Assembly convenes in Annapolis with one constitutional mandate — to pass a balanced budget — and yet every year without fail, debate over fiscal issues goes down to the wire, dependent on a ticking clock as much as negotiation between the two legislative chambers.

Lawmakers approved a budget Monday night in the waning hours of the 2012 session — just not the one they wanted.

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