The main event at the Greenbelt City Council’s June 6 regular meeting was the adoption of the city budget for Fiscal Year 2017, which runs from July 1 of this year through June 30, 2017. For City Manager Michael McLaughlin and his staff, budget preparation began in late fall. Following the presentation of the manager’s proposed budget at the March 29 meeting, council held 10 budget worksessions, with four of them doubled up into two meetings, to discuss the details of the budget and departmental planning for FY 2017. This year is a significant one in the history of Greenbelt budget preparation in that McLaughlin has announced he will retire at end of the calendar year. Appointed city manager in fall 1996, McLaughlin has presented 20 proposed city budgets to 10 city councils, with FY 2017 being the last. (It should be noted that in this competition, McLaughlin ranks second only to former city manager, James Giese.) Other matters on the agenda included several presentations, Council Adopts McLaughlin’s 20th – and Last – City Budget by Kathleen Gallagher adoption of the city’s Program Open Space (POS) for the next year, and consideration of an invitation to join the Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition. Also presented under the Petitions and Requests section of the meeting was a signed petition regarding the development of a high-rise apartment building on property at Lakeside North by the property owner, Southern Management Corporation. Budget Adoption The process for budget adoption is that any changes to the manager’s proposed General Fund budget, which were designated by council at the final budget worksession on May 16, are read aloud and, along with the revised account totals, voted upon. Then the ordinance adopting the budget, appropriating the monies to fund it and establishing the real estate and personal property tax rates for the year is moved and adopted. Relatively little drama marked next year’s budget, which at $27,227,600 came in at just barely two percent over the current year’s budget and less than $100,000 more than McLaughlin’s proposed budget. No increase was required in property tax or business personal property tax rates. That is not to say there were no late-arriving curve balls but they bottom-lined in the black. An unexpected and unwelcome cut of $25,000 in State Shared Highway User Fees during the General Assembly session and an increase in premiums for Workers Compensation insurance of $50,000 were more than balanced by reimbursement from FEMA of $100,000 of the city’s expenses in managing Winter Storm Jonas this year and nearly $20,000 of anticipated but uncommitted revenues in the proposed budget.
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