Press Release: Mayor Buckley to Introduce Fiscal Year 2025 Spending Plan at April 8 Meeting

Office of Mayor Gavin Buckley
PRESS RELEASE

City of Annapolis 160 Duke of Gloucester Street Annapolis, Maryland 21401

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mitchelle Stephenson, 410-972-7724 or [email protected]

ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 8, 2024) - At Monday's Annapolis City Council meeting, Mayor Gavin Buckley will deliver the annual "State of the City" address and introduce the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Operating and Capital Budgets. The meeting begins at 7 p.m., Monday, April 8, 2024.

"We are again introducing a balanced budget with no property tax rate increase. We continue to deliver our residents quality services and have sought outside funding through county, state and federal grants to assist with funding for many of our planned capital projects," Mayor Buckley said. "Our bond ratings remain strong - a testament to sound fiscal management practices."

The FY25 budget includes $115 million in operating expenses alongside $53 million in the Capital Improvement Plan, inclusive of general and enterprise funds. The budget calls for using the final $3.5 million that remains out of the original $6.6 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds allocated to the City in 2022.

Both the operating and capital budgets will be available shortly before the start of Monday's meeting at:

• www.annapolis.gov/1032/Budgets-Proposed-and-Adopted.

OPERATING BUDGET

Highlights in the FY25 operating budget include:

• the return of the successful internship program which served 26 high school and college students last summer;

• funding for a grant administrator in the Department of Public Works, the agency responsible for the work at City Dock as well as public water, sewer, traffic, and other public service and maintenance projects;

• fleet funding for a new Annapolis Fire boat; and

• creation of an office of Central Services, consolidating service and support to City agencies including purchasing, city buildings, office space/real estate, and the City of Annapolis TV studio.

CAPITAL BUDGET

The FY25 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) forecasts $42.6 million in general fund and $10.4 million in enterprise fund spending. The general fund includes 19 new projects along with continued funding of scores of projects already underway. Highlights include:

• Connecting Communities:a newly funded project is Bay Ridge Bikeways ($294,000) aimed at improving safety along a route that begins in Eastport and ends at Quiet Waters Park. The Bay Ridge Bikeways project is funded 76 percent ($224,000) by grants and 24 percent ($70,000) through capital reserve. Mayor Buckley has also requested $4 million annually be reserved for Connecting Communities funding through FY30.

• Choice Neighborhoods:Mayor Buckley has requested a $1 million City match to a proposed $1 million state contribution to the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, a plan to revitalize public housing communities of Eastport Terrace and Harbour House.

• Flood Mitigation: funding for resiliency work in Eastport ($536,000 in FY25 and $5.9 million over five years), especially at street ends where water inundations are damaging City and private property including the Annapolis Maritime Museum and Eastport Yacht Center. Both suffered damage from floodwaters during the historic flooding that took place in January of this year. This year's funding schedule for the Eastport resiliency work includes 65 percent funding through grants ($350,500) and 35 percent in bond funding ($180,535).

The Budget Process:

• On Monday, April 8, 2024, Mayor Gavin Buckley will introduce the Fiscal Year 2025 City of Annapolis Budget as a City Ordinance.

• Over the next eight to 10 weeks, the Finance Committee, a standing committee of the City Council chaired by Alderwoman Eleanor Tierney (Ward 1), with Alderwoman Karma O'Neill (Ward 2) and Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson (Ward 4), will review and make recommendations to the Operating and Capital portions of the budget. This review takes place over numerous Finance Committee meetings to be broadcast on City TV channels (Verizon 34 and Comcast 99/100), City of Annapolis YouTube, and City of Annapolis Facebook.

• Two resident commissions also conduct reviews and can recommend amendments or changes: the Planning Commission may review and make recommendations to the Capital Budget; the Financial Advisory Commission may review and make recommendations to both the Operating and Capital Budgets. Once these Commissions' recommendations are sent to the Finance Committee and amendments are agreed to by the Finance Committee, a recommended budget is sent to the City Council to be further amended and adopted.

• Council members may adopt the Mayor's Budget as-is. The full Council will consider the recommendations of the Finance Committee at a full-day meeting in June. The City Council may elect to move money within departments or between departments. They may come up with new spending. However, the Council must pass a balanced budget. If new appropriations are added, there needs to be a commensurate revenue increase (taxes, fees, or fines) to pay for the increases - or cuts elsewhere in the budget.

• The final date for passage must be before June 30, 2024. The fiscal year begins July 1, 2024.

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