Big Thursday: Debate on raising debt ceiling, modifying bus service
Two important events will be held Thursday at City Hall:
1) The City Council will hold a special meeting, beginning at 4:30 p.m., to hear public testimony on a charter amendment to double the City’s debt limit to $20 million. A vote is expected to be held.
2) The City Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing, beginning at 6 p.m., on several transit proposals, including fare increases, elimination of the C-40 line and other reductions in service.
The mayor encourages your participation at both events. For more information on both, I’ve pulled out a portion of the City’s weekly column in The Capital that ran today. Even more details, including links the specific transit proposals and legislation, are online at www.annapolis.gov.
If you cannot attend Thursday’s events, both events will be aired live on City TV (Verizon Channel 34 and Comcast Channel 99/100).
As always, please feel free to leave a comment below.
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City Hall: Key meeting on borrowing capacity set for tomorrow
Tomorrow will mark an important day of meetings at City Hall.
Mayor Josh Cohen has called a special meeting of the City Council for 4:30 p.m. to hear public testimony and vote on a proposed charter amendment that would raise the city’s borrowing capacity to $20 million.
The administration seeks to double the borrowing capacity as a precaution amid its “cash-flow crisis,” according to the mayor. The administration plans to present the City Council an update on the city’s cash reserves and cash-flow projections into next year.
In presenting the charter amendment, the mayor made clear that the cash-flow crisis is caused by lack of cash on hand in the cash reserves.
Despite this temporary cash flow problem, the city’s annual fiscal 2011 operating budget remains balanced.
The city projects to end the fiscal year in June with a $2 million surplus, which it will use to begin replenishing the cash reserves.
The meeting is scheduled until 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 160 Duke of Gloucester St.
With recent financial projections indicating a dramatic drop in available cash going into the fall, the mayor is acting now – through the introduction of the charter amendment – to give the city another option to get through this period. (A charter amendment becomes law after 50 days.) If the City Council were to pass the charter amendment, the administration could then introduce a resolution to authorize borrowing funds up to the new limit. The meeting will be televised live on City TV (Verizon Channel 34 and Comcast Channel 99/100).
Another public meeting set for tomorrow is the city Transportation Department’s public hearing on proposed transit cuts, fare increases and other service changes, including the elimination of the C-40 line that connects Edgewater and Arnold.
The public hearing will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The public is also invited to attend a joint meeting of the City Council Transportation Committee, chaired by Alderman Ian Pfeiffer, and the citizen-run Transportation Board, chaired by former mayor Dean Johnson, from 8 to 9 p.m.
It will further weigh the proposed transit cuts, fare increases and other service changes. For city residents who cannot attend, the public hearing and the joint meeting will air live on City TV.
The purpose of this public hearing is to receive feedback on the following city proposals:
- Elimination of C-40 route between Edgewater and Anne Arundel County Community College
- Changing the start time of the bus service from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.
- Elimination of transit services on all holidays that city administrative offices are closed
- Increasing the base transit fare from $1 to $2
- Charging $1 for the Navy Blue Shuttle service and eliminating the free fare zone
- Consolidating or modifying the citywide route structure
Mayor Declares: Revised Budget Won’t Raise Property Tax Rate
At a City Council work session on Thursday, the mayor will present a revised fiscal year 2011 budget proposal that balances the City’s finances without raising the property tax rate. The mayor’s budget amendment calls for millions of dollars in additional cuts and other changes to offset further declining revenues. It will also ensure the City has the cash flow necessary to keep up with expenses.
Here’s the mayor’s rationale for not raising the property tax rate:
“The public has spoken loud and clear about how we should tackle this budget crisis. We understand the government should not bail itself out to get through this crisis.”
The mayor will unveil details at the City Council Chambers, starting at 1:15 p.m. The event will be aired live on City TV (Verizon Channel 34 and Comcast Channel 99/100). Be sure to check out this blog and the City of Annapolis Twitter page (@cityofannapolis) for more details during the work session.
While the public will not have the opportunity to formally address the council on Thursday, people are invited to speak on the budget at a special meeting of the City Council on Monday. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m., and the council is expected to pass the budget that night.
In the meantime, let the City Council know what you think about the mayor’s proposal to balance the budget while leaving the property tax rate untouched. Leave a comment here or reach out to the council members here.
The mayor talks about the budget and other matters below in his weekly video address:
Check out Market House proposals … then comment here
The Market House proposals are in, and now they are online for Annapolis to see.
Last month, the mayor invited businesses to submit short- and long-term proposals to set up shop at the Market House, and he was pleased to receive 15 bids to transform part or all of the crown jewel at City Dock.
Now that the review process is underway, the mayor invites you to offer your input on what concepts would best complement the downtown business community.
Go to http://annapolis.gov to find the list of applicants and their proposals. The mayor can offer short-term leases that expire no later than Jan. 3, 2011. The City Council must approve long-term leases.
Why Exactly is the City in a Budget Deficit? The Mayor Explains
In his latest video message, the mayor lays out exactly why the city is facing such an extraordinary shortfall that exceeds $9 million. This was the basis of his public budget forum presentations this week. The mayor addressed the need to cut spending, focusing on layoffs and reduced city services. He will propose his budget to City Council on Monday night.
For more details about what the mayor discussed at the budget forums, go to www.annapolis.gov and click on 2010-2011 Budget Report under REPORTS.
Deficit puts renewed focus on services, need for citizen input
The financial picture of Annapolis looked so different just a few years ago.
As Chief Administrative Officer Doug Smith laid out yesterday during a quarterly budget presentation at a City Council work session, the city was flush in tax revenue as year-over-year property values increased.
A few years ago, Smith noted, the city had several financial options at its disposal:
1) Hold down spending and put surpluses in a reserve fund
2) Direct new tax revenue toward one-time infrastructure projects
3) Reduce the tax rate
4) Reduce the city’s debt load – pay down a portion of our bond obligations
5) Direct spending toward increasing salaries and benefits, hire more personnel and create new programs.
By and large, the previous administration and City Council chose the last option. Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson said yesterday that improving salaries and benefits has helped maintain a competitive work force. But in the aftermath of those spending increases, coupled with a steeply declining economy, the financial picture is bleak today.
Mr. Smith and Finance Director Tim Elliott yesterday presented projected figures that show a $2.6 million structural budget deficit for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, and a $6.4 million structural deficit for fiscal year 2011.
Simply put: The city is spending much more money than it’s taking in – and significant changes must be made immediately. To put the situation in context, Mr. Elliott said Annapolis’ financial circumstances are the worst in his 26 years working for the city.
Now, Mr. Smith noted, the city has fewer financial options: raise taxes, cut spending or do both. In the face of this challenge, Mr. Smith made clear yesterday that raising taxes is not an option for the Cohen administration.
The answer is to cut spending. What is the administration doing about that? First, the mayor has asked department heads to submit budgets that are 5 percent below their base budgets for the current fiscal year. Likely, Mr. Smith and Mr. Elliott said, those reductions won’t be enough alone to bring the budget back into balance.
The administration will also rely on the Blue Ribbon Commission report and is eagerly awaiting the formal presentations next month from the mayor’s transition team, the Idea Team, which will recommend efficiencies in government. Also next month, a mayor-appointed committee on contractual employees will also produce recommendations.
The question is not if the city should make cuts – the question is what gets cut. To that point, Mr. Smith, Alderman Ross Arnett and others said the city must determine what the government services that the city cannot live without.
That’s where we need you, the residents, who best know what city services are essential and what services that, in less prosperous times, should be reduced or eliminated. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below, send the mayor an e-mail at mayor@annapolis.gov or reach out to your alderman.
Much must be accomplished before the mayor presents his budget to the City Council on March 8 and the council adopts the budget in late May. We need your help as the city leaders attempt to forge the best path during this difficult time.