The Greenbelt City Council worksession on December 17 began with a first look at the upcoming budget with new City Treasurer Ron Covington. On December 8, the city received a report from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) that listed the city’s taxable assets, with the information included in this initial budget presentation. City Manager Josué Salmerón said that this budget would have nothing unexpected, have no new initiatives and would be a status quo approach in line with the last two years. A primary challenge will be rising costs in all areas with a revenue stream that is not keeping pace. Covington used this new financial assessment with historical data to make likely estimates in how the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget will finally take shape.
Projected Shortfalls
Covington stated that the revenue needed for projected, recurring and new costs, is $4,445,000. The recurring and new costs were: police union increases ($635,000); worker’s compensation ($30,000); general liability insurance ($75,000); health insurance increases ($73,000); salary increases ($800,000); building capital reserve fund ($1M); capital project fund ($1.5M); late staff evaluations ($100,000); and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) positions ($233,000). (Late evaluations refer to performance evaluations completed outside the required review cycle. The $100,000 associated cost is allocated as an anticipated increase that includes retroactive pay and upward adjustment to base salary).
Covington also laid out the projected increase in revenues at $1,156,400, with total revenues at $41,328,000. The specific pre-budget FY 2027 projections were: real estate taxes ($25,918,000), personal property taxes ($1,495,500), other taxes ($5,686,300), licenses and permits ($1,328,400), intergovernmental ($1,468,800), charges for services ($2,446,600), fines and forfeitures ($519,000), interest ($300,000), miscellaneous revenues ($333,400) and interfund transfers/use of unassigned general fund balance ($1,831,700).
Future Implications
Covington showed an analysis of the revenue projections. The primary challenges were: the projected new expenditures exceed the anticipated revenue by $3.29M; the existing revenue sources, these being real estate and income taxes, cannot generate sufficient growth to close the gap; and the unassigned fund balance cannot continue to be a viable or sustainable funding source. Two required actions were to identify and implement new, recurring revenue sources and to continue operational efficiencies.
All present expressed concern about the city’s financial overreliance on real estate and property taxes, a trend common across the nation. Some new sources were discussed. One was a rise in service charges, mainly by the Recreation Department in its camps and classes, with the goal to not make these services unaffordable to either residents or nonresidents. A cap on Code Enforcement fines from $1,000 to $5,000 was posited, along with an initial financial bump in stop sign violation fines.
As American Rescue Plan Act funds will expire after December 2026, both CIT positions requested by the Greenbelt Police Department will have to be funded entirely from the FY 2027 GPD budget. Salmerón said that salary increases would become a recurring expense as well.
Salmerón said that building and roadway infrastructure maintenance and upkeep costs are driven by inflation, up by 2 to 3 percent a year.
Mayor Emmett Jordan repeatedly shared his concern for the nation’s employment and financial status, with layoffs and cuts in funding, calling it “a scary time.” He hoped that these uncertainties would be factored into budgetary projections.
Jordan requested that each of the city’s departments be questioned on how they would fare with a 5 to 10 percent budget cut.
Councilmembers Frankie Fritz and Danielle McKinney both requested that residents should be kept informed in real time throughout the budget process about how each development will affect them. Salmerón was committed to transparency, saying he would make this information available.
Legislative Priorities
The second half of the worksession was a discussion with the city’s two legislative consultants, who are charged with monitoring legislation that affects the city. Jim Tarlow, from LA Perez, will handle county legislation and Darrell Carrington from Carrington and Associates will follow the state. This is a new approach, with the goal being to get better coverage in this area.
Both consultants will provide weekly reports during both the county’s and the state’s legislative sessions, advising on which bills the city should focus on and the best way to advocate for the city’s best interests.
The council has recently held two retreats where legislative priorities for the next two years were discussed (see the December 25 issue). Priorities include: affordable and senior housing; the environment; transportation; just cause evictions and rent stabilization; ICE and immigration; and voting rights. The council will share these in more detail with the consultants.
There was a discussion on the city’s desire for more control in zoning, permitting and safety measures with its capital projects. There was a feeling that the city might at times be better able to perform than the county in these areas, and that more city autonomy would benefit all parties. It was hoped that the consultants could help make this possible. Yet, it was acknowledged that full control over these measures was unlikely.
Carrington and Jordan said that new leadership at the state level makes this a positive time for the interests of the city and District 22, with new Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk being a person known to Greenbelt. Carrington praised her work ethic and empathy for the needs of her constituents.
Tarlow advised a meeting soon with the county executive for the council to share its legislative concerns.
