Dear Residents:
This week we have two City Council meetings. On Monday, April 26 there’s a special budget session starting at 7:30 PM, in which we’ll have a presentation from staff on the City’s operating budget: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-budget-work-session-agenda-monday-april-26-2021/. And then on Wednesday, April 28 we will have a regular Council meeting, which will include two public hearings, one on the budget and another on the proposed property tax rate, as well as discussions on procurement of a leaf vacuum, bus shelters, and streetscape furnishings: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-april-28-2021/. In both meetings the Council will also be discussing -- in our process known as reconciliation -- potential changes to the proposed budget which has been recommended by the City Manager. For more information on all of these issues, see below.
The public may view the Council meetings on City TV (RCN – 13, HD 1060; Comcast/xfinity – 13, HD 997; Verizon Fios – 28), on the City Council Video Page of the City Website; on YouTube, or on Facebook. Sign up for the public hearings will be open until 5:00 PM on the day of the meeting. You can also sign up for public comments in Wednesday’s meeting on other issues through the sign-up link above.
BUDGET INFORMATION AND SCHEDULE
Budget Hearings: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210428-1-2-rev.pdf
Budget Schedule: After this week, we’ll be meeting again on the budget on Monday, May 3. At that meeting we’ll make some initial reconciliation decisions, with formal votes on the budget and property tax rate set for May 12 and 19.
Key Budget Documents:
City Manager’s Recommended Budget: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/finance/budgets-and-financial-documents/proposed-budget/FY22_Proposed_Budget.pdf
Initial Budget Presentation: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/Documents/FY22-Proposed-Budget-Presentation.pdf
Capital Budget Presentation: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210419-CM_FY22-BudgetPresentationCapital.pdf
Budget Background and My Perspective: The proposed budget calls for aggregate staffing levels to decline slightly, by .24 full-time equivalents. Last year, given the financial pressures of COVID, personnel costs increases were limited to 1.5 percent. Our Collective Bargaining Agreements allow for some upward adjustment this year, so we’ll have to monitor that process carefully as we move, I hope, toward a firmer financial footing with the vaccines taking hold.
Meanwhile, we’ll be receiving $14.8 million in Federal funding, as part of the COVID relief package championed by President Biden. We’ll receive those funds in two roughly equal tranches over the next few months, and the monies must be spent by the end of 2024. The funds are primarily for COVID relief or to fill gaps in financing caused by the pandemic. The money can’t be used to reduce taxes, but it can be used for sewer, water and broadband infrastructure. So, we’ll likely be using some of the funds to compensate for drops in Recreation Department revenues connected to COVID, and -- I hope -- to assist residents who may face eviction or food insecurity, along with small businesses that were hit hard by the pandemic.
We’re waiting for more specific guidance from the Treasury Department, but I’m anticipating we’ll be able to use these funds for stormwater infrastructure work, specifically to help address the problem of increased stormwater flow affecting private property from more intense rain storms due to climate change. If it turns out we can’t, then I’d favor using a portion of the $300,000 that’s in the budget for Council priorities for that purpose. We probably won’t have full access to or information on these Federal funds until after we move to finalize the budget. That means we’ll have to make a series of adjustments to the budget over the course of the year as the Federal funding becomes available and we make decisions on how to utilize it.
Another important timing question relates to the work of our Reimagining Public Safety Task Force. They will be making recommendations on potential changes to the Police Department and conceivably other areas of City government. We’re unlikely to have the full recommendations by our final votes on the budget, though we should have them before Fiscal Year 2022 begins on July 1. So, I may propose that we put a portion of the Police Department budget on hold pending hearing from the Task Force. The proposed budget calls for a 7% increase for the Department, so I think there’s room to make that type of move.
The City Manager has proposed a property tax increase of approximately one cent per $100 of property value, from the current rate of .5397 to a rate of .5500. The Constant Yield rate (the level at which the State estimates we’d realize the same overall amount of revenue from the property tax next year as this year) is .5295. So there’s about a two cent spread between Constant Yield and the proposed rate increase, with the current rate sandwiched in between. Constant Yield plus the Economic Cost Index (which measures labor cost increases) would be .5417. For these calculations, in this year’s budget one cent equals $257,870. So the difference in a budget pegged at Constant Yield or set at the amount in the proposed budget is slightly more than twice that, or $528,635. If the proposed budget were reduced by $257,870, the rate could stay at the current level. If the proposed budget is cut by $528,635, the rate would drop to Constant Yield. For illustration purposes, a resident whose home is assessed at $500,000 would owe $2,699 under the current rate and $2,750 if we adopted the rate in the recommended budget, a difference of $51.
While that amount may not be huge, as I’ve noted there are plenty of homeowners -- in particular older residents who bought their homes years ago and now live on fixed incomes -- for whom an increase may be challenging. In addition, for those whose assessments may have risen significantly, the impact could be more pronounced. Furthermore, many residents will see their annual stormwater fees rise under the new fee structure. So I’ll be seeking to bring the rate below the current level and ideally close to Constant Yield.
Among the proposed expenditures I’m looking at for potential cuts to achieve a lower tax are holding off for this year on the proposed $200,000 allocation to begin filling in the atrium “triangle” space in the Community Center; not including an additional $250,000 for possible affordable housing projects (we’ll have sufficient funds in the Housing Reserve); finding a less costly way to replace the City’s street sweeper, which if we go with the electric one the City is considering would cost over $500,000, with only half that coming from the reserve fund for City vehicles; cutting a portion of the Council priorities fund ($300,000) if we’re able to fund the stormwater work out of the Federal relief monies; and delaying for a year some of the tier III capital projects (which are meritorious, but don’t necessarily have to be done urgently this year).
During the five previous budget cycles I’ve been through in my City Council tenure, the trend has been to reduce the property tax rate or hold it flat, with one exception when there was a modest increase (which I didn’t support). When I was first elected the rate was .585, and in the following years the Council adjusted it to .5675, .5348, .5291, 5397 and again .5397 for the current year. All of which is to say I have a decent amount of confidence that we’ll either keep the rate where it is or reduce it. That’s the result I’ll be pushing for.
Montgomery County Tax Duplication: https://takomaparkmd.gov/uncategorized/action-needed-to-ensure-fair-tax-duplication-payments/. As mentioned in my blog several times recently, one key part of our budget work is seeking fair reimbursement from Montgomery County for services the City provides instead of the County. Following our recent passage of a City Council resolution calling on the County to include more funds in its budget this year to address tax duplication, Mayor Stewart posted the above blog on the topic. It includes details on how residents can express their views to the County Council. It’s vital that County Councilmembers hear from City residents about tax duplication, and I encourage residents to reach out to them as suggested by the Mayor. You don’t have to be a budget expert to weigh in with the County on this topic -- if you simply forward to County Councilmembers the City resolution (it’s in the above link) with a sentence or two on why you think they should address tax duplication that will work.
TAKOMA JUNCTION UPDATE
For those who may not have seen the City’s most recent statement -- dated April 23 -- on the status of efforts to address the Takoma Junction delivery issues, here’s a link to it: https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/communications-continue-with-ndc-and-tpss-co-op-regarding-deliveries/. My general approach when it comes to municipal matters is to share detailed information with residents on what’s happening in the Council and the City government. In the case of the recent Junction events, given the contractual/legal aspects, our two Council discussions with the City Attorney have been confidential in order to receive candid legal advice about potential courses of action. I regret that’s the situation we’re in, and I understand it can be frustrating. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to publicly share more information about these matters soon.
As I mentioned in the statement I circulated on April 17, “I believe the Co-op plays a very important role in the community, and I’d like to see this situation get resolved as quickly as possible so that uncertainties about the Co-op’s continued operation can be removed.” I’ll continue doing all I can to push for that goal.
COVID UPDATE
The Takoma Park COVID-19 Data Dashboard has been updated with data through April 23, 2021. Here are the key data points noted this week by City staff:
· 979 new residents received first doses and 1,075 became fully vaccinated, as the percent of vaccinated City residents increased to 31.3%.
· There were 17 new COVID-19 cases reported in the last week, bringing the City's total to 1,658 as the City's 7-day moving average of new cases remained stable. It is worth noting that -- while cases have declined from November-January highs, while many places are reopening, and while vaccine eligibility is expanding -- new cases remain at levels of community spread similar to late March-early April 2020, both in Takoma Park and across the US.
· Racial disparities in COVID-19 cases and vaccine distribution remain virtually unchanged. Hispanic residents represent 34.9% of COVID-19 cases but just 11.6% of Takoma Park's population; Black residents represent 32% of the City's population and 28% of cases, but just 21% of first-dose vaccine recipients with a known race/ethnicity.
The State of Maryland’s vaccination sites are open for registration to anyone age 16 and over. You can register at a mass vaccination site by visiting covidvax.maryland.gov or calling 1-855-MD-GOVAX (1-855-634-6829). To Find the nearest vaccination site, input your ZIP code. Use vaccinefinder.org to see the nearest location with vaccines available. In addition, you can sign up for Montgomery County vaccinations through their vaccine page: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/, or you can call 240-777-2982. For details testing options, please see the information here: Montgomery County Testing Sites.
CITY MANAGER SEARCH PROCESS.
With City Manager Suzanne Ludlow retiring at the end of June, the Council is conducting a search for her replacement, in coordination with our executive search contractor, Catherine Tuck Parrish of the Novak Consulting Group. We received over 60 applications, and the Council met in a closed session last week, as permitted under State law for discussions of personnel matters, to begin going over the applications. We’ve identified the applicants we’d like to interview and those meetings will be taking place next Month.
As I mentioned in last week’s blog, nearly 400 people responded to the City survey soliciting residents’ views on the qualities and backgrounds they’d like to see in the next City Manager, as well as key issues the new Manager should focus on. Among the issues most heavily emphasized by survey respondents were affordable housing, climate change, diversity, racial equity, community engagement, good fiscal management, and promotion of small businesses, As we review the applications and conduct the interviews, I’ll be taking into account the survey results, plus the many conversations I’ve had and emails I’ve received from residents concerning their preferences for the next occupant of this crucial position.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Reimaging Public Safety Task Force Listening Session -- Thursday, April 29, 5:30 PM. This is a great opportunity to let the Task Force members know your thoughts on potential reforms to our Police Department and other ideas for how to envision public safety in the City going forward, in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement and our efforts to help ensure that black and brown residents of Takoma Park are treated with fairness and dignity. Here’s the Zoom registration link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FAHvSk1CQOGTXfc2ncSSTA. You can see background on the Task Force here: https://takomaparkmd.gov/initiatives/project-directory/reimagining-public-safety/
The Return of Peter’s Office Hours -- Friday, April 30, 1:00 - 3:00 PM. During the pandemic virtually all my meetings have been virtual…Now that I’ve had both vaccination shots, with my two weeks after the second one coming up on Friday, I thought I would ease back into office hours, with social distancing and masks. So, weather permitting, I’ll be in the public part of the Laurel Avenue Streetery (at the end by the Post Office) on Friday. I’d like especially to hear from folks on the budget, but any topics are welcome. If it looks like the weather will be a problem, I’ll send out details on an alternative site or if necessary another day.
Summer Camps -- Registration Starts Next Week. The Recreation Department is gearing up for another summer camp season. Because of COVID-19 there will be fewer camps and activities than in more typical summers, but there will still be lots of opportunities. You can see details here: https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/recreation/camps/
THIS WEDNESDAY’S COUNCIL WORK SESSION
The Council will be discussing three procurement proposals, all of which would be funded out of previously approved budget allocations for the current fiscal year. The actual votes on these proposals would take place in a future Council meeting.
Leaf Vaccum: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210428-3a.pdf
Bus Shelters: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210428-3b.pdf
Streetscape Furnishings: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210428-3c-rev.pdf
Please be in touch with questions or comments about any of the issues covered in this blog.
Peter Kovar, Takoma Park City Council, Ward One
240-319-6281; www.councilmemberkovar.com
(He, Him, His)
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