Dear Neighbors:
The Council meets twice this week: tonight (May 3) we have our final Monday session on the Fiscal Year 2022 budget (which starts July 1): https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-budget-work-session-monday-may-3-2021/. Then we have a regular meeting on Wednesday, May 5: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-meeting-agenda-wednesday-may-5-2021/.
Tonight we’ll continue with “reconciliation” (the process by which the Council modifies the CIty Manager’s recommended budget). To be specific, we’ll make preliminary decisions on changes to the proposed budget, with formal votes in our May 12 and 19 Council meetings. Typically, there aren’t many major changes after the final Monday reconciliation session, so tonight’s meeting will be an important one. There’s no public comment period in tonight’s meeting.
At this week’s Wednesday meeting, the Council will vote on three equipment purchases. They will be considered in a single “Consent Agenda” vote. The work session agenda items are the proposed closure of Anne Street for part of June 26 for a public event; two additional equipment funding proposals; and a continuation of our discussion on Council-appointed committees. There will also be a proclamation on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Awareness Day (May 12). Sign up for public comments will be open until 5:00 PM on the day of the meeting.
For more details on the agendas for both meetings, see below. You can view the 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.
BUDGET. If you scroll down a few paragraphs in last week’s blog you can see a lengthy write-up with my thoughts on the budget: http://www.councilmemberkovar.com/blog/2021/4/26/city-council-meetings-week-of-april-26-2021.
For tonight’s meeting, the following link includes a still-in-formation Reconciliation list: https://takomaparkmd.gov/meeting_agendas/city-council-budget-work-session-monday-may-3-2021/. That document also has details on the impact of various spending levels on the property tax. Net reductions in the proposed budget totaling $265,606 would be sufficient to keep the property tax rate at the current level. Further net cuts amounting to another $263,028 would enable us to reduce the rate all the way to Constant Yield. That’s the rate the State estimates would give Takoma Park the same overall amount of funding from the property tax in Fiscal Year 2022 as in the current fiscal year. I favor going no higher than the current rate, and I’d like ideally to reduce the rate in the direction of Constant Yield. While I’m continuing to review the budget, for now I’m supporting cuts of close to $400,000, including $250,000 in extraneous housing funds, and $50,000 from the Police Pension that’s beyond the contribution to the pension fund recommended by our outside actuarial firm.
That’s more than enough to avoid a tax rate increase this year. But I’m also strongly supporting the addition of $150,000 - $200,000 to begin the process of helping address stormwater problems on private property. We may ultimately be able to fund stormwater work from the Federal COVID assistance legislation signed recently by President Biden. But we don’t know for sure, and I don’t want to risk missing the chance for funding. So I think it’s prudent to include the stormwater funds in the budget now. There’s $300,000 in the budget available for Council priorities, so that can more than cover the stormwater funding. But there are other priorities which have been put forward by Councilmembers, some of which I support, including funds to advance our racial equity work, tree planting, and climate change. So, depending on how the votes go on the various Council priorities, I have reasonable confidence we can avoid increasing the property tax rate, but I’m not sure if we’ll be able to cut it, and if so, by how much.
COVID UPDATE
The COVID-19 Data Dashboard has been updated with data through April 30, 2021. Key data points noted by City staff:
· First-dose vaccination totals reached 10,293 City residents this week and fully-vaccinated totals reached 6,661; 58.2% of residents have received at least a first dose and 37.7% have been fully vaccinated.
· 23 new cases were reported in the last week, leaving April with 46 reported cases through April 30; while this will likely increase slightly as delayed cases are reported, this would represent the lowest case total since September 2020.
· The CDC has recommended resumption of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine after its pause, stating the vaccine may "increase [the] risk of a rare adverse event called [TTS]. Nearly all reports of this serious condition [involving blood clots] have been in adult women younger than 50 years old," but that the "known and potential benefits outweigh its known and potential risks" and that "women younger than 50 years old especially should be aware of the rare but increased risk of this [event] and that there are other COVID-19 vaccine options available for which this risk has not been seen." There have been 17 reported cases of this condition emerging so far among the more than 7 million J&J vaccines administered. 522 Takoma Park residents have received the J&J vaccine.
The State of Maryland’s vaccination sites are open 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. You can use vaccinefinder.org to identify the nearest non-mass vaccine location. And you can sign up for Montgomery County vaccinations through their vaccine page: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/covid19/vaccine/, or you can call 240-777-2982. There’s free COVID testing Saturdays in Takoma Park at the New Hampshire Avenue Recreation Center from 10:00 AM -- 5:00 PM. No identification, insurance, doctor’s note, or payment is required. For other testing options, please see the information here: Montgomery County Testing Sites.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Summer Camp Registration Starts This Week: https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/recreation-department-summer-camp-registration-begins-soon/
Safe Grow Photo Contest: https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/safe-grow-garden-contest-is-back-this-years-theme-together-we-bloom/. The deadline for submitting entries has been extended to May 8.
The Takoma Park 5K Run is back: https://takomaparkmd.gov/news-alert/tkpk5k-is-back-virtually-from-may-1-31/. This year it’s virtual. You can run any time from May 15 - 31.
City Manager’s Comments from April 28 Council Meeting: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-manager/city-manager-comments/2021/cm-comments-20210428.pdf
VOTING SESSION (Single Consent Agenda Vote on Three Proposed Purchases). Sufficient funds have previously been allocated for these purposes in the current fiscal year’s budget. I’ll be voting yes.
Leaf Vacuum: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210505-1a.pdf
Bus Shelters: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210505-1b.pdf
Streetscape Furnishings: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210505-1c.pdf
WORK SESSION
Anne Street Closure on June 26: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210505-2.pdf. The Takoma/Langley Crossroads Development Authority has requested permission to close one block of Anne Street from 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM on Saturday, June 26 for the Summer Mercado event. This is the same block that’s closed for part of every Wednesday (except in winter months) for the Crossroads Farmers Market.
Photocopier Lease: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210505-3a.pdf
Access Control System Purchase: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210505-3b-rev.pdf
Discussion of Committees: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/city-council/agendas/2021/council-20210505-4.pdf. Councilmembers Dyballa, Kostiuk and Searcy will continue to lead the discussion on improving the effectiveness of Council-appointed committees and increasing their diversity. This week we’ll focus on committees that work on issues and policy (such as the Committee on the Environment or the Recreation Committee) as opposed to those with regulatory or quasi-judicial functions (like the Tree Commission or the Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs), which we discussed in previous meetings.
Please be in touch with questions or comments about any of the topics included in this blog.
Peter Kovar, Takoma Park City Council, Ward One
240-319-6281; www.councilmemberkovar.com
(He, Him, His)
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