County officials say no cuts needed in budget
Apr. 16—CUMBERLAND — Allegany County officials said Thursday all agency budget requests would be accommodated and no cuts would be needed from the county's $96.5 million fiscal year 2022 budget.
"I am happy to report that we do not have a budget deficit staring us in the face for this budget," County Administrator Jason Bennett said during a work session.
"We were able to fully fund all of the requests that came in from our outside agencies. Those were to their credit, very small. Everyone understood that we are still in uncertain times."
Bennett said the county will see a 1.9% increase in real estate taxes, amounting to $798,000 in revenue, fueled by an increase in state tax assessments and strong real estate sales, which have occurred in the last year and a half.
The new fiscal year begins July 1.
"The commissioners, once again, did not raise the (real estate) rates," said Bennett. "There is still modest increase and that is from assessment increases."
Bennett said the county is trending in the right direction and the budget represents a 2% increase over last year's.
"The biggest thing that saved us, and the reason we are balanced today, is that we did a major refinance back in the fall with the historical low interest rates. We were able to refinance our debt and reduce our debt from $3 million down to just under 1.2 million. So we had a large saving we will see for a couple of years."
The Board of Education asked for $31.2 million in funding from the county for the coming fiscal year, which was just $1 above last year's request.
"The BOE are in here with flat funding plus $1, and that was at their request. That extra $1 will get them additional state funding so it was an easy decision to make," said Bennett.
"Hats off to the BOE; I want to thank you," said Jake Shade, county commission president. "We have such a good working relationship with the board there and they recognize the budget restraints."
Bennett said the county is also expecting a 2.3% growth in income taxes, despite the state warning counties across the state of a steep decline in the income tax.
"The state said the sky is falling. We would lose all this money," said Shade. "To see the income taxes higher this year, with COVID than it is was the year before is incredible."
County employees will see a 2% cost of living increase in the budget.
Bennett added that the county would be able to fully meet capital requests this year. "We will add an ambulance for EMS, some road trucks and sheriff vehicles. We are able to keep up with our capital needs that for about a dozen years we had seen fall behind," he said.
Municipalities across Allegany County will soon benefit from funds contained in President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief package with includes funds for state and local governments.
Allegany County will receive $13 million, Cumberland will get $20 million and Frostburg $7 million.
"We know the stimulus is on its way. The small municipalities will also receive funding. We are still waiting on the guidelines of what all we can use if for," said Bennett. He added that that money was not included in the draft budget."
Bennett said that expenses associated with the Kirwin Bill — a major overhaul of the education, funneling large amounts into education upgrades — could dramatically increase expenses for the county in coming years. He warned that the package could add up to $800,000 in costs or more annually sometime in the future.
Greg Larry is a reporter at Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter.
