Ocean City Must Postpone Budget Adoption

NOTE – It just goes to show that the Salisbury city government isn’t the only boo-boo prone show on Delmarva. – Ed.

The Ocean City Council has to wait two more weeks to adopt its new budget, because of an oversight regarding the required legal advertising.

The council passed the first reading of the $73.8 million budget May 16 and the second and final reading was scheduled to take place during Monday’s meeting. The council was told by City Solicitor Guy Ayres, however, that the vote would have to be postponed until the June 20 meeting.

The law requires that the budget and proposed ordinances must be advertised in a local newspaper. When the budget is first presented, it must be advertised in the newspaper two weeks in advance, for example.

Ayres said this was done properly when the budget was presented in April, but different requirements were not met in time to adopt the budget this week.

The budget is adopted as an ordinance, which goes through two readings, typically two weeks apart. Ordinances must be advertised in the paper between the first and second readings, Ayres said, and that did not happen for the budget.

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