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Sunday, June 05, 2011

Worcester Budget Includes Aids to Towns, Ocean Pines

The town of Ocean City is slated to receive $4.6 million in county funds in the county’s fiscal year 2012 budget to be passed next week.

The largest portion of that money is an unrestricted grant of $1.76 million. Ocean City is also set to receive an ambulance grant of $1.2 million, $430,000 for beach maintenance debt service, $270,000 for tourism marketing, a restricted fire grant of $134,000, $90,000 each for downtown redevelopment and recreation and $45,000 for the convention bureau.

The town of Ocean City would also receive $400,000 as an unrestricted grant. The towns of Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke would receive the same grant and each town would get $199,743 for its volunteer fire company.

Ocean City’s share of revenues, which total $12.55 million, are $10.7 million in room tax, $997,500 in food tax, $526,101 in income tax, $292,594 from liquor license distributions and $2,000 in bingo license receipts. The resort will also receive state aid pass-throughs for the fire company of $34,560.

Altogether, Ocean City is slated to receive $17.22 million.

In addition to the unrestricted $400,000 grant, the town of Berlin is pegged to get a restricted fire grant of $183,000 and $4,500 for tourism marketing. The town is also slated to get a $563,979 ambulance grant.

As for shared revenues, Berlin would receive $239,362 in income tax, $14,127 in room tax and $4,688 for liquor license distributions. It would also get $30,558 in state aid for the fire company. Altogether, Berlin should receive $1.63 million.

The municipality of Snow Hill is expected to get the $400,000 unrestricted grant, $4,500 for tourism marketing, $90,000 in other grants and $90 for a restricted fire grant. Its shared revenues would be $$96,763 in income tax, $4,347 in room tax and $4,688 in liquor license distributions. It would also get $23,922 in state aid for its fire company.

Pocomoke City would receive the restricted grant of $400,000, $4,500 for tourism marketing, a restricted fire grant of $59,000 and an ambulance grant of $383,395. It would also get shared revenues of $164,848 in income tax, $114,109 in room tax and $9,375 in liquor license distributions. It would also get $31,688 in state aid pass-throughs for the fire company.

Ocean Pines, which is a homeowners association and not a municipality, does not get the unrestricted grant of $400,000 and the shared revenues, but will receive $400,000 for police aid, a restricted fire grant of $43,000 and $26,459 for streets. Ocean Pines is also slated to get $199,743 for the volunteer fire department, $301,011 for an ambulance grant and a state pass-through for the fire department of $23,424.

The county commissioners are scheduled to adopt the fiscal year 2012 budget on Tuesday, June 7.

from Nancy Powell @ Ocean City Today

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

UnFreaking Real!!!!..While OC gets paid County employee cont. to get screwed..Oh BTW--OC going to get more Money from the slots than the county??? how is that right...OCPD going to make out like a bandit..while our county law enforcement continues to give us mild protection and make less money. How as citizens deserve this. Pay more for protection and get less of it. Citizens I say we need more protection before crime gets out of hand like it has in Salisbury

Anonymous said...

9:11 maybe you should read these facts and get them straight. I don't see anywhere in this article where a police department ANYWHERE in the county is getting anything at this time. It appears to me that the Fire Departments are making out like bandits. So I don't want to hear anyone whimper about the Fire Department in any part of the county not getting anything. And as for the grant money going to Ocean City for there ambulance grant and fire grant. Is that money going to the PAID side or the VOLUNTEER side since the name has changed to Ocean City Fire Dept. and is no longer Ocean City Volunteer Fire Dept. Now with receiving that kind of money, the Town Council should not complain when the fire department has to answer calls in West OC.