COUNTY EXECUTIVE POLLITT URGES CITIZEN PARTICIPATION DURING COUNTY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PROPOSED FY2014 OPERATING EXPENSE BUDGET

Salisbury, MD – On Thursday, May 16, 2013 the Wicomico County Council will be hosting their Public Hearing on County Executive Rick Pollitt’s proposed FY14 Budget in the Midway Room of the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center at 6pm.

On Tuesday, April 16, 2013 Executive Pollitt unveiled his fiscal 2014 budget proposal to Council. Pollitt and staff crafted the budget proposal after meeting with departments, grant agencies and most recently, citizens during his public hearing held April 11th. The FY14 budget proposal recommends an 8.6 percent increase in spending from the prior fiscal year.

Three key priorities of the proposal are education, rebuilding the County’s aging infrastructure, and reforming or eliminating taxes in order to Build a Bridge to Business and spur economic development.

“Once again, it is my great pleasure to be able to submit a budget proposal that is balanced in all respects and is able to take advantage of new revenue opportunities. I believe the increases in operational spending are sustainable and that the one-time use of fund balance for long-delayed and critically important projects will be well received by the citizens we were each elected to serve,” Pollitt commented. “This budget employs our usual, very conservative approach as to how we estimate revenues matched with our determination to tightly control expenses.”

One favorable outcome from the 2013 General Assembly session was a change to the Disparity Grant formula, resulting in an increase of grant funds to Wicomico County by nearly $4.5 million. Pollitt’s proposal allocates all of the increase to support education, in the K-12 system, in Wor-Wic Community College and in the Public Library.

This year’s budget proposal for K-12 education funding surpasses the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirement by $1 million. Additionally, the Executive is proposing to fund $1.8 million for school physical security and classroom technology enhancements, plus an additional $1 million to be used to fund capital projects identified in the Board of Education’s proposed budget and/or requested capital improvement program. Pollitt also increases funding for Wor-Wic Community College by nearly $700,000 and provides additional funding for the Public Library.

In the development of this year’s proposal, Pollitt’s focus was to match expense type to the funding source. Recurring annual expenses are to be paid using annual revenue and other non-recurring operating and capital expenses are paid using accumulated savings, while maintaining fund balance levels that meet annual operating, legal and policy requirements; reflect local and regional economic conditions, and; maintain the County’s excellent credit ratings. Maintaining a healthy fund balance is critical, as the County anticipates significant expenditures associated with the State-mandated Watershed Implementation Plan and Emergency Services Radio Equipment replacement.

Other key components in this year’s budget proposal are relocation of the State’s Attorney’s Office, catching up on infrastructure projects that had been deferred for several years, and supporting Maintaining Active Citizens’ (M.A.C.) Meals-on-Wheels program after recent federal sequestration cuts. The Roads Division will purchase new maintenance equipment that will move them toward becoming self-sufficient and eliminate costs involved with contracting certain road improvement projects.

The County Executive’s proposal also includes smaller-scale initiatives including restoration of normal operating hours for both Upper Ferry and Whitehaven Ferry. The proposed FY14 Operations and Expense Budget is available for review from the county’s website, under the What’s New section, www.wicomicocounty.org.

Executive Pollitt also touted a series of successful initiatives as evidence of Wicomico County’s renewed commitment to economic development. Those initiatives, at the local level, were the phasing out of the Inventory Tax over five years, the Automatic Manufacturer’s Tax Exemption – a measure recently passed by the County Council at Pollitt’s initiation and, at the state-level, the Property Tax Rate Decoupling legislation Pollitt spearheaded as President of the Maryland Association of Counties.

In closing, Pollitt added, “During the worst of the recent recession, our community stepped up to the plate to work with us in prioritizing our shared community goals. The new Parents in Action citizens group, wider business community and others across Wicomico spoke loudly that we must invest in our youth and in our county infrastructure to keep us competitive as the signature place on the Eastern Shore to live, work and raise a family. My budget reflects that strong community buy-in and I’m hopeful that the County Council will regard it as such.”