BUDGET WORK SESSION OF THE GREENBELT CITY COUNCIL held Monday, April 3, 2006, for the purpose of reviewing the General Fund Summary and Social Services sections of the proposed FY 2007 budget.

Mayor Davis started the meeting at 8:04 p.m. It was held in the Council Room of the Municipal Building.

PRESENT WERE: Councilmembers Konrad E. Herling and Rodney M. Roberts, and Mayor Judith F. Davis.

STAFF PRESENT WERE: Michael P. McLaughlin, City Manager; Jeff Williams, City Treasurer; Liz Park, Director of CARES; and David E. Moran, Assistant City Manager.

ALSO PRESENT WERE: Robert Fireovid; and Thomas White, News Review.

Social Services

Council agreed to review Social Services first. Dr. Park began a power-point presentation. [Due to inclement weather, the power went out during this presentation. Council continued the meeting in the hallway under a generator powered light.] Dr. Park highlighted the FY 2006 accomplishments for Youth and Family Services, the Greenbelt Assistance in Living program (GAIL) and the Service Coordination Program.

Next, Dr. Park summarized the issues facing Social Services and outlined the objectives for FY 2007. Council then reviewed each page of the Social Services section of the budget

There was some discussion about the homeless problem in Greenbelt and the resources available. Dr. Park noted that CARES mostly connects clients to county services.

Overview

Mr. McLaughlin reviewed the “Budget-at-a-Glance” summary page. He stated that property assessments were increasing 8%, which broke down to a 10% increase in residential property assessments and a 5% increase in commercial property assessments.

Mr. McLaughlin noted an increase in the transfer to reserve funds. He also reported that the City’s fund balance would increase to $1.4 million or 6.8% of the budget.

There was discussion about waste collection fees. It was noted that waste collection fees do not totally balance with expenses. One of the reasons for this is that the City government (and its buildings, facilities, and parks) is a substantial user of waste collection services, yet the City does not pay a fee.

Mayor Davis asked how the City was going to handle the “living wage” issue. Mr. McLaughlin noted that no current City employees were below a $10.50/hour wage and only one pay grade in the City’s classification was below this level. Mayor Davis indicated that Council’s direction was to also deal with a “living wage” for contractors and subcontractors. Mr. McLaughlin indicated he would bring this matter back to Council.

Revenues

Mr. Williams provided a summary of anticipated FY 2007 revenues. He noted that since FY 1995 the City’s average annual assessment increase has been 3%. He also stated that property taxes accounted for 57% of the City’s revenues in the FY 2007 budget. Mr. Williams highlighted some of the other revenue changes.

Mr. Williams also summarized key expenditure changes.

The meeting ended at 10:47 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

David E. Moran
Assistant City Manager

City of Greenbelt, Maryland
City Offices, 25 Crescent Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
Phone: 301-474-8000 FAX: 301-441-8248