Council Members Take Stand on Budget Austerity

City Council voted to introduce a draft budget on Thursday night (April 11) that asks local taxpayers for just 1 percent more in 2013 than in 2012.

The vote was a procedural measure that leads to a public hearing and final vote on the budget on May 16, but it passed by only a one-vote margin, 4-3.

Councilman Keith Hartzell and Councilman Scott Ping said they couldn't support introduction of the budget because there was no attempt by the city administration to look at an alternative Ocean City Fire Department staffing model they had proposed 18 months ago.

"That's unacceptable to me," Hartzell said.

Councilman Pete Guinosso joined Hartzell and Ping in voting against introduction of the budget.

Hartzell and Ping had suggested the city consider staffing models that use lower-paid EMTs to replace firefighters doing EMT work. They said the change could save the city more than $200,000.

Prior to the budget discussion, Mayor Jay Gillian had reported to City Council that he hopes to complete a comprehensive review of police and fire department staffing, overtime, response times and shared services ("a serious, no-B.S. look into public safety").

"I'll take the mayor at his word that he'll look at public safety in its entirety," Councilman Tony Wilson said in supporting the budget introduction.

Gillian's administration in February had proposed a budget of $70,957,959, representing a $2.2 million (or 3.27 percent) increase over last year's $68.7 million budget. But because projected local revenue (largely from parking, construction code and Aquatics and Fitness Center fees) increases by $2 million, the draft budget increases the tax levy ($43.7 million for 2013) by just $440,390.

On Thursday, City Council approved a procedural ordinance that allows the city to exceed a 2 percent cap on spending increases. The city remains $2.2 million below the cap on tax levy increases, according to Finance Director Frank Donato.

Since the budget was introduced in February, minor changes in grants and capital spending have been made, and $11,000 was added to make a part-time construction code inspector full-time.

Council members asked the adminstration to explore alternative scenarios to bringing on another full-time employee.

While Ocean City taxpayers on average will pay just 1 percent more in taxes next year, who pays more and who pays less will depend on whose property assessments were changed. Through tax appeals, storm-damage reassessments and a regularly scheduled program of reassessments to select areas, Ocean City's ratable base fell by 6.96 percent. The proposed tax rate climbs by more than 8 percent.

Owners whose properties were reassessed (on average) will pay less in taxes (as the decrease in their property value will more than offset the rate increase). But owners whose properties were not reassessed will pay more in taxes.

Ocean City's overall ratable base falls from $12.2 billion to $11.3 billion.

See a summary of the proposed budget by clicking on the PDF icon above. The full proposed budget will be posted on the City of Ocean City website.