Annapolis mayor proposes $145M budget
Mayor Gavin Buckley has introduced his $145 million budget, proposing with it no new taxes and several additions to city departments despite an income tax revenue shortfall.
Buckley, who also delivered his State of the City address on Monday, highlighted ongoing efforts to invest in infrastructure, identify new revenue streams and combat flooding on City Dock while enhancing the downtown attraction.
“Annapolis is strong,” Buckley said, “and the citizens are fighting to make it stronger.”
The city has identified untapped money, including a pass-through tax on short-term rentals such as AirBnb and VRBO, which will help make up for less revenue from income taxes. The city has not been collecting hotel tax on these popular alternatives to traditional hotels or bed-andbreakfasts, nor has it been collecting its share of hotel taxes from booking platforms such as Priceline.
Still, proposed expenses in the general fund exceed revenues by $1.9 million. City Manager Teresa Sutherland said the difference will come from fund balance.
Total expenses, including those generated by enterprise funds, exceed revenues by $5.3 million. The mayor proposes $145 million in expenses and about $140 million in revenue.
In his State of the City address, Buckley highlighted the influence of the late House of Delegates Speaker Michael Busch, who died last Sunday.
Busch was instrumental in securing from the state for the first time a recurring $750,000 contribution to the city for “payments in lieu of taxes,” or PILOT, that will increase with inflation. The payments will not appear in the city budget until 2021.
Buckley announced a new pedestrian greenway across Spa Road to be called Busch Walk in honor of the speaker.
Sutherland and finance director Jodee Dickenson worked in the last year to clean up the city’s finances, Buckley said, and closed out several pre-existing “revolving funds” that supplied departments with unappropriated money once their budgets dried up.
The budget includes several shakeups in the structure of city government, including dissolving the Office of Environmental Policy.
Environmental Policy Director Jackie Guild would become an adviser in the mayor’s office, instead of the director of a
Buckley, who also delivered his State of the City address on Monday, highlighted ongoing efforts to invest in infrastructure, identify new revenue streams and combat flooding on City Dock while enhancing the downtown attraction.
“Annapolis is strong,” Buckley said, “and the citizens are fighting to make it stronger.”
The city has identified untapped money, including a pass-through tax on short-term rentals such as AirBnb and VRBO, which will help make up for less revenue from income taxes. The city has not been collecting hotel tax on these popular alternatives to traditional hotels or bed-andbreakfasts, nor has it been collecting its share of hotel taxes from booking platforms such as Priceline.
Still, proposed expenses in the general fund exceed revenues by $1.9 million. City Manager Teresa Sutherland said the difference will come from fund balance.
Total expenses, including those generated by enterprise funds, exceed revenues by $5.3 million. The mayor proposes $145 million in expenses and about $140 million in revenue.
In his State of the City address, Buckley highlighted the influence of the late House of Delegates Speaker Michael Busch, who died last Sunday.
Busch was instrumental in securing from the state for the first time a recurring $750,000 contribution to the city for “payments in lieu of taxes,” or PILOT, that will increase with inflation. The payments will not appear in the city budget until 2021.
Buckley announced a new pedestrian greenway across Spa Road to be called Busch Walk in honor of the speaker.
Sutherland and finance director Jodee Dickenson worked in the last year to clean up the city’s finances, Buckley said, and closed out several pre-existing “revolving funds” that supplied departments with unappropriated money once their budgets dried up.
The budget includes several shakeups in the structure of city government, including dissolving the Office of Environmental Policy.
Environmental Policy Director Jackie Guild would become an adviser in the mayor’s office, instead of the director of a
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