Good Evening Ward 1,
Below are a couple of things I appreciate from our city. Please see below for some budget highlights.
I will hold two budget meetings. One virtually, this Tuesday April 16th at 7pm (https://meet.google.com/qgr-mbsk-emt) and one at the Maple Avenue Community Center-Sammy Abbott Citizens' Center on Sunday at 3pm in the Hydrangea Room.
Thank you,
Shana
The Appointment of Corporal Torres as the LGBTQ+ Liaison for TPPD
Tips from the Takoma Park Police on Senior Safety:
Recommendations from LIDC on Storm Water projects:
Budget Highlights:
Link to Budget: https://documents.takomaparkmd.gov/government/finance/budgets-and-financial-documents/proposed-budget/FY25_Proposed_Budget.pdf
The City Manager’s proposed tax rate is $0.5522
(the Constant Yield Tax rate for FY25 is $0.5318)
Expenditures/Projects specifically in Ward 1
Public Works
Albany and Baltimore Avenue SW Treatment–StormWater Fund $70,000
Repairs to pipe system near Birch, Cedar & Barclay Avenue–Storm Water Fund, non-specified amount from a $200,000 being spent on system repair and improvements
Community Center: Refinishing dance room floor
Community Center: Replace flooring in auditorium bathroom and hallway
Community Center:Replace sink and cabinets in the Azalea Room
New Sidewalk Design & Construction
Chestnut Avenue, design underway
Darwin Ave, design underway
Hodges Lane, design underway
HVAC Control System Replacement in the Community Center (The prior system was installed in 2017 and is no longer supported. The new system is expected to include all HVAC equipment for all three floors and provide for greater efficiency through programming control)
Air Handler Unit– Teen Room (This project will replace the unit in the Teen Room installed in 2006 and working poorly. The replacement unit comes from the Computer Learning Center (removed due to Library renovation) and will enable the city to reduce the cost for unit replacement and improve the heating and cooling in the Teen Room.)(On a side note, I have seen the very popular Teen Lounge closed due to the temperature of the room)
Housing and Community Development
Maple Avenue Connectivity Project–Special Revenue Fund (grants) $240,000
Maple Avenue Connectivity City Match–General Fund $60,000
Met Branch Trail Project–Special Revenue Fund (grants) $425,000
Met Branch Trail Project City Match–General Fund $52,000
Library Facilities
Library State Grant–Special Revenue Fund (grants) $125,000
ARPA Funds $500,000
Cable Grants $2,500,000
Police Budget Highlights
Through the Speed and Red Light Camera Fund we project $1,892,340 in revenue
Total expenditures for police: 10,085,145
Police are 31% of General Fund expenditures
The inter-governmental (transfers from tax duplication) total for Police is $4,858,405.
We continue to see a reduction in speed camera violations over the years, which is bad for revenue but great for safety.
Other things of note:
There is a staffing decrease by 1.98 full-time equivalents.
There is an addition of a FTE Traffic Planner by eliminating a Policy Analyst within the City Manager’s office
Tax duplication payments have gone down by $28,000
The City’s Balancing Act Software is now up and ready for use. Please check it out.
The program which has traditionally funded community events such as the Folk Festival and the Independence Day activities is now a competitive grant with an application from fund of $60,000. We expect our Juneteenth event to be funded through this as well.
We now have a three year contract with AFSCME and UFCW Local 400 (FY24-FY26)
Allows for a reduction of legal services costs by 79,100 or 17.04%.
Wage increase was 4.5% FY25 for all employees
The Special Revenue Funds will likely continue to change through the year as staff hear back on current applications and submit for new funding opportunities
Storm Water fees have remained constant since FY2022 even though there is inflation and climate change makes these worsens storm water issues. Would we want to consider an increase in SW fees in 2026 or 2027?