As Chestertown prepares for a mayoral and council election, one document that all interested parties should review carefully before voting is none other than the town’s budget for the current fiscal year.
While it is not the most exciting read, there is nothing as clear or unambiguous as an annual operating budget to highlight the real priorities of a municipality. And here, in black and white, are the choices the town leaders have made on where taxpayer money is spent.
Simply stated, with a $3.2 million budget, Chestertown allocates almost 96% of its resources to four primary areas; police protection ($1.3 million) road maintenance ($933,000), trash collection ($251,000) and the staff to run those departments ($524,000).
What is left is very small change. The town’s operational commitment to recreational programming is $26,150, which is considerably less that the cost of enforcing parking. The allocation for marketing Chestertown is under $25,000, or roughly half of the current travel budget for town employees and office holders. And there was not one program dollar funded for economic development while this year the town police dog will cost $5,000.*
These contrasts are not highlighted to necessarily imply poor budget choices. It is hard to judge the importance of canine public safety as opposed to funding a part-time town recreation director for example. But they do illustrate what priorities our local government funds.
A reasonable question for voters to ask candidates this year will be how they would maintain or change the current distribution of taxpayer funds. Is our need for the highest possible level of police protection, regardless of relatively low crime rates, justified when the town offers no serious recreational programming?
Likewise, is it acceptable for Chestertown not to aggressively promote the town to assist our ailing retail community. And is it a good decision not to dedicate any resources at all for the town’s long term economic development?
Some would argue that recreation, marketing, and economic development are best handled at the county level, but increasingly those budgets are being trimmed. Nor is the county eager to dedicate resources in these areas for the exclusive needs of Chestertown.
At what point does Chestertown attempt to address these real and important needs? Those are some of the questions for those running for Mayor and Council to answer over the next two months.
* Corrected figure from original post of $15,000.
Holly Geddes says
Editor,
The editorial: “Election 2013 and the Chestertown Budget” makes many good points. I agree that the budget of Chestertown should be a major concern of any candidate. I have read it through a number of times and I find issues that need to be addressed. Many of the changes included in my literature will impact the budget, hopefully for the better. This is important because the money that the town uses comes from the taxes we all pay.
I want to change a number of policies including economic development, marketing and promotion, parking, planning and design of projects like the marina and parks and zoning. There are also issues with how the accounting of the budget is organized and presented.
We very much need a town employee to work on economic development for Chestertown in particular rather than relying on the county office. I want someone to work on this and marketing which includes promotion. If done properly this will cost less than it will bring to the town.I want to investigate which budget items need to be re-arranged to make it possible to increase the focus on promotion and development.
Parking in town is a significant issue. The town is spending more on parking meters than they bring in. But the meters are only a small part of the problem of disorganized parking procedures. For example, we need signs that point to where parking is available. We need to review the everyday parking situation and also special event parking. Providing sufficient parking for large events like Tea Party will impact the budget.
Of course, what we do with the marina will have a large impact on the budget. If the design is not done properly, the cost could create havoc with Chestertown’s bank account. Those who will operate the marina should be consulted in the design phase. Also, the county office of development is concerned with the total waterfront, not just the section the town will pay for. Some of the property belongs to the College and they will want to design their own property for their own use. The interests of the county and the town need to be coordinated so that neither one is harmed inadvertently.
There are other issues with the budget that need to be amended. The accounting is vague and disorganized. Think of it like your family budget. A budget is both a planning tool and measure of success. In your home, your “operating budget” indicates the money you use to pay regular bills like the mortgage and heating bill. Your “capital improvement” budget includes those items you buy infrequently to improve your lifestyle, like a new water heater or car. This money may come from your income or special sources like birthday gifts. You also probably have money set aside money for emergencies. The same scheme should be clearly stated in a town budget.
Currently there is no specific Capital Expenditure Fund.This means that the money to fix roads and water lines, buy property, improve or repair buildings and/or property like the marina, comes from the general operating funds. There is no specific fund for big projects, so there is no account in which to place the money that will to be used. The problem with this is that there can be no planning for these items without a dedicated budget. Logically, impact fees, new construction fees and a percentage of the real estate tax should be dedicated to a Capital Fund. Then there would be money available to pay for proper design and building of needed projects.
The Capital Budget should contain statements for sub-categories like financing, physical design and implementation plans and their schedules. I don’t see these in the current budget. As a result, we get a grant of less than $150,000 to pay for a park that will likely cost $350,000 to build properly.
It is the job of the mayor and council to clearly tell the town office staff what they want included in the budget. Currently, the budget merges all funds so that “cash on hand” is a meaningless number. I want clarity. I also want specific income sources to be designated for specific purposes. For instance, the hotel/B&B tax ($90,000) is supposed to go toward promotion and economic development especially in the tourist business. Instead the tax goes into the general (operational) fund without specifying its use. The amount spent on “public relations” is only $24,280. It is not clear if this is used for marketing the town or something else. The mayor must understand budgets and economics enough to be able to lead the town government to financial clarity. I will be that mayor.
MBTroup says
Editor,
As someone who has contributed material on this very subject, I agree with the meat of this editorial. There is a disconnect between the supply of recreation programs/facilities in the upper shore market, and the demand for these things. Allocating a larger portion of the budget to these initiatives would certainly give the feeling that something is being done. Even without a larger allocation, there is a mechanism in place for that something.
Under the direction of chairman Bill Arrowood, the Chestertown Recreation Commission is working towards creating a marketplace where users of these programs can be joined with those who provide them. The movie night series was a good way to get people some fresh air and exposure to the CRC, with minimal budget impact. The bocce league is the brainchild of a resident who asked the CRC to help launch the program. With it being pay to play, it is essentially budget neutral. There are also several grant applications in various stages to improve community parks and playgrounds. If those funds are approved, indeed the town will have to look at funding for maintenance.
If a resident has anything on their recreational wish list that they want to have the CRC assist in implementation, give a shout to any of the CRC members. The publisher has my e-mail address as well.
Regards,
MBT
https://www.chestertown.com/gov/commissions.php