The Budget Officer for Allegany County has finalized and
released the Tentative Budget for its day-to-day operations in calendar year
2019. The consolidated total for the
nine major appropriation funds will be $121,989,720 representing an increase of
$3,346,487 from the same period in 2018.
The Tentative Budget does not provide for a tax increase for
2019. The Tentative Budget was filed with the Clerk of the Board of Legislators
on October 3, 2018, and in the coming weeks, will be reviewed by the Ways and
Means Committee as well as the full Board of Legislators where it will be
subject to further amendment.
This was a very difficult budget to assemble and will
present a number of challenges moving forward.
It is a tight budget that will require the consistent oversight and
management of all involved parties to remain on target. Preparation of this year’s budget was
completed through a collaborative effort of the County Treasurer/Deputy Budget
Officer, Elected Officials, the Budget Committee, and our Department
Heads. Their participation and
cooperation throughout the process was instrumental in the completion of this
document and laid the foundation needed to continue the day-to-day operations
of Allegany County.
Cost drivers for the increases in the proposed 2019 Budget
can be directly linked to three main areas.
The first area represents the new requirements Raise the Age (RTA)
implemented on October 1, 2018. This
initiative alone adds slightly more than $1 million to our 2019 Budget
process. The positive aspect of this
line item is that it is 100 percent State funded thus negating the need for any
County contribution(s). The second
primary driver is the rising costs of health care. This specific line will add an additional
$1.1 million to the budget for the provision of health care benefits for
current and retired County employees.
The third component is salary and fringe benefit increases in the amount
of nearly $750,000. This increase
reflects wage increases for our employees represented through Collective
Bargaining Agreements and other non-represented individuals. The remainder of the budget increase is
contained within several other services.
Allegany County continues to exceed budget projections in
the area of Sales Tax Collection.
Projections place the County ahead of the budgeted $19,500,000 in excess
of $1 million. Much has been said about
reducing the Sales Tax rate, but we are locked in to this rate until 2021 when
the current sales tax extenders are set to expire. The proposed 2019 Budget includes an increase
of projected revenue by $1 million. This
area has always been a moving target despite our best efforts to be both
conservative and as realistic as possible for this revenue stream.
The original budgeted expense request submittals totaled
$123,808,933. That figure included
requests for additional personnel in several departments. The vast majority of those positions, while
needed, will not be included in the 2019 Budget. Two road and bridge projects have been
deferred but could be added to the budget pending the receipt of anticipated
funds from the State.
The budget calls for the usage of $4 million from the Fund
Balance Account to balance the budget and maintain our current Real Property
Tax Levy. Despite the utilization of the
Fund Balance Account, we will retain a fund balance moving forward of
approximately $23.5 million. This ensures that sufficient funds will remain
available to fund County operations for a minimum of 2 months in the event that
unforeseen economic conditions befall us.
The Tentative Budget, in its entirety, will be posted and
made available on the County’s website at www.alleganyco.com for public inspection and will be subject to
a mandatory Public Hearing on November 8, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. in the Legislative
Chambers of the County Office Building.
