March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 45 F

Mayor Buckley to deliver budget and State of the City address to council tomorrow

Mayor Gavin Buckley will deliver the annual “State of the City” address to the City Council on Monday, April 13 at 7 p.m. during the second-ever “virtual” Annapolis City Council meeting. The Mayor’s Budget will be introduced during the same meeting.

“The first two budgets of my time in office have revolved around getting our financial house in order and adding transparency to the way the City operates,” Mayor Buckley said. “This year is going to be different because we are in a very difficult economic situation and we’ve had to make a lot of tough decisions to bring in a balanced budget for the council to consider.”

Throughout the State of Emergency, City staff have worked under the guidance of City Manager David Jarrell to produce an on-time Mayor’s Budget.

The Budget Process:

On Monday, April 13, Mayor Gavin Buckley will introduce the Mayor’s Budget as a City ordinance.

Next, the Finance Committee, a standing committee of the City Council chaired by Alderman Ross Arnett (Democrat, Ward 8), with Alderman Fred Paone (Republican, Ward 2) and Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson (Democrat, Ward 4), will review and amend the Operating and Capital portions of the budget. This review takes place over several weeks and multiple Finance Committee meetings.

During the State of Emergency for COVID-19, all meetings will be held virtually but will be broadcast on Annapolis City TV, YouTube and Facebook Live. Public testimony will be accepted online at least four hours prior to each meeting. Public testimony can be submitted online at www.Annapolis.gov/testimony.

Two citizen commissions also conduct reviews and can recommend amendments or changes: the Planning Commission may review and make recommendations to the Capital budget; the Financial Advisory Commission may review and make recommendations to both the Operating and Capital budgets. Once the commissions’ recommendations are sent to the Finance Committee and amendments agreed to by the Committee, a recommended budget is sent to the City Council to be further amended and adopted.

Council members may adopt the Mayor’s Budget as-is. The Council will consider the recommendations of the Finance Committee. They may elect to move money within departments or between departments. They may come up with new spending. However, the Council must pass a balanced budget. If new appropriations are added, there needs to be a commensurate revenue increase (taxes or fines) to pay for the increases or a cut somewhere else in the budget.

The final date for passage of the final adopted City Budget is June 30.

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