The city's $2.5 billion budget is running a slight surplus, due in large part to business growth and a stronger than expected housing market, Baltimore officials said Tuesday.
Andrew Kleine, the city's budget director, said revenue is about $12.4 million ahead of projections. Nearly $34 million in higher-than-expected property tax collections are helping the city overcome losses because of high police overtime costs and lagging revenue from the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore.
Property taxes also have helped the city absorb snow removal costs that ran to an estimated $7.8 million — twice the $3.5 million that was budgeted.
Kleine said the surplus means the city can avoid painful cuts. Conservative budget practices also have helped boost the bottom line, he said.
"We're not having to freeze hiring or take any drastic action," Kleine said. "Things have broken in our favor."
He presented members of the City Council with a mid-year budget review Tuesday. The budget year ends June 30.
The council's budget committee, led by City Councilwoman Helen Holton, grilled budget officials for nearly two hours over the spending plan. Holton said she wanted agencies to provide information about the number of vacant positions they have on the books. Reducing those numbers could help lower spending, she said.
"It's important that we drill down," she said. "We're all working to be good fiscal stewards over the resources that come from the citizens of Baltimore, who pay a fair share of taxes."
Kleine earlier had forecast a $15 million shortfall this fiscal year.
He said a healthier economy led to increased median home values and strengthened the housing market. The city also is collecting taxes on new business throughout the city, he said. And nonprofits that no longer qualified for tax exempt status have been added to the tax rolls.
Police overtime costs, meanwhile, continue to come in high. A new patrol schedule for officers, rolled out earlier this year, is helping to bring down costs. Kleine projects nearly $33 million in spending on overtime, down from $38 million. The city had budgeted $20.5 million for overtime.
Revenue from the casino is $9.2 million less than expected. Kleine said the crowds state officials originally anticipated haven't materialized.
On the positive side of the balance sheet, the city spent $3.5 million less than projected to fix part of East 26th Street after a massive collapse last year following heavy rainfall.
Baltimore Sun reporter Luke Broadwater contributed to this article.
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