The Aberdeen City Council has unanimously approved a $14.36 million budget for fiscal year 2016, a 2.20 percent spending decrease from the current fiscal year's budget that also features a tax cut.
The budget cuts the property tax rate 2 cents, from 68 cents per $100 of assessed value to 66 cents.
"We were able to take that load off the citizens," Mayor Mike Bennett said, referring to the property tax rate cut, after the budget was passed at Monday night's council meeting.
Bennett explained the property tax rate decrease results from the expected revenue from the new 6 percent hotel and motel lodging tax Harford County approved earlier this year that went into effect in March. Because of its high concentration of hotels, Aberdeen is eligible to receive one-half of the revenue collected from room rentals within the city's borders.
By law, the lodging tax revenue must be used to fund tourism-related expenses, and Aberdeen is earmarking most of its share toward Ripken Stadium, the city-owned home of the Aberdeen IronBirds minor league baseball team affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles.
The lodging tax revenue "will give us the ability to get a lot more work done on the stadium, maintenance-wise, and keep it the number-one tourist attraction in Harford County," Bennett said about Ripken Stadium.
The capital budget for fiscal year 2016 was approved by the City Council at $875,105, a 76.4 percent decrease from this fiscal year, which includes about $1.2 million less for public works projects to repair streets and sidewalks.
In addition to the cut in the property tax rate, the new city budget keeps the same personal property tax and water and sewer rates.
The personal property tax rate is $1.70 per $100 of assessed value.
The quarterly water rate is $15.23 for the first 3,500 gallons or fewer and $4.60 for each additional 1,000 gallons consumed.
The quarterly sanitary sewer use rate would stay at $19.57 for the first 3,500 gallons and $5.58 for each additional 1,000 gallons of water usage.
Carol Bruce, a volunteer with the Aberdeen Board of Parks and Recreation's tennis program, who spoke at an earlier public hearing on the budget, also spoke at Monday's meeting to urge support for the tennis program and suggested a task force to study what activities can best be supported by the city.
She said she will be meeting with the Harford County Council representative for Aberdeen to discuss issues with the city's parks and recreation program.
"If we are going to be putting something together, there needs to be some youthful impact," she said, adding it is important to get more representation from young people involved in leading or choosing activities.
The new city budget takes effect July 1.