Aberdeen council approves 'emergency' ordinance to adjust fiscal 2016 budget, ensure clean audit

In order to keep the City of Aberdeen's books in good standing, the mayor and City Council recently approved an emergency ordinance to correct the balance sheets in last year's budget.The city's fiscal 2016 budget, which was closed out June 30, is currently being audited, an annual process for governing bodies.The auditors determined the city spent money last year in &quot;a greater proportion and a lesser proportion to the amount that was budgeted for,&quot; Mayor Patrick McGrady said during a council meeting Oct. 24.He and the four-member council voted unanimously that night in favor of Ordinance 16-O-19, which allows the city to move $151,000 that had not been spent on employee medical insurance to cover unforeseen expenses in the areas of information technology, municipal building repairs and debt service expenses.&quot;We're not increasing the budget – the net effect is zero,&quot; Finance Director Opiribo Jack told city leaders. &quot;We're just moving money from one category to another to comply with the city charter.&quot;City Manager Randy Robertson added that &quot;it's simply a bookkeeping matter.&quot;The mayor explained that approval was necessary to ensure the city receives an unqualified opinion from the auditors, meaning its fiscal 2016 books are clean and in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles.The majority of the funds transferred, $105,000, will cover information technology expenses. Robertson, who started working for the city in July, after the start of the current fiscal year, said there had been &quot;some major problems&quot; with software upgrades.&quot;Apparently, that cost a substantial amount more than was originally budgeted,&quot; he said.Another $45,000 will be transferred for municipal building repairs and $1,000 to cover loan fees, according to the ordinance.Robertson said he thought &quot;it's incumbent upon us&quot; for city staff to inform the mayor and council &quot;in a more timely manner&quot; where there are deficits or overages in the budget, especially &quot;when we reach a proportion in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.&quot;&quot;In the future, I think we're going to have to take on letting you know a littler quicker when we know,&quot; Robertson said.Public hearingsAberdeen residents will have the opportunity next month to weigh in on two ordinances the mayor and City Council introduced at last week's meeting.Ordinance 16-O-17, which applies to forest conservation easements on residential properties, and Ordinance 16-O-18, an amendment of the city's current budget, will be the subjects of public hearings starting at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, according to the City of Aberdeen website.The mayor and council voted unanimously to introduce both ordinances.The budget amendment for the fiscal 2017 budget covers revenue received after the budget took effect July 1 and increasing spending in specific areas beyond what was budgeted. That will create a net increase of $523,500 in the general fund, from $15.22 million to $15.74 million, according to the ordinance.The changes include accepting a $16,500 grant from the U.S. Justice Department for the police department, approving a police request to spend $7,000 in grant funds from the Treasury Department for Taser stun gun equipment, Finance Director Opiribo Jack said during the council meeting.The amount of money transferred from the general fund to the stadium fund would increase by $500,000, from $374,461 in the approved budget to $874,461 if the amendment is approved, according to the ordinance.The capital projects fund would increase by $355,713, from $1.3 million to $1.66 million, according to the ordinance. City officials want to accept $87,131 in grants from Harford County and carry over $268,582, which had not been spent last year, for street resurfacing projects, according to Jack.The forest conservation ordinance, if approved, means subdivision plans submitted to the city can no longer include forest conservation easements on single-family home properties.Phyllis Grover, director of planning and community development, noted property owners have been cutting down trees in their yards that are protected under forest conservation easements.Those easements prohibit any disturbance of the protected area.&quot;Unfortunately, we go through problems every year with enforcement and people going in and cutting those trees down,&quot; Grover said.Grover said future conservation easements should be in open space areas, &quot;preferably near non-tidal wetlands, steep slopes where they need to be protected,&quot; and not in residential yards.

Aberdeen council approves 'emergency' ordinance to adjust fiscal 2016 budget, ensure clean audit

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