The Bel Air Board of Town Commissioners unanimously approved a $12.8 million general fund budget for fiscal 2017 Monday evening, along with a $2.47 million sewer fund, a nearly $818,000 parking fund and more than $833,000 for the special revenue fund budget.
Next fiscal year's total budget for all funds is $17.01 million.
No one spoke during a public hearing on the prospective sewer, parking and special revenue budgets that preceded the commissioners' vote. An earlier hearing on the general fund budget, held April 20, prompted one public comment about how property tax rates have not budged since 2004, and whether or not Bel Air residents could be hit with a major tax increase in the future for which they are not prepared.
The final budget approved Monday does not have an increase in real or personal property tax rates, or sewer rates. It will take effect when the 2016-2017 fiscal year begins July 1.
Property tax rates will remain the same at 50 cents per $100 of real property valuation and $1.16 per $100 of personal property valuation. Both are the lowest among Harford County's three municipalities.
Town officials project real property taxes will raise the largest share of general fund revenue, $6.8 million, or 53.2 percent, according to the budget.
Sewer rates are also expected to remain the same, with the usage rate remaining at $5.91 per 1,000 gallons, town Finance Director Lisa Moody said.
The general fund budget will increase by $367,520, or by 2.9 percent, to reflect an increase in revenues, mainly in property taxes, income taxes, a slight increase in highway user revenues from the state and an anticipated $29,699 federal Justice Department COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) grant to help fund the salary and benefits of one additional police officer.
Town officials also plan to increase spending to fund a merit-based salary step increase for employees, with an average increase of about 3 percent.
The sewer fund is an enterprise fund supported primarily by charges to sewer customers. The town sends its sewage for treatment at Harford County government's treatment plants, and water is provided to Bel Air residents by the private Maryland American Water Company, whose rates are controlled by the Maryland Public Service Commission. Maryland American received an 11.9 percent rate increase effective in June 2015.
Next year's sewer budget will increase by $30,833, compared to the current fiscal year, Moody said. The largest expenditure is the town's payment of $1.63 million to the county for sewage treatment, a slight increase from $1.62 million for the current year.
Sewer fund expenditures also include a $264,907 transfer to the general fund to cover a "pro rata share" of salaries, benefits and overhead that are attributed to sewer operations, Moody said. That transfer is also increased slightly from the current year's transfer of $252,445
The parking fund is also a self-supporting enterprise fund, although its expenses will have the largest increase of Bel Air's four funds.
The parking fund budget will be $817,936 next year, compared to $515,209 this year. Much of the increase is driven by $298,571 in additional capital spending to cover upgrades to the Hickory Avenue parking garage such as electrical conduit work, new signage, security cameras and an energy upgrade, Moody said. She noted the energy upgrade will be covered by grant funds.
The garage is jointly owned by the town and county, who split expenses and repairs on a one-third town and two-thirds county basis.
The $833,517 special revenue fund accounts for "grants or other special projects that don't necessarily lend themselves to the normal fiscal year budgeting process," Moody said. This year's special revenue fund is $628,474.
The projects include $27,000 to reconstruct a stormwater outfall on town property in the 400 block of South Atwood Road, more than $96,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for town street repairs, $405,600 for a stream restoration project along Plumtree Run, $42,000 to improve the Plumtree Park playground and $115,600 in state bond funds to build a pavilion in Rockfield Park.
Commissioner Phil Einhorn thanked Moody "for doing a wonderful job on the budget."
"Class act," he said.
Commissioner Patrick Richards also thanked Moody for her leadership on the budget, as well as Town Administrator Jesse Bane and other town department heads for their efforts in "the tough process that all of you have to go through each year."
"We ask a lot of you all as it relates to cost-benefit analysis and what type of things we have to invest in now, what risks do we take on in the future if we don't make these expenditures," Richards said.