Responding to residents' concerns, Columbia Councilwoman Norma Rose urged colleagues last night to come to next week's budget work session armed with suggestions for cutting the Columbia Association's proposed operating and capital budgets.
"I was struck by the number of village boards that expressed some concern over rising costs," said Ms. Rose, of Wilde Lake Village.
However, even as Ms. Rose advocated reducing expenses, the council was hit last night with a last-minute request for a $20,000 contribution to a new organization, the county's quasi-public Economic Development Authority.
The independent authority is launching a $1 million, five-year fund-raising campaign to attract new businesses to the county and retain existing ones.
The association contributes annually to several communitywide foundations, programs and projects and has proposed $148,000 in grants for fiscal 1996, which begins May 1.
CA imposes an annual levy on Columbia property owners to generate funds with which to oversee recreational facilities, community services and parkland. It also raises revenue from fees for recreational memberships and other programs.
Village board representatives and several residents recommended at a Jan. 31 budget hearing that the council improve the nonprofit Columbia Association's (CA) efficiency, impose spending limits, reduce the $90 million debt and move slowly on new construction. They questioned why the operating budget is growing at a rate faster than inflation.
Ms. Rose said the association's proposed $33.4 million operating budget -- a 5.4 percent increase over this year -- and $6 million capital spending plan can be reduced by arranging priorities and developing alternative ways to offer services and programs.
"I don't think it means cuts in services," she said.
Other council members were not as confident.
"I don't think the budget ever represents a wild spending spree," said Councilwoman Suzanne Waller of Town Center. "It's a very conservative budget when it comes in initially [from association staff]. So when we consider cuts, we should keep that in mind."
In an interview yesterday, Ms. Rose said the council made "very few cuts" in CA budget proposals the previous two years.
Councilman Gary Glisan of Oakland Mills Village said that he's prepared to recommend budget reductions but that any proposed cuts are likely to anger some residents.
He said contributing to the Economic Development Authority will be a good investment for CA if the authority succeeds in attracting employers to Columbia.
Robert Kugler, an Oakland Mills Village resident, supported Ms. Rose's idea, suggesting ways CA could become more efficient. He advocated establishing clear goals for reducing CA's debt, increasing productivity while restricting growth in personnel costs and setting a 25-year capital project plan.
Budget adoption is scheduled Feb. 27.
In another budget-related matter, consultants who worked on a $28,600 salary-comparison study for CA were present to field questions from residents, but faced a nearly empty room. The council last month adopted new salary ranges -- allowing for higher maximum salaries for 31 of 36 association managers -- based on recommendations in the William M. Mercer Inc. study.
The report compared salary ranges for CA managers with salaries for comparable jobs in government, nonprofit associations, health clubs and industry. It determined that CA management salaries generally are below market averages.
Also last night, Councilwoman Evelyn Richardson reported that juveniles have been throwing rocks at workers recently at the Fairway Hills Golf Course construction site. The association has erected a chain link fence around the site for safety, which has disturbed some nearby residents, she said.