The Columbia Council has tentatively agreed to cut $814,000 from the Columbia Association's proposed 1995-1996 capital budget, deciding that several big-ticket items can be put off at least a year.
If approved at meetings tomorrow night and perhaps Tuesday night, those cuts would mean a 14 percent reduction in the proposed $6 million capital budget and would show that the council is responding to community concerns about overspending, said Vice Chairman David Berson.
"One thing that has come through from the community loud and clear is that the growth of overall spending is too fast," said the River Hill village representative.
At a seven-hour work session that ended at 2 a.m. Friday, the council tentatively approved the most expensive and controversial capital project, a $1.4 million deal with the Rouse Co. to buy land for a recreational vehicle parking facility.
In exchange, Rouse would grant the CA the right to impose its annual levy on two properties now excluded from the charge, a financial transaction most council members say is too favorable to refuse.
The council took nonbinding votes on several capital items. Projects that could be deferred include:
* $500,000 for a new irrigation system for the Hobbit's Glen Golf Club.
* $200,000 for improvements to the aging Swansfield and Faulkner Ridge neighborhood centers.
* $114,000 to dredge a pond in Symphony Woods, part of a proposed $600,000, multiyear project to improve the Town Center park.
"These are things we thought at a minimum could be deferred," Mr. Berson said, adding that none of the proposed projects is a "boondoggle."
The cuts also would save $56,000 on interest and depreciation in CA's proposed $33.4 million operating budget, CA spokeswoman Pamela Mack said.
The 10-member council dead locked over whether to cut $195,000 to stem stone-wall erosion and build a dock along the edge of Lake Kittamaqundi at the Town Center plaza.
The council plans to adopt the fiscal 1996 CA budget -- which takes effect May 1 -- at 8 p.m. tomorrow night, but it could #F postpone a vote until Tuesday.
The elected council sets policy and the budget for CA, the private, nonprofit organization that imposes an annual levy on Columbia property owners to help pay for recreational facilities, community services and parkland maintenance.
The council had a more difficult time deciding how to trim the operating budget. After about four hours of discussion, tentative agreement was reached on only one cut -- an estimated $30,000 by reducing the Columbia Volunteer Corps director to a half-time position.
"There was great interest in making cuts, but frustration in not finding places to do it," said Councilman Chuck Rees of Kings Contrivance village.
More cuts could be in the works. Mr. Berson said he plans to propose that association managers cut 1 percent overall from the operating budget, excluding certain fixed costs. That could save between $150,000 and $200,000.
CA managers would be requested to find cuts without reducing services to residents, he said, and would be evaluated during performance reviews on how well they do that. "By allowing senior managers to decide where to cut, we're empowering them to manage and use their expertise," Mr. Berson said.
Finding those reductions also would give council members more leeway to make any late additions to the budget, such as a $10,000 contribution the county Economic Development Authority requested earlier this month.
The council was divided over whether to reduce from 4 percent to 3.5 percent increases in merit raises for CA employees and grants to Columbia's 10 village associations, which could save about $47,000.