The Annapolis city council is expected to approve tomorrow night a $55.6 million operating budget that includes only modest increases in city spending while maintaining the tax rate for property owners.
The council is also poised to approve the $43.3 million capital budget, which funds construction and improvements.
While the budgets of recent years have been altered significantly by last-minute council amendments, it is likely that this budget - the first proposed by Mayor Ellen O. Moyer - could pass with few changes other than those proposed by the finance committee with the mayor's support.
Alderman Joshua Cohen, a first-term Democrat who replaced Moyer in Ward 8 and serves on the finance committee, said he fully supports the budget with the committee's amendments.
"For the first time ever, it provides health care for public service retirees, it maintains the same level of services as last year and it does both of those things without raising the tax rate," Cohen said.
The city property tax rate is 62.4 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
The finance committee's amendment package - which was submitted for public hearing last month - was compiled after several council members submitted suggestions, said the committee chairman, Alderman Michael W. Fox. The amendments would increase the amount of grants to nonprofit organizations from $627,400, as it was in the original budget, to $699,650, an increase of more than $100,000 over this year's allocation.
Twenty-five organizations are expected to receive funding, with some of the largest grants going to the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau, the Youth Services Bureau, the Annapolis Maritime Museum and the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts.
The finance committee amendments also decrease the salary for a new position - coordinator of social programs - by $10,000, to $53,215. The position is one of 11 new positions proposed by the mayor.
Nearly $80,000 for a coordinated traffic-signal control system will be delayed until the next budget year.
As of Friday, three of the eight aldermen - Louise Hammond, Sheila Tolliver and David Cordle - said they had concerns about the budget but were not sure whether they would push for additional changes.
All three questioned the amount of money to be given in grants this year. "We are putting even more money in, and we are being sloppier and sloppier," Hammond said. "We are still operating with no set of criteria about who qualifies before we determine how much money they are getting."
The aldermen also questioned the need for some of the new positions, including the social programs coordinator.
Fox, who also said he was concerned about the process for doling out city grants, said he hoped the social programs coordinator would help streamline the grant process next year. He said he would also like the coordinator to help groups search for funding from other sources.
Tolliver, who along with Hammond helped push through significant budget amendments over the past three years, said she had different priorities. She may turn them into amendments but does not think she can rally the votes to support them.
"I think [the budget] could use a little work, but it is probably not going to get any," Tolliver said. She added, "I won't take a ceremonial stand to vote against the budget because I disagree with parts of it."
When the council meets tomorrow it could also vote on contracts with the city's employee unions.
Other items that might be considered include an ordinance that would eliminate the agenda item for public comment at regular meetings, moving it to the public hearing agenda.
Two other ordinances could also be voted on. The ordinances would change parking regulations for trailers and motorcycles.
The city council will meet at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in the council chambers in City Hall.