FY-23 budget approved with no tax increase

(6/12) At its June meeting, the town council unanimously approved the town’s FY-23 operating budget.

Total expenditures for the general fund are expected to be$611,720. The water and sewer budget for next year is $504,859. The only difference in the budget since last year is an additional $3,000 toward community events, Burgess Heath Barnes said.

In addition, the Town Council approved maintaining Barnes’s recommendation to reduce the town’s property tax rate – keeping the revenue for the town in line with last year’s revenue and inline with the state’s recommended ‘constant yield rate."

"We keep a very tight budget, there is not a lot of revenue or expenditures and not a lot of wiggle room," he said. The town is immensely proud of the fact they have not had to raise taxes and the council praised Barnes for his efforts at obtaining grants for capital improvement projects.

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding was instrumental toward water and sewer projects which helped the town immensely maintain the line on taxes. "It has been a blessing for this town," Barnes said.

Woodsboro had the second lowest municipal tax rate in Frederick Country, according to Barnes. "And we plan to stay that way," he said.

Also within funding, the town got nearly everything it asked for in its Program Open Space (POS) application following the funding distribution recently. Items sought included Memorial Park flagpoles, playground equipment, and a pavilion for the disk golf course.

The town submitted for $76,000 worth of projects and through the POS grant funding, the only item the town did not receive was a wooden display box at the cost of approximately $800-$1,000, Barnes said.

The town will pay for 25 percent of the costs and will account for approximately $20,000 for FY-23. Program Open Space provides financial assistance for the planning, acquisition, and development of recreation land or open space areas.

$3 million was provided throughout Frederick Country through POS funding and $3.6 million was presented on behalf of municipality representatives. Barnes praised Commissioner Dana Crum for her excellent job of negotiating the town’s project funding needs.

Through a grant similar to that which paid for recent park stage and bridge construction, the town has put in a request for $240,000 to construct bathrooms by the park pavilion.

The town learned it can utilize ARPA funding for the water and sewage portion of the project, so the full one-time funding of $240,000 may be utilized toward building the restroom structure. "We’re seeing a lot of grants now and we’re taking advantage of what we can," Barnes said.

It is an approximate six to eight weeks for the electric company to provide an estimate for the bathroom project, he said. Barnes said he hoped to not only see electricity routed to the bathrooms, but the concert stage in time for the Woodsboro Days Festival in October.