OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Annapolis Finance Committee Meeting - October 1, 2025

City Council — Wednesday, October 1, 2025
BodyAnnapolis, Maryland
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, October 1, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 47:37

Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

The finance standing committee called to order at 1033 a.m.

0:07

on October 1st.

0:09

Happy fall, y'all.

0:11

Uh happy first of the month.

0:13

Pay your whatever, Ren, credit card bill, whatever it is you pay on the first of the month.

0:19

Uh thanks everybody for being here.

0:22

We have a relatively light agenda, but some heavy items on it.

0:27

So hopefully it will not go quite as long as our last finance committee meeting.

0:33

All right.

0:34

Uh with that, we will have.

0:37

Oh, there we go.

0:38

We do have auto woman fin license.

0:39

We'll have a roll call.

0:40

Um auto and finlayson.

0:43

Uh present.

0:44

Mr.

0:44

Chair, the camera's not on for uh council chambers.

0:48

Could we fix that, please?

0:51

Yeah, let's make a second while we get that fixed.

0:56

Madeline is working it out.

1:00

I'm just gonna finish the roll call.

1:01

Auto Roman O'Neil.

1:03

Auto Anomaly's present.

1:05

Um, but we'll wait to get it's it seems to be working now.

1:10

Okay, excellent.

1:14

And then moving on to approval of the agenda.

1:16

Is there a motion to approve the agenda as written?

1:20

Make a motion to approve the agenda as written.

1:22

Second.

1:23

All those in favor say aye.

1:25

Aye.

1:26

Aye.

1:27

Uh approval of the minutes from the September 17th finance committee meeting.

1:33

Is there a motion for approval?

1:38

Ah the woman Finlayson, could you could you offer a motion on that?

1:42

Um of approval of the minutes from the September 17th meeting.

1:47

I will second it.

1:48

All those in favor say aye.

1:50

Aye.

1:50

Aye.

1:51

Excellent motion carries.

1:53

All right.

1:54

We've really just got uh three pieces of legislation on our agenda today.

1:59

Um let's start with market house.

2:02

I'm sure this one will be nice and quick.

2:04

So um I'd yeah, I was gonna turn it to Miss Buckland for an update since our last meeting.

2:10

Yeah, so and actually maybe Auto Roman O'Neil, are you updated on what we requested after the last meeting?

2:17

Okay, never mind.

2:17

So just an update.

2:18

Yeah.

2:19

So um we have approached um the market house with the various requests that um this committee and econom economic matters had raised.

2:28

Um we just we had had an initial exchange with them.

2:32

We've just sent them um a red line version.

2:35

Sometimes I think it's easier to um to see that when you see it in writing of this is exactly how that would appear.

2:43

Um that's been modeled after some of the language um that's in some of the other city leases.

2:49

Um, and so we at this point are still then in that discussion over here's kind of more a concrete version of what that would actually mean.

2:59

So my um my hope is then for your next finance committee meeting that we would have um more back from that.

3:06

But that exchange is relatively new because obviously that was a pretty recent, um, pretty recent discussion.

3:12

So I don't really have an update.

3:14

I I'll ask that you guys hold for the moment till we have we finalize that discussion.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Market Management██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Procedural███████████████████████████████31%
Transportation Safety█████████████13%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████10%
Accounting Procedures████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Annapolis Finance Committee Meeting - October 1, 2025

On October 1, 2025, the Annapolis City Council Finance Committee met to discuss several legislative items, including the renewal of the Market House lease, updated speed camera fines, and a Major Special Event designation for the Go Bowling Military Bowl. The meeting was called to order at 10:33 a.m. and adjourned at 11:20 a.m.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the meeting agenda as written on a voice vote.
  • Approved the minutes from the September 17, 2025 Finance Committee meeting on a voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jody Danek (2981 Friends Rd, Annapolis) and Keith Bouchard (18 Brice Road, Annapolis) addressed the committee as partners in New Market House, LLC, the tenant for the Market House. They expressed support for a longer-term lease, arguing it provides the stability needed to make significant capital investments. Bouchard stated they have invested several hundred thousand dollars already and need visibility to continue improvements. Danek emphasized the importance of local entrepreneurs and warned against letting the lease slip, which could lead to another fight in two years.

Discussion Items

  • O-33-25 Lease of City Property – Market House: Acting City Manager Buckland reported that city staff had sent a red-lined version of the lease to the tenant incorporating requests from the committee and the Economic Matters Committee. The lease is in negotiation. Committee members discussed the history of the lease, the competitive bid process, and the need for consistency across city leases. Alderwoman Finlayson noted the loss of institutional knowledge. The committee postponed the item to the October 15, 2025 meeting with the expectation of a final decision.

    • Amendment #1 (Huntley) was not brought to a vote; the item was simply postponed.

  • R-33-25 Speed Monitoring System Fines: Captain Miguez explained that revised data from the vendor and police department led to a significant reduction in estimated revenue (from $1.4 million to $66,000) due to re-categorization of speed violations and elimination of duplication. The total number of citations has declined from 6,951 (2022) to 3,493 (2024), suggesting the cameras are effective. The committee moved to recommend the resolution favorably.

  • R-41-25 2025 Go Bowling Military Bowl Parade and Football Game: Acting City Manager Buckland confirmed that an amendment increases the waiver amount from $15,000 to $20,000 to cover actual city costs (based on last year's costs of about $20,000). The amendment explicitly separates the parade from the game. The committee voted to recommend the amendment favorably and then to recommend the amended resolution favorably.

  • R-37-25: Discussion was skipped because the bill had not yet been introduced before the City Council.

  • ID-130-25 Market Space Lease Discussion: No new updates. Acting City Manager Buckland noted that the flea market may continue through the end of November.

Key Outcomes

  • O-33-25: Postponed to the October 15, 2025 Finance Committee meeting (voice vote). The committee expects a decision at that meeting.
  • R-33-25: Recommended favorably (voice vote).
  • R-41-25 Amendment #1: Recommended favorably (voice vote).
  • R-41-25 (as amended): Recommended favorably (voice vote).
  • Finance Department Update: Director of Finance Moran provided an update on the audit and bond meeting. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding differences between budget figures and the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (ACFR), with staff noting changes in accounting approaches over time. No formal action was taken.
  • The meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m.

Meeting Transcript

The finance standing committee called to order at 1033 a.m. on October 1st. Happy fall, y'all. Uh happy first of the month. Pay your whatever, Ren, credit card bill, whatever it is you pay on the first of the month. Uh thanks everybody for being here. We have a relatively light agenda, but some heavy items on it. So hopefully it will not go quite as long as our last finance committee meeting. All right. Uh with that, we will have. Oh, there we go. We do have auto woman fin license. We'll have a roll call. Um auto and finlayson. Uh present. Mr. Chair, the camera's not on for uh council chambers. Could we fix that, please? Yeah, let's make a second while we get that fixed. Madeline is working it out. I'm just gonna finish the roll call. Auto Roman O'Neil. Auto Anomaly's present. Um, but we'll wait to get it's it seems to be working now. Okay, excellent. And then moving on to approval of the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as written? Make a motion to approve the agenda as written. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Uh approval of the minutes from the September 17th finance committee meeting. Is there a motion for approval? Ah the woman Finlayson, could you could you offer a motion on that? Um of approval of the minutes from the September 17th meeting. I will second it. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Aye. Excellent motion carries. All right. We've really just got uh three pieces of legislation on our agenda today. Um let's start with market house. I'm sure this one will be nice and quick. So um I'd yeah, I was gonna turn it to Miss Buckland for an update since our last meeting. Yeah, so and actually maybe Auto Roman O'Neil, are you updated on what we requested after the last meeting? Okay, never mind. So just an update. Yeah.

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