OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Finance Committee Budget Hearing – April 27, 2026

City Council — Monday, April 27, 2026
BodyAnnapolis, Maryland
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, April 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:00:57

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

2026.

0:01

At this time, we'll start with a roll call.

0:03

Honorable man O'Neal present.

0:05

Otherman Thorpe, present.

0:07

And I am here.

0:08

Is there a motion to approve the agenda as written?

0:13

So moved.

0:14

Second.

0:15

All those in favor, please say aye.

0:17

Aye.

0:18

Is uh motion carries.

0:20

Is there a motion to approve the minutes from our last meeting?

0:26

Settlement.

0:27

Second.

0:28

All those in favor, please say aye.

0:30

Aye.

0:31

Motion carries.

0:33

With that, Mr.

0:34

Flanner, it's all you.

0:36

Ms.

0:36

Jackson, would you put time on the clock?

0:40

Excellent.

0:40

Good morning, everybody.

0:42

Thank you for having me.

0:43

It's an honor to be here before you once again as we were just chatting.

0:47

Um the first time I sat here was a year ago, two weeks in uh at the city of Annapolis.

0:52

So it's a great feeling to be here speaking to the first budget that I've created after a little over a year with the city.

0:59

Um I've watched all the budget hearings prior to this one, and I noticed central services came up a lot.

1:06

Really looking forward to clarifying your questions and help uh kind of detangle what's centralized, what's getting decentralized.

1:13

Um, and with that, uh, have our slideshow ready to go for you all, and we will jump right in.

1:20

So, for starters, if I could just speak broadly about our accomplishments.

1:24

A big thing that I'm proud of in our first year as a new city department is laying the foundation that a new city department can be built upon.

1:34

And I, you know, when I look at these accomplishments at face value, I think, well, that that's really nothing overly um overwhelming as it is, but uh to kind of set the stage for you.

1:47

Um, when I started with the city, we had six vacant positions, which was about 33% of my department.

1:53

Uh we've been working, and by we, I mean I've been working very hard uh to fill all of those positions, and we've been successful in doing so.

2:01

In fact, our new fleet manager and our fleet analyst, our final round of interviews for those positions are this Thursday, they will be starting hopefully next month.

2:09

So filling um the gaps on our workforce was a big goal of mine right out of the gate, and um we have done that, and we now once uh we hire our last two positions.

2:20

We won't have any vacancies in our department, which uh puts us in a good position to ask you all for extra positions, which we will fill right away.

2:28

Uh two other things that we're very, very proud of.

2:30

We moved our entire office into one new work site.

2:33

We were spread out in six different buildings.

2:35

I had an office over in Hudson Street.

2:38

Uh the department wasn't together as a department.

2:41

And so in September of last year, we all consolidated into 25 Shaw Street, got everybody moved, and we now occupy the first floor of that building, and we're working on a CIP project at that building right now with plans to bring finance over, hopefully in the next year.

2:58

And then lastly, um, a lot of process, a lot of workflow, a lot of reviewing, analyzing, and kind of improving the work we do each and every day.

3:08

And uh that last bullet, I know it lists several several accomplishments, but big things to hit on.

3:14

Um talking to the other departments to determine our roles and responsibilities and what Central Services uh manages versus what DPW manages versus what Wreck and Park manages was a multi-month effort, but really helped us work more productively together.

3:29

Additionally, um, we're modernizing how we bill other departments for fleet in fiscal year 27, and I'm happy to describe more of that to you.

3:37

And then we've been looking at our most critical facility work orders in repairing those and reducing our procurement timelines wherever we can.

3:47

Moving on to our performance measures.

3:49

Uh, I know when one looks at this page, they see a lot of blanks, and uh, I'm happy to share more details about that, but we'll start at the top.

3:57

So, work orders is our facility management team.

3:59

That one um goal pretty much measures everything that team of five individuals does in the course of a year.

4:07

Uh, to kind of break that down for you.

4:10

We have two crews on our facility team.

4:12

We have over 20 facilities, and they're about 220 business days in a year.

4:17

So, as you can see, doing about 632 work orders, that's give or take, about three a day.

4:24

Um, by the end of the year, we should have about eight hundred and fifty at the pace we're going now, which shows a pretty substantial amount of work that a very small crew does to keep all of our employees productive and make sure their their workspaces are comfortable, they're welcoming, uh, and suitable for all the work that we do here in the city.

4:44

Um the next two are our engineering goals, which um I welcome feedback on.

4:49

Uh, the two goals uh for our facility engineer, Donovan Harold are finish all projects on time, finish all projects on budget.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters███████████████████████████████████35%
Public Safety█████████████████████████25%
Fiscal Sustainability███████████████████19%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████10%
Community Engagement████4%
Procedural██2%
Workforce Development██2%
Procurement█1%
Youth Programs█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Finance Committee Budget Hearing – April 27, 2026

On April 27, 2026, the Annapolis Finance Committee held a special meeting to review the Fiscal Year 2027 budgets for the Department of Central Services (DCS), the Annapolis Police Department (APD), and the Office of Human Resources (HR). The meeting began at 8:32 AM and adjourned at 11:53 PM after three presentations, detailed questioning, and a postponed fund transfer.

Consent Calendar

  • The agenda was approved on a voice vote (motion by Alderman Thorp, seconded).
  • The minutes from the April 23, 2026 special meeting (FC 4.23.26) were approved on a voice vote (motion by Alderwoman O’Neill, seconded).

Discussion Items

Department of Central Services (ID‑87‑26)

  • Presenter: Director of Central Services Matt Flinner.
  • Key Points:
    • Flinner reported that the department has filled most vacancies, consolidated offices into one location at 25 Shaw Street, and is working to improve procurement timelines and facility management.
    • He requested seven new positions (deputy director, real estate administrator, contract administrator, engineer 2, fleet parts specialist, fleet maintenance technician, risk management specialist) but noted that the three funded positions (engineer 2, fleet parts specialist, risk management specialist) were lower priorities; he would trade them for the top two (real estate administrator and deputy director).
    • Performance metrics were discussed: many are hard to measure due to lack of systems; Flinner committed to developing SMART goals.
    • Overtime: the department eliminated day‑to‑day overtime but added weekend on‑call overtime for fleet and facilities; Flinner will provide a breakdown of planned FY27 overtime.
    • Alderwoman O’Neill requested a non‑public list of city real estate properties; Alderman Thorp requested quarterly performance data on work orders, CIP costs, procurement timelines, fleet age, workers’ comp claims, and overtime history.

Annapolis Police Department (ID‑88‑26)

  • Presenter: Acting Chief of Police Miguez, with Major, Accounting & Equipment Manager Meadley, and Acting Captain of Administration O’Heirly.
  • Key Points:
    • APD handled over 39,000 calls for service year‑to‑date in FY26, on pace for ~50,000; proactive foot patrol and frequent checks increased.
    • Crime rates per 100,000 residents decreased from FY25 to FY26; clearance rates for robbery and aggravated assault improved; the 500% clearance rate for homicide reflects prior‑year cases cleared in FY26.
    • Enhancements include civilian conversions of contract positions nearing their five‑year limit, a new sergeant position for patrol supervision, drone program upgrades, Axon contract renewal, and a new CAD system shared with Anne Arundel County.
    • Overtime: the FY27 budget includes $2.5 million for overtime; Chief Miguez provided a year‑over‑year tracking slide. The committee discussed vacancy savings: the FY27 budget includes $2 million in built‑in vacancy savings.
    • Alderman Thorp requested past accomplishments data and a projection for FY27; Alderwoman O’Neill asked about community programs, grants, and the professional standards manager position.

Office of Human Resources (ID‑89‑26)

  • Presenter: Acting HR Director Lassan Crispin.
  • Key Points:
    • Crispin highlighted accomplishments: expanded NeoGov HRIS, streamlined complaint process on the intranet, implemented a career ladder framework, created job description cover sheets, and launched an electronic exit interview survey.
    • Performance measures for employee satisfaction, training, diversity, and applicant pool are being revised; 80% of applicants now apply through NeoGov, with a goal of 100%.
    • No personnel or non‑personnel enhancements were requested for FY27.
    • The contract services budget increased from ~$30,000 to $117,000 for training and contractual staff; Crispin emphasized the need for citywide training (diversity, conflict resolution, harassment prevention) after years of underinvestment.
    • Discussion of the upcoming Maryland Family Leave insurance program: premiums due January 2027, but rates are unknown; the budget does not yet include this cost, and a supplemental appropriation may be needed.
    • Alderman Thorp requested the results of the new employee orientation survey; Alderwoman O’Neill asked about the summer internship program (24 interns, $80,000 budget).

Key Outcomes

  • Fund Transfer FT‑11‑26 (Public Works: Capital): Postponed to the April 28, 2026 special meeting by a voice vote (motion by Alderwoman O’Neill, seconded). The transfer would move $156,974 from the Cedar Park Sidewalks bond project to the Stormwater MS4 Permit Compliance project.
  • Information Requests:
    • Director Flinner will provide a spreadsheet showing budget movements into DCS, a list of city real estate properties, quarterly performance metrics, and overtime breakdowns.
    • Acting Chief Miguez will provide past accomplishments data, overtime trends, and details on short‑term rental enforcement collaboration with Planning and Zoning.
    • Acting HR Director Crispin will provide the timeline for the new employee orientation survey.
  • Meeting Adjournment: 11:53 PM after a motion and second.

Meeting Transcript

2026. At this time, we'll start with a roll call. Honorable man O'Neal present. Otherman Thorpe, present. And I am here. Is there a motion to approve the agenda as written? So moved. Second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Is uh motion carries. Is there a motion to approve the minutes from our last meeting? Settlement. Second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Motion carries. With that, Mr. Flanner, it's all you. Ms. Jackson, would you put time on the clock? Excellent. Good morning, everybody. Thank you for having me. It's an honor to be here before you once again as we were just chatting. Um the first time I sat here was a year ago, two weeks in uh at the city of Annapolis. So it's a great feeling to be here speaking to the first budget that I've created after a little over a year with the city. Um I've watched all the budget hearings prior to this one, and I noticed central services came up a lot. Really looking forward to clarifying your questions and help uh kind of detangle what's centralized, what's getting decentralized. Um, and with that, uh, have our slideshow ready to go for you all, and we will jump right in. So, for starters, if I could just speak broadly about our accomplishments. A big thing that I'm proud of in our first year as a new city department is laying the foundation that a new city department can be built upon. And I, you know, when I look at these accomplishments at face value, I think, well, that that's really nothing overly um overwhelming as it is, but uh to kind of set the stage for you. Um, when I started with the city, we had six vacant positions, which was about 33% of my department. Uh we've been working, and by we, I mean I've been working very hard uh to fill all of those positions, and we've been successful in doing so. In fact, our new fleet manager and our fleet analyst, our final round of interviews for those positions are this Thursday, they will be starting hopefully next month. So filling um the gaps on our workforce was a big goal of mine right out of the gate, and um we have done that, and we now once uh we hire our last two positions. We won't have any vacancies in our department, which uh puts us in a good position to ask you all for extra positions, which we will fill right away. Uh two other things that we're very, very proud of. We moved our entire office into one new work site. We were spread out in six different buildings. I had an office over in Hudson Street. Uh the department wasn't together as a department. And so in September of last year, we all consolidated into 25 Shaw Street, got everybody moved, and we now occupy the first floor of that building, and we're working on a CIP project at that building right now with plans to bring finance over, hopefully in the next year. And then lastly, um, a lot of process, a lot of workflow, a lot of reviewing, analyzing, and kind of improving the work we do each and every day. And uh that last bullet, I know it lists several several accomplishments, but big things to hit on. Um talking to the other departments to determine our roles and responsibilities and what Central Services uh manages versus what DPW manages versus what Wreck and Park manages was a multi-month effort, but really helped us work more productively together. Additionally, um, we're modernizing how we bill other departments for fleet in fiscal year 27, and I'm happy to describe more of that to you. And then we've been looking at our most critical facility work orders in repairing those and reducing our procurement timelines wherever we can. Moving on to our performance measures.

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